What are the best waterfront restaurants on the Treasure Coast? Try these favorites

Cheryl Smith, Treasure Coast Newspapers
Updated ·6 min read

Editor's note: Since this article published, The Nest on the River in Jensen Beach replaced Pietro's on the River; Crab E. Bill's in Sebastian and Manatee Island in Port Salerno closed; and Island Beach Bar & Restaurant in Ocean Village moved to the Fort Pierce Jetty area.

Florida's year-round good weather makes waterfront dining — especially at restaurants with outside seating — one of the perks of living in the Sunshine State.

Do you want to watch ocean waves crashing on the beach? Or watch boats coming and going in the Manatee Pocket? Or watch for dolphins, manatees and sea turtles in the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River?

The Treasure Coast has dozens of waterfront restaurants for all tastes, with many featuring seafood and Floribbean fare. So kick back with a tropical cocktail, and enjoy the oceanfront, riverfront or lagoon-front views.

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Oceanfront restaurants

Ocean Grill

This iconic Vero Beach steak and seafood restaurant opened on New Year's Eve in 1941. The eccentric Waldo Sexton built it with mahogany, pecky cypress, wrought iron and Spanish antiques. In the 1920s, he also built the road leading to it, using mule teams to clear A1A from the Sebastian Inlet to the south-county line. Three generations of the Replogle family have been running the restaurant since 1965. In addition to an upscale menu with Florida seafood favorites, there's a gift shop that sells appetizers, dressings, seasonings, desserts and to-go drinks.

1050 Beachland Blvd., 772-231-5409, website

Kyle G’s Prime Seafood and Steaks

The inside dining room's wall of windows offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean in this special occasion restaurant on A1A in Jensen Beach, which opened in 2017. Steak lovers will appreciate the 48-ounce tomahawk ribeye and the 24-ounce cowboy ribeye that's been dry-aged for 36 days. The raw bar and Sunday brunch are fan favorites. Owner Kyle Greene also owns Kyle G's Wine & Oyster Bar in St. Lucie West and Oak & Ember Steakhouse in Port St. Lucie but permanently closed Kyle G's Kitchen. A second Oak & Ember Steakhouse is planned for downtown Stuart in early 2023.

10900 S. Ocean Drive, 772-237-5461, website

Drift Kitchen & Bar

This restaurant in the Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa on A1A in Jensen Beach, which opened in 2017, has indoor, outdoor and poolside bars and dining. Executive Chef Michael Volger's menu mixes seafood specialties with American and Italian classics. He even shares his recipe for fan favorite crab-crusted grouper.

3793 N.E. Ocean Blvd., 772-405-9215, website

Restaurants on the Indian River Lagoon

Riverside Cafe

This locals favorite is tucked under the Merrill P. Barber Bridge (State Road 60/Beachland Boulevard) in Vero Beach and features a view across the Indian River Lagoon — if you're lucky enough to get an outside patio table. The menu ranges from finger foods and classic sandwiches to steak and seafood entreés. The indoor dining area is adjacent to a lively bar where sports fans congregate for all the big games, shown on 35 HDTVs with BOSE Sound.

3341 Bridge Plaza Drive, 772-234-5550, website

Chuck’s Seafood

This iconic seafood restaurant on the Fort Pierce Inlet, which opened in 1962, is a Fort Pierce landmark for locals, snowbirds and tourists alike. Diners clamor for the upstairs balcony — as well as the waterside tables added during the coronavirus pandemic — to catch a view of the sunset on the Indian River Lagoon. The bar is also a lively place to eat, or you could reserve the private captain's room. The fried shrimp is one of its signature dishes.

822 Seaway Drive, 772-461-9484, website

Conchy Joe's Seafood

This open-air restaurant, loved by tourists and locals alike, settled into this spot along the Indian River Lagoon in Jensen Beach in 1983. Since 2016, Fritz Ayres has been running the popular restaurant and bar, which his father Fred originally opened in West Palm Beach in 1979. In addition to serving raw bar and seafood specialties, the restaurant features live music, trivia night, ladies night, musical bingo and hermit crab races. A major renovation is adding more parking along Indian River Drive and converting the former Admiral's Table restaurant into Conchy’s on the Bayou: Brewery and Kitchen, which will have a second floor with even more waterfront views.

3945 N.E. Indian River Drive, 772-334-1130, website

Dolphin Bar & Shrimp House

Inspired by the Polynesian Islands, movie star Frances Langford built the Outrigger Restaurant & Resort in Stuart in the 1960s, but it had fallen into disrepair by the 1990s. Fred Ayers, who founded Conchy Joe's Seafood, restored the restaurant with Langford's help. Today, its panoramic views sweep from the Jensen Beach to Stuart causeways. The signature dish is the Dolphin a la Dolphin, a locally caught mahi-mahi sauteed in flour and egg with white wine, butter, lemon, capers and fresh herbs. Don't miss the four-course meal and wine pairing on the last Sunday of every month in the banquet room, which you can reserve for your own private events.

1401 N.E. Indian River Drive, 772-781-5136, website

Here are some other waterfront restaurants on the Treasure Coast. If we've inadvertently omitted your favorite or listed one that's permanently closed or changed names, please email laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.

Indian River County

Sebastian

Vero Beach

Martin County

Jensen Beach

  • Shuckers, 9800 S. Ocean Drive, 772-229-1224, website

Stuart

Port Salerno

St. Lucie County

Fort Pierce

Port St. Lucie

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Waterfront restaurants in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fort Pierce, Stuart