Restaurant near Beach for Lunch

Hi

Looking for a beachside restaurant in or around Tampa for a Sunday lunch in a couple of weeks.

We%26#39;ll be staying in Orlando and we want to meet my niece and her partner who live in Venice. We figured Tampa is about half way between the two and it needs to be somewhere that we can find easily!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

Restaurant near Beach for Lunch

A great beachside restaurant (casual) is Frenchy%26#39;s in Clearwater. It%26#39;s right on the beach and very good. The grouper sandwiches and she-crab soup are delicious. However, Clearwater is still about 45 minutes west of Tampa.

In Tampa there are some options that have water views, but aren%26#39;t on the beach. Jackson%26#39;s Bistro is really good and has nice views of downtown Tampa and the bay. There are also water views at some of the restaurants at Channelside (Grill 29, Margarita Mamas - more of a bar, and the chain restaurant Bennigan%26#39;s). The view at Jackson%26#39;s is better in my opinion.

There are also restaurants near the Courtney Campbell Causeway (probably about 20 minutes west of the other restaurants mentioned). I haven%26#39;t eaten at any in awhile, so I%26#39;m not positive what is still open. I think there is a Bahama Breeze that is pretty good. I%26#39;m sure others here will suggest other options.

Restaurant near Beach for Lunch

Thanks fsufan, Jackson%26#39;s sounds perfect. Doesn%26#39;t necessarily have to be beachside but we do like looking over water! I%26#39;ll take a look at the menus for the ones you%26#39;ve suggested.

Thanks again

Andy

It would be farther than halfway for you, but you could continue on south of Tampa and meet them at a beachfront restaurant on Anna Maria Island for lunch. That way you%26#39;d drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (awesome!) and enjoy the small, old-Florida atmosphere of Anna Maria Island. See www.amichamber.org.

The Sunshine Skyway is indeed wonderful, but the most direct route from Orlando to Manatee County (to Anna Maria area) is I4 West from Orlando to 75 South - which connect about 10 miles east of Tampa proper.

To get the Skyway, you need to take I4 until it turns into 275 South right as you enter Tampa. Follow that through Tampa and take 275 South through St Pete to the Skyway. You can do it, but it would add quite a lot of miles to the journey. Just my 2垄...

Have you considered downtown St Pete for your meet? There are several restaurants along Beach Drive - which faces the bay, not the gulf - but it%26#39;s a really pretty area, nice for walking around if you intend to spend some time after your meal.

If you definitely want Gulf waters, then as the other poster mentioned, you will need to go to Clearwater, St Pete Beach, etc., or of course, down to Anna Maria and that area.

I%26#39;d suggest Jackson%26#39;s in downtown Tampa.

Thanks for all the great suggestions, we did think about St. Pete%26#39;s but I noticed that the Devil Rays are playing Toronto that Sunday. Wasn%26#39;t sure how busy it would get so we plumped for Tampa, although Anna Maria Island looks nice.

Thanks again,

Andy