Gulf Coast Florida 2022
We spent 3 weeks in the Tampa/Redington Shores/Sarasota area. Here are some of our favorite places we went and what we had to eat. Pictures are below each restaurant link. We hope you try and enjoy them as much as we did. We would love to hear what you thought of our choices!
Sarasota
We were only in this area for 2 days so we know we missed a lot! But we enjoyed these 2 places which were by our hotel.
Trio Shrimp Appetizer
Cod Tacos
Grilled Cheese Crab Cake Sandwich
A very popular location and great food! Go early to get a seat outside which is first come first serve
Scallop Poppers
Dixie Ocean Burrito
Redington Beach Area
There are quite a few choices of casual, seafood restaurants in this area. Hint - Go mid afternoon to get a seat or for just 2 adults- bar seating is usually open seating and service is faster there. Here are a few we liked:
Caddy’s Madeira Beach - Casual bar and restaurant on the beach and above seating with views of the gulf
Crab Cake BLT
Shrimp Tacos
Original Crabby Bills -This place is very large and outdoor seats go fast (Bellair)
Blackened Redfish Special
Grouper Cuban Sandwich Special
Broke and Bored - great independent restaurant with a darling outdoor patio. This was closest to our condo and we went 4 times because we liked the food so much
Shrimp Tacos
Hogfish Sandwich
Blackened Shrimp Bowl
Fresh Catch Fried Tacos
Salt Rock Grill- Slightly upscale and our favorite of the trip. Many seating areas - inside bar, outside bar, inside seating, covered outside seating, outside seating. We made reservations which we highly advise but again you could probably grab a seat at the indoor bar. The outside bar by the boat dock is a very fun place.
Early supper club menu is a great way to go as it includes a salad and dessert and the entree is only slightly smaller than the regular menu.
Stuffed Sea Bass
Blackened Grouper Indian Shores Style
Guppies on the Beach - A great lunch menu. Covered and uncovered patio, as well as inside seating.
Mahi Mahi grilled tacos
Salted Cashew Mahi Mahi with a cherry and apple chutney (lunch special)
VIP Mexican - (2 locations - Indian Rocks and Treasure Island)
Treasure Island is the original location and much more casual. Really great margaritas.
Mini Amigos Appetizers
Wet Chicken Burrito
VIP Shrimp Bowl
Dunedin
Lots of nicer independent restaurants, shops and microbrews in the area. Right on the Pinellas Bike Trail. Check their city calendar for events, art shows, etc.
Lobster roll
BLT Lobster Sliders
Dunedin Brewing Co - oldest brewery in Florida. Great beers.
Shrimp & Corn Chowder
Caprese Salad
Hogfish with 2 sides (3 people ordered it different ways)
Bradenton
Oak & Stone - situated at the bottom of the Spring Hill Suites and nestled at the Bradenton Marina. Large indoor seating and bar area but even better is an upstairs bar and seating area. They have a beer wall of 40-60 taps where you try all their beers by the ounce. A great place to enjoy the outside and the sunset.
Kung Pao Cauliflower and Crispy Mozzarella and Meatball Lollipops - both great.
Pizzas - Sausage & Meatball; Cheese with Jalapenos; Sun Burnt Hawaiian and the Clucker.
Belleair Bluffs
Seaweed Grill - This is part of the same restaurant group as Salt Rock Grill, so we knew this restaurant would not disappoint. We also wanted to finish the trip with some Sushi. Hint - this restaurant has a small bar and dining area out front which was full by 4:00 (right when it opened). There is also a sushi bar and regular bar inside and lots of indoor dining. Also it has a great happy hour of drinks and food specials. We did manage to grab seats at the bar and enjoyed some great food on our last night.
Octopus (on a bed of arugula)
Double Tuna Roll
Crunchy Bluff Roll - which was the best presentation we have ever seen for a sushi roll.
And that concluded our trip. It was great to get away into warmer weather and exploring new places to dine. Check out our travel page for just a few pictures and details of what we did and beautiful sunsets from our balcony.
