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Permalink Reply by BoatPinellas.com on January 5, 2010 at 9:07am

Bryan, great suggestion; however, the category already exists for all the sites in Florida within the Business Directory. The directory can be accessed by clicking on the navigation on the top of the page called Directory or by going directly to http://directory.boatflorida.com. The boatable restaurants within Pinellas are under destinations at http://directory.boatflorida.com/listing/guide/pinellas-county-area.... Unfortunately, it does not look like any exist for Pinellas currently in the directory. If you have suggestions for ones to be added, please let us know or let the restaurant know that they should add themselves.

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Permalink Reply by Leigh Tessler on January 31, 2010 at 12:01am

Bryan, I too was disappointed to see that there were no listings for "boatable" restaurants however I have a good list for you which obviously depends on where you are starting out from. I'm out of Tierra Verde and there is quite a selection from Pass-a-grille to Clearwater.

Starting at the north end of Shell Key, heading north in Pass-a-grille Channel you have Merry Pier where you can dock and walk across the street to the Sea Horse - great little breakfast and lunch place. Docking at Merry Pier can be a little rough but Ok if you got enough bumpers.

Just a little farther north, just beyond the Pass-a-grille Marine, you have The Wharf and Sea Critters. Both have docking, good food, drinks. The Wharf is pretty popular so get there early if you want a spot.

In Boca Ciega Bay, you can tie up at the Gulf Port Casino pier. There are about 6 slips and you can dock there till 11 p.m. O'Maddy's has improved over the years and the food is great but the late night karaoke still stinks. There's a handful of restaurants in Gulfport. Plenty to explore!

From Gulfport, continue up the intercoastal, under the Corey Ave Bridge and through the no-wake to Treasure Island, turn west at Treasure Island and in the Blind Pass Marina is Sea Hags Restaurant. Docking can be tight but they have quite a few slips and there's usually someone there to give you hand. Great food as this place is owned by the Original Owners of Philthy Phils and they have plenty of TV's, live entertainment and a good crowd day or night.

Just across from the Marina on the Treasure Island side is the infamous Captain Kosmokos - affectionately known as Capt K's or aka "the granny grab"! Docking for about 3 to 4 boats. This is a nightclub/restaurant with a house cover band playing a lot of old disco. Older crowd but great people watching. The food is decent and well priced. Good night time destination if you want to dance and gawk.

Going South down Blind Pass Channel there is the Sloppy Pelican just before you turn to go back into the Gulf. You can dock there and I think they still let you walk across the street to Philthy Phils but either bar is good. Nice waterfront location, again, pretty decent food and usually a nice local crowd. Limited docking and rough currents at times.

Heading back north - of course there's Gators in John's Pass. Their slogan is "you gotta go to Gators" but I've yet to have so much as a decent burger there but the beer is cold, its very popular and there is plenty of docking if the bridge construction barges aren't in the way. Current can get a little tricky over there.

North of John's Pass there are a few more place.....Over by Bay Pines there's the Green Iguana restaurant. Been there a few times but they don't seem to go out of their way to assist boaters and maybe its just me but the service is sorely lacking.


There's the Elks - Holiday Isle post - I pulled in, saw the outside Tiki Bar, pool, etc., and got signed up there and then on the spot. Nice destination and Leslie is the best bartender in town! Worth the membership and volunteering opportunities. Makes you feel good to help and be involved and you don't feel guilty about paying next to nothing for drinks! I've met some really nice people there and they are really trying to enlist some new, younger members.


Going back north on the intercoastal, just the northeast side just after the Tom Stewart Causeway Bridge is a McDonalds. This is always a big hit with the kids! A happy meal with french fries usually keeps them occupied for sated for a while.

Just next to McDonalds is the American Legion post 273. The largest American Legion in Florida that boasts the largest membership. By having a dad that was in the military, I am able to join the Women's Auxillary ($10 a year) and now can go drink with the old guys! You almost feel guilty for how cheap a round of drinks are there! And there's $1.00 bloody marys on Sundays. Crabby Bills has taken over the concession there so you can get some great oysters and the patty melt isn't bad either. You do need to show your membership card there and it gets very crowded during season but its great in the summer!

Heading north up the narrows, there's a dock on the left that gets you to DJ's but I've only hit that after a stop at the Legion so that spot is a little fuzzy! I'd know it if a I saw it..........................

Further up is my favorite restaurant in this area - either by land or sea but always excellent. The Salt Rock Grill has great food, expensive drinks and great atmosphere - especially the outdoor bar with the bar stools being those big fishing boat fishing chairs! Salt Rock is always a special treat, great for special occasions or when you just want to treat yourself! you have to break out the big bucks here.

And then a bit further up is "The Pub Waterfront Restaurant" Gone there a few times but nothing has impressed me yet there. Had a fairly lousy breakfast Sunday brunch that was disappointing but then again, how bad can it be if you can get there by boat!

Well Bryan, hope that helped - those are my stomping grounds from Pass a grille to Indian Rocks! If you chat, you can email me at ltessler@aol.com

Best of Luck and smooth sailing.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan C on January 31, 2010 at 1:49am

Wow! Thanks for the great info and for taking the time to post all this! As luck would have it, I trailer my boat and usually launch at the Park Blvd ramp at the Narrows on the ICW--so I could easily do this route North-to-South instead of South-to-North! Also, with luck I'll be moving to St. Pete Beach the first of March so this list is great for me!

I still think it would be great on this forum to have this info mapped and listed in directory format. Maybe the idea will catch on with the moderators... :) Thanks again!

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Permalink Reply by Ken Webb on April 8, 2010 at 12:31pm

We launch at Seminole Street in Clearwater and so far we've been south to Gator's and north to Capt'n Jack's in Tarpon. In between we've been several times to The Pub - excellent service and the food has been good too, and Frenchy's on Clearwater Beach - not really boatable but you can beach and walk across a road. I've read that Jack Willie's (the people who own Tarpon Turtle on Lake Tarpon) is opening a place called The Castaways on the Intracoastal in Dunedin although they weren't open when we tried to find it Easter sunday. Seems the most fun we've had on the water has been seeking out new boatable restaurants. I'd love to help with a site to list them all, or maybe even be a Boatable Restaurant Critic (BRC).

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