SQUID LIPS

Direction matters as much as the letter. SQUID LIPS sits at a B (86/100) today, but its inspections have been getting cleaner, not messier — an improving trend a single grade can't show.

Its latest visit (April 10, 2026) logged 1 high-priority and 6 basic violations. Diners rate it 4.3 across 3,946 reviews. By health score it's safer than 30% of Indian River County restaurants we grade. Menus here flag gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, and other dietary options.

Trend: improving · B (86/100) · safer than 30% of Indian River County restaurants we grade

Get directions Call (772) 589-3828

Restaurant details

Health grade
B (86/100)
Violations
7 total — 1 high-priority, 6 basic
Address
1660 N. INDIAN RIVER DR., Sebastian, FL
Cuisine
Seafood
Categories
Seafood restaurant, Bar, Bar & grill, Restaurant
Price
$20–30
Rating
4.3 stars (3946 reviews)
Seats
210
Phone
(772) 589-3828
Website
Official website
Photo of SQUID LIPS
Photo: Squid Lips

Community Rating

Reviews via Google
4.3 Community-sourced rating 3,946 reviews
Read all reviews on Google →

What diners say — our read

The newer reviews here read better than the older ones — 4.6 against 3.4. Service cuts both ways here, averaging 3.8 among the reviews that raise it.

One subject never comes up here: how clean the place looks. The split is 16 positive to 5 negative across 23 rated reviews, with 2 in the middle. If you had to pick one number to represent this corpus it would be 5, the most frequently given rating (15 reviews).

The kitchen graded a B (86/100) on 1 high-priority and 6 basic violations at its last inspection, which is roughly where the reviews sit too. DBPR last walked in on April 10, 2026. The trend across inspections is improvement. That puts it ahead of 30% of graded kitchens in Indian River County. The citations behind that grade include in-use food dispensing utensils properly stored and dishwashing facilities.

Nothing here pulls in opposite directions — an unusually clean read. Everything above is computed from the 23 reviews reproduced below.

Our own analysis of 23 reviews for this restaurant, set against its Florida DBPR inspection record. How we calculate grades →

  • June 27, 2026

    OUTSTANDING! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

  • June 23, 2026

    Great views, service and food. Would strongly recommend this place!

  • June 23, 2026

    Great good. Cooked to order. The burger is had was amazing.

  • June 21, 2026

    Food was incredible and the service was great.

  • June 17, 2026

    No bragging rights here

  • June 17, 2026

    Relax enjoy the ocean breeze and the crowd is so friendly. I love it

  • June 17, 2026

    Wonderful place for food and atmosphere. The service is great too!

  • June 17, 2026

    Best place we’ve ate and the prices for seafood is cheap if you go here try their homemade banana pudding

  • June 13, 2026

    Calamari w marinara was fabulous. I love the Mahi pineapple sandwhich but always end up eating it with a fork cause it's a lot of food to handle.

  • June 12, 2026

    Came for the first time for lunch. We ordered the calamari, tuna tartar, fish and chips, and lobster Mac and cheese ALL of which had no flavor. Calamari was bland, ahi tuna chips tasted burnt, lobster Mac n cheese had no taste and fish n chips also had no taste. Great location and great staff but not great food .

  • June 11, 2026

    This place has such a good view it’s so unfortunate that the food was awful and our server was even worse. We had Giovanna. She was not very nice. She corrected me as I was ordering a drink in an extremely snotty tone. she ignored our table for so long that we went up to ask her for a pretzel. She told me to sit down. I got my food which I got a baked potato which was number 2 under the baked potatoes. It looked like they had packed all old food on my plate and put an orange on the side. The potato was not fully cooked, the mac and cheese was so dry, the pork had absolutely no flavor. What a shame! It’s a beautiful spot.

  • June 10, 2026

    Very friendly staff.

  • June 8, 2026

    Had my usual grilled grouper sandwich, but it was far from good. The fish actually tasted old, and I’ve had a lot of grouper over the years. Mullet from the lagoon would have been as good or better. It came with sauce, which would have helped had the sauce been there. Couldn’t complain, the waitress only showed up again to give the check, never to ask if everything was good. Are we to expect subpar food and service for the “off-season?” The last time I get my favorite. Shrimp was better that my wife had. The smoked fish appetizer was good, the crackers were a joke though.

  • June 8, 2026

    Wonderful spot to eat on the Indian river. Especially nice today as it wasn’t jampacked with tourist! We got to enjoy the place.

  • May 29, 2026

    Bartender was excellent and food was so good. Beautiful scenery.

  • May 29, 2026

    We didn't eat here but the view was stunning. When we walked in a server remarked Oh Wow as we walked in and it felt off. Since we were the only people walking in it was obviously directed at us so we left. No worries, we had an amazing $200 lunch at a nearby favorite.

