Seawatch
Seawatch on the Ocean:
The Restaurant:
Seawatch on the Ocean is a seafood restaurant located right on the Ocean. We provided a few pictures below so that you can see the great views you have form the restaurant. They consider themselves and old time Florida seafood restaurant with sweeping views. Seawatch has been around since 1974 and it really does have some amazing views of the sand dunes and sea grass on out to the ocean waters. They are open for lunch from 11:30am to 3:30pm, dinner from 5pm to 10pm and they have a Sunday Brunch from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Just looking to have a few drinks and maybe grab some light fare, you can always eat in the bar area as well which is open from 11:30am to 10pm. Happy hour is only during the week and is from 4:30pm to 7pm.
The bar and Lounge area is located on the 2nd floor (two flights of stairs). There is a nice sized bar which seats about 20 people when full, and there are a few little tables with chairs scattered around the room. There is also an outdoor deck on the 2nd floor as well. Seawatch’s main restaurant is broken off into three main sections. Each section has stunning views of the ocean with two of them being inside for those looking for an air conditioned dining experience. The third section has open air seating with ceiling fans which really give you a true sense of being there on the beach.
We highly suggest reservations as you will find Seawatch gets busy on almost any night of the week. You will find a mix of booths, tables with chairs, and tables with part booth and chairs. We had always wanted to go here, so we were ecstatic when our friends Ed and Tony invited us along for dinner.
We actually arrived early for our reservation, so the staff said we could go upstairs to the bar area while we waited for a table to be ready. The four of us each ordered different drinks and began to chat about recent events and updates with each other. Seawatch has a bar menu that you can order if you wanted to stay up there and eat, and we almost did as it was a fun area. However our pager was soon buzzing to let us know our table downstairs was ready. The manager was the one who sat us and she gave a choice of the outdoor patio area or inside. Being true Floridians we opted for the outside dining to get the full experience of the restaurant.
The Food:
Each of us chose an appetizer with Ed having the lettuce wedge and the rest of us having the lobster bisque. The wedge was just like any other and nothing special to write home about. However the lobster bisque was amazing. There is a good amount of lobster chunks in it and the broth is a perfectly blended mix of seasonings and then garnished with parsley flakes.
Daily specials are usually offered and there were two seafood options and one land option which was the Filet Mignon. I opted to go with the filet as my main course as I am a steak lover. For the price I was kind of surprised at the size of it, which was basically a 6oz filet. Most restaurants usually go with an 8 oz for specials. There was also a lack of seasoning on it which meant it did not have any flavor the way it came. The crispy onions on top were a nice touch and the side of Bearnaise sauce helped make sure that when I ate the steak it had a little flavor. The meat was perfectly cooked and tender. Vegetables of the day accompanied the meal as did mashed potatoes. Overall the dish ended up good, but like I said could have been seasoned better.
Jerry and Ed decided that they were both going to go with the Bouillabaisse. This is a mix of Lobster, shrimp, scallops, calamari, fresh fish, clams, and mussels in a saffron-chicken-Pernod broth accompanied by garlic croustade. They both finished it in record time. The both made it taste out of this world and there was an amazing amount of seafood in it. I would say that over half of the bowl was seafood. IF you are a lover of various seafood and fish, then this is a dish that you must try.
Last up was Tony who ordered the Crispy Fried Shrimp, which are 4 huge gulf shrimp, breaded and then deep fried. Normally the dish would be accompanied by a Mandarin orange-peanut slaw, but Tony opted to change it out for the vegetable of the day (asparagus and carrots). He said that the shrimp were perfectly cooked and the breading had a good hint of seasoning. And four of them with the size that they are is just perfect for anyone.
All in all, we really enjoyed our meals and had a great time with our waitress and each other. The seafood is always fresh so you know that you can’t go wrong with the meal. Depending on what you have, you can end up with a pricey meal and if you add in drinks you can get upwards of $$$$$. But I would say that it is definitely worth every penny.
Pricing: $$-$$$ for Sunday Brunch and lunch, $$$-$$$$$ for dinner depending on what you order and drinks
