Whale's Rib

The Whale's Rib is a "must-go-to" place if you are in the area. It is a no-nonsense grill and raw bar, with many beers (including imported) on tap. It is not fancy, and it is just steps away from wonderful Deerfield Beach's white sands. Although the shellfish (in particular, the Ipswitch steamers/clams) is cooked perfectly, the W.R. cooks do not know how to cook [fin] fish. There are two choices only for the way in which fish is prepared: blackened or grilled. Broiled is not offered. The fish, whether served on a plate or in a sandwich is *always* over-cooked and dry. The immediate rest. mgr. does not take feedback seriously nor relay it to either the cook or the head kitchen mgr All this being said, the place is still a wonderful beach lunch spot, and the food is really quite delicious and tasty if you can get by the dryness of the fin fish. The sandwiches are interesting and are often accompanied by delicious homemade sauces. If you love a huge order of "steamers" (they are called Ipswitch clams there) cooked to absolute perfection along with a plate of wonderful, shucked raw clams on the half-shell, then Whale's Rib is a *must-go-to*! You will enjoy an utterly wonderful meal and you will want to return for sure!

We visited this place in November 2012 - ordered special grilled sandwich. One half of bun was still frozen - waiters responded that it was warmed up for a little...Fries are great and sauce is excellent. Waiters was not friendly at all. We would not go there again and after we come back home to Chicago our family members have a similar experience.

In short, we have eaten there before & the service/food was just ok. We went last night & tried to get a seat with a party of 6. I was the #6 walking-up & they refused to seat the party without all of us. Even when my wife said she would order on my behalf because we needed to eat quick & get the kids to bed, they refused. I arrived 3-minutes later & was told we now had a 15-minute wait. Right in front of us they sat another party that WAS waiting on someone else. When I asked why, no response was provided. Asking to see the manager also did no good as he was,"busy". Will not be back & will tell everyone to avoid this pace, Simply rude.

Took a friend to lunch there. Big mistake. We both ordered the dolphin sandwich for $10.99. The waiter advised us that no sides came with it but he suggested the Whale's fries for $4.99. So we ordered one to share. What a ripoff. What we got was a bowl of glorified potato chips some of which were undercooked. The fish sandwich consisted of two small pieces of the scrap tail sections on a huge roll with a slice of tomato and shredded lettuce. The total with no drinks except for 1 ice tea came to $32 including tax. Add a $5 tip for a total of $37 for a lunch that was essentially a bowl of chips and a large roll. Stay away.

The only problem I see with Whales Rib is that it is NOT the best kept secret in deerfield beach. Word is out! If you go, try the bisque, whale fries, rock shrimp, and bloody mary's.

I'm a fisherman & I grew up In fla. & have fished for swordfish for many years. I've never had better Swordfish than at Whales rib

New to the area, this place made me feel at home. great service, food is always hot and fresh, and the service is awesome! Dolphin sandwiches are to die for...made anyway! also try to "crack in a can" sauce, you will be hooked. No gimmicks here, just great people and food