Milliken's Reef, Cape Canaveral, FL (restaurant)

Name:Milliken's Reef
Type:restaurant
Street:683 Dave Nisbet Drive
City:Cape Canaveral
State:FL
Zip:32920
country:USA
Phone:321-783-0100
Status:operational

Description:
If seafood is your thing, Milliken's your place. The menu offers plenty to choose from, including conch fritters, mahi mahi, grouper, salmon, clams, shrimp and oysters. If seafood is not your thing, they offer a nice selection of steaks and chicken, such as the porterhouse specials, filet mignon, classic chicken teriyaki and Trinidad curry chicken, to name a few.
They have three bars fully stocked and the friendliest bartenders ready to mix a drink. Happy hour is from 4 to 6 p.m. daily. Specials include $1 Milliken's Reef Red draft and Double Bubbles, two shots for the price of one.
Big Kahuna Tiki Huts http://www.palmhuts.com built the 30x20 ft tiki hut with a 10x20 foot bar underneath. It is located beside the intracoastal waterway where you can watch the cruise ships go in and out of the port along with dolphins the frequent the water. Big Kahuna also built the 240 ft rectangular entertainment tiki hut located beside the restaurant's sandy beach area. Both locals and visitors enjoy this unique restaurant at the Port.
Open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m.

[ Edited by: smccauley1 2010-02-04 12:47 ]

Those three pictures basically sum up the full extent of the "tiki-ness" of Milliken's. You can't get a decent tiki drink there, most of the music is by DJ (fill-in-the-blank), and the main building done up in what I call "Florida fish house" style, which is what the Milliken family did before they got into the restaurant business. And you forgot to mention my favorite: the "Hookup Bar" (it's fishing themed). There is definitely more of a Florida Keys/Caribbean vibe than anything else.

Now don't get me wrong, I like the place. Although essentially an over-priced toursist destination, it's a great place to take out-of-town friends. We're taking a couple there for a pre-shuttle launch dinner tomorrow night. But you can't hardly spit along the ocean coast of Florida without hitting a place with tiki torches, a grass hut, sand, and some tiki heads. I really don't think that this place is any more "tiki" than JJ Grills, Sand on the Beach, Squidlips, Captain Hiram's, or the Mai Tiki bar at the end of Canaveral Pier to name a few in Brevard county alone.

Went there Saturday night before the launch attempt. They don't take reservations, but there is a one-hour "call ahead" service -- which got us absolutely nothing when in came to getting a table. Huh?

The bartender was still pretty clueless, though. "Two mahattans, Maker's Mark, perfect, straight up" became an Abbot and Costello comedy routine -- and they came out with a lemon peel, not a cherry.

Outside of these two glitches, the food and service were 100% better than the last time we were there. I would definitely recommend the place if you are in the area. Beautiful building, great setting, but it's not tiki.