  • May 26, 2026

    Frequently go here for drinks and food. Went yesterday, Sunday, May 24th, had the worst experience here. Ordered a bottle of wine which we always do, fine...Orderd 2 dozen steamed clams which came out like rubber after 20 minutes of waiting for them...Also ordered their bread which was so overdone...Ordered another two dozen steamed clams so after 10 minutes finally got the attention of the server and told her to just make the bill for the wine and bread...She left and finally came back with the bill but asked if we wanted the clams...OMG, what has happened to this place?? Server said new cooks which is BS with restaurants!! Used to be great especially when John was the manager but now it is crap!!! New servers are horrible and don't care except for the ones I know and unfortunately were not our servers. It is definitely wrong when you have to flag down your server. They sat a table of 12, which is fine, but when they are so obnoxious that you cannot even talk at a table by them, that is wrong plus know when to quit serving alcohol to people who have already had enough since it was so obvious... BTW, guess no manager on duty since never saw one or offered to talk to one!!! .OMG, sorry to say this but will not be back which is a shame since I enjoyed this place!!!

  • May 25, 2026

    Was very disappointed in our visit to Squid Lips the other night. They were not busy at all. I now know why. We were served a hot salad with my meal. Everything was so spicy you could not eat it, I now understand why they didn't have a lot of people there because the food has gone downhill considerably. We have gone to this Squid Lips several times and been very impressed with their food but as of now, everything there sucks you get your salad along with your meal at the same time. Your salad is hot. I mean hot as in hot lettuce, paid $14 for a bowl of hot lettuce,3 small tomatoes, and 2 onion rings sliced. When I say 2, it's like a sliver and the bowl is as big as your head, but all that's in there is hot lettuce, I advise you not to go here. It's definitely not what it used to be. The food is not good. We have gotten Fish and Chips several times never had no problem with it being spicy everything they're making now at least what my husband and i got is spicy, I had always gotten conch chowder but it was so spicy. It should have had a white cream to it but it was red and very very spicy, but if this is something you like, then that's fine. I don't mind spice, but I don't want it in every bite that I eat. I repeat very disappointed in Squid Lips. I guess that's why everybody was at the first restaurant . :(

  • May 24, 2026

    Love squid lips! Try to go at least once a month

  • May 23, 2026

    The place is beautiful, good food, great waitresses but need more ambience, some music, is boring.

  • May 22, 2026

    Food was good service was great 👍 great views

  • May 22, 2026

    After years of hearing how great this place was, we finally decided to check it out and immediately regretted not visiting sooner! The service was exceptional and the food was absolutely delicious! We noticed the negative reviews about a service charge for the back of house operations and after experiencing how amazing everything was, quite frankly, those complaints are idiotic. The charge should be higher! We ordered 2 cocktails, 2 appetizers and 2 entrees and everything exceeded our expectations! We will definitely be back and hope this tiny operational surcharge wouldn't deter from others experience. You will regret not going if that's the only thing stopping you.

  • May 19, 2026

    Great waterfront casual seafood!!!

Overall Score

73 / 100

  • Health inspection grade 30/40
    Grade B
  • Dietary transparency 20/20
    6 options listed
  • Community rating 17/20
    4.3★ average
  • Hidden-gem status 0/10
    Not flagged
  • Track record 6/10
    Improving, 0% clean

Composite score from health grade, dietary options, ratings, and inspection record — distinct from the state-derived health grade.

Opening hours

Monday
11 AM to 9 PM
Tuesday
11 AM to 9 PM
Wednesday
11 AM to 9 PM
Thursday
11 AM to 9 PM
Friday
11 AM to 9 PM
Saturday
11 AM to 9 PM
Sunday
11 AM to 9 PM

Inspection history

The following records are from Florida DBPR public inspection records, most recent first.

  1. April 10, 2026 · Complaint Full

    Inspection Completed - No Further Action

    1 high-priority · 0 intermediate · 6 basic

    • 10 — In-use food dispensing utensils properly stored
    • 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained (×2)
    • 16 — Dishwashing facilities; sanitizer test kits; gauges (×2)
    • 35 — Insects/rodents/pests; outer openings protected against pests
    • 36 — Floors, walls, ceilings clean & maintained; proper ventilation
  2. September 3, 2025 · Routine - Food

    Inspection Completed - No Further Action

    2 high-priority · 1 intermediate · 10 basic

    • 01 — Food from approved source; safe, unadulterated, sound condition (×2)
    • 03 — Temperature control of foods (cold/hot holding, cooking, cooling, reheating)
    • 08 — Cross-contamination: raw foods separated; food protected during prep/storage
    • 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained (×4)
    • 16 — Dishwashing facilities; sanitizer test kits; gauges (×2)
    • 21 — Wiping cloths; clean & soiled linens; laundry
    • 24 — Storage & handling of clean equipment and utensils; air drying
    • 36 — Floors, walls, ceilings clean & maintained; proper ventilation

Safer options nearby

Higher-graded restaurants close to SQUID LIPS, by Florida DBPR grade:

This grade is calculated by us from Florida DBPR public inspection records — Florida does not issue official grades. How we calculate it →

Data last updated: April 10, 2026