Marina restaurants offer a distinct waterfront dining experience with picturesque views and atmospheres that range from laid-back to upscale.
Marinas are a safe haven for boaters and provide a place to dock, get fuel and filet fish. They also can have amenities such as restaurants where everyone can socialize and have a good time.
Whether you are a mariner or a landlubber, try these marina restaurants, one in each Treasure Coast city where applicable, including some that are less-obvious choices than your tried-and-true favorite.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Sebastian Saltwater Marina Restaurant
Originally Capt’n Butchers, the restaurant rebranded and expanded the vision of local captain, entrepreneur and developer Harold “Butch” Adams, who took over the old Floodtide marina and transformed it into a destination restaurant, bar and lodge. It also has a full-service marina with long-term and transient slips, diesel and non-ethanol 90 octane fuel, and frozen and live bait. It offers indoor seating and a large outdoor deck overlooking the marina. The menu features items including fish dip, Old Bay wings, raw bar items, tacos, a grouper basket, an Asian shrimp bowl and a fresh catch daily selection of fish prepared grilled, blackened, jerked or fried with a citrus beurre blanc, coconut rice and vegetable of the day.
1732 Indian River Drive, Sebastian; 772-918-4229; website
Riverside Cafe, Vero Beach
Riverside Cafe sits on the Indian River Lagoon, and, while it is not at the Vero Beach Municipal Marina, it is located just south of the Merrill P. Barber Bridge. It is a very short boat trip or walk for boaters visiting the marina and looking for a place to eat and listen to live music. It has a dock and offers free dockage and monthly dock space rentals. There also is a tackle and bait shop on the premises. Guests can watch the boats come and go from the marina, as well as the moored boats, from the restaurant’s outdoor deck. It also offers indoor seating and turns into a late-night bar on the weekends. Menu items include Middle Neck clams, a grouper Reuben, grouper picatta, lobster-stuffed flounder and tuna nachos.
3341 Bridge Plaza Drive, Vero Beach; 772-234-5550; website
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Crabby’s Dockside, Fort Pierce
The two-story restaurant, formerly the location of The Original Tiki Bar & Grill, sits at the Fort Pierce City Marina. It is owned by Gary Hardie, a Fort Pierce native and vice president of Beachside Hospitality Group, which owns restaurants across Florida. Part of the first floor is an ice cream shop, and seating on the second floor includes an enclosed dining section and a covered, open-air seating area. Its menu offers items such as gator and Cajun grouper nuggets, a seafood feast boil, Bairdi crabs, Memphis-style baby back ribs, stuffed flounder and various pastas, pizzas, tacos, bowls and sandwiches.
2 Avenue A, Fort Pierce; 772-252-5672; website
Skippers Cove Bar & Grill
Tina and Victor Camaj, former owners of Harborcove Seafood Bar & Grill located in the same spot, opened the Safe Harbor Habortown marina restaurant in 2023. They originally bought the business in 2015 but sold it in 2018. However, they have reclaimed ownership and leased the property from the marina. The open-air restaurant has a deck with seating under umbrellas, and the bar and dining area are under cover and cooled by fans. It also features a dock for guests who arrive by boat. The menu has items such as beef sliders, crab cake sliders, a spinach avocado salad, seafood ravioli and avocado mahi.
1930 Harbortown Drive, Fort Pierce; 772-429-5303; website
Sauder’s Landing, Jensen Beach
The family-owned and -operated casual restaurant opened at the Nettles Island Marina in 2015. Nettles Island is off Hutchinson Island, just north of the Martin County line. Diners can sit indoors, outside under a tiki hut or under a covered open-air area. Guests who arrive by car tell the Nettles Island security that they’re going to the restaurant, and those who arrive by boat can tie up to one of its moorings. Menu items include crab cakes, chicken Francese, blackened lemon butter mahi, shrimp scampi and “kokomo” shrimp.
9815 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach; 772-229-0246; website
MARTIN COUNTY
TideHouse Waterfront Restaurant, Stuart
The St. Lucie River waterfront restaurant offers unimpeded views of the Safe Harbor Harborage Yacht Club marina, village of Rio and the Roosevelt Bridge from its second-floor location. Jon Sullivan, general manager and vice president of the popular Jupiter restaurant Guanabanas, opened the restaurant in 2019 with his business partners. It offers seating on its deck, on an open-air porch and indoors. There is a single floating dock on the west side of the main marina dock that leads to the yacht club for those arriving by boat. Menu items include Baja fish tacos, smoked fish dip, a balsamic bistecca flatbread, the signature burger, a macadamia-crusted daily fresh catch, sherry shrimp pasta and Cajun chicken alfredo.
915 N.W. Flagler Ave., Stuart; 772-444-3166; website
Sailor’s Return, Stuart
Bob Davis and his wife, Tracy, opened the downtown Stuart restaurant at Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage after 27 years in the cruise ship food and beverage industry. They also owned and operated the Jolly Sailor Pub in Stuart from 1992 to 2003. The 220-seat restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating with bars in both areas. It offers 930 feet of complimentary dockage space for boating guests. It has a selection of seafood, steaks and American fare with signature dishes including the pan-seared blackened snapper, 16-ounce ribeye, chicken cordon bleu Kiev and pork chop Milanese.
625 S.W. Anchorage Way, Stuart; 772-872-7250; website
Pirate’s Loft Restaurant, Stuart
The Manatee Pocket restaurant at Pirate’s Cove Resort & Marina in the historic fishing town of Port Salerno features two indoor dining areas, seating under a covered deck and a waterfront tiki bar. The chef hand-picks fresh seafood every day and prepares it with a light Caribbean flair. Menu items include mahi-mahi bites, hand-tossed pizza, a crab cake sandwich, a pulled pork sandwich, salmon pasta, baja fish tacos, chicken piccata, mahi Rockefeller and chicken marsala. The full-service marina features slips for boats and yachts up to 100 feet and dry storage. It also has a bait and tackle shop, laundry facilities, showers, fish cleaning stations and a diesel and gas fuel dock.
4307 S.E. Bayview St., Stuart; 772-223-5048; website
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Waterfront restaurants: 8 best places to eat at marinas in Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Stuart
Reporting by Eve Pierpont, Special to TCPalm / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
