A seafood shack beside a working fishing village offers a different meal setting than a grill overlooking Sarasota Bay, and Florida has room for both. The restaurants here range from casual fish camps to a more polished waterfront dining room, with seafood tying them together.
Despite the title, these are waterfront destinations rather than five shacks sitting directly on sandy beaches. Their river, harbor, and bay settings are part of what makes each stop distinct, along with specialties that give diners a reason to look beyond the view.
1. JB’s Fish Camp – New Smyrna Beach
The fish camp in the name points to the appeal: seafood served beside the Indian River Lagoon, not a formal dining room facing the ocean. JB’s sits south of central New Smyrna Beach, along the narrow stretch leading toward Canaveral National Seashore.
Its seafood lineup includes steamed shrimp, crab, oysters, and fish sandwiches, giving the menu a clear coastal focus. Hush puppies fit naturally alongside those seafood plates.
The waterfront setting also connects the restaurant with kayaking and fishing, making it feel closer to an old Florida fish camp than a beach resort. Be clear about the geography: the water beside your meal is the lagoon, not the Atlantic.
Address: 859 Pompano Avenue, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169
2. Dewey Destin’s Seafood Restaurant – Destin
Destin’s fishing history is part of the story at Dewey Destin’s, whose family name reaches back to Leonard Destin, the city’s namesake. The original Calhoun Avenue restaurant keeps that connection grounded in a casual waterfront setting.
Seafood baskets, Gulf fish, and shrimp suit the picnic table surroundings. Fried and grilled preparations let diners choose between a crisp coating and a simpler treatment of the seafood.
Location matters here because Dewey Destin’s also has a separate harbor restaurant. The Calhoun Avenue spot is the shack-style stop overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay, with views toward Crab Island.
That distinction helps explain why photographs of the two restaurants can look quite different despite sharing the family name.
Address: 9 Calhoun Avenue, Destin, FL 32541
3. The Old Salty Dog – Sarasota
A battered, deep-fried hot dog might seem an unlikely calling card for a seafood stop, but that is the namesake order at The Old Salty Dog. Its playful menu identity sets it apart from restaurants built entirely around the daily catch.
The City Island location pairs that signature with fish and chips, shrimp, and other seafood dishes. British pub influences help explain why battered fish belongs alongside the famous dog.
Sarasota Bay supplies the waterfront backdrop at this branch, rather than the Gulf beach. Specify City Island when searching for it, since The Old Salty Dog has multiple locations.
The City Island location at 1601 B Ken Thompson Parkway is the Sarasota waterfront restaurant featured here, with its famous battered hot dog and seafood menu served beside the bay.
Address: 1601 B Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236
4. Star Fish Co. Seafood Market & Restaurant – Cortez
Seafood served in cardboard boxes keeps the attention on the catch at Star Fish Co., where the restaurant shares its identity with a seafood market. Picnic tables overlook the working waterfront in Cortez, one of Florida’s historic commercial fishing villages.
The compact menu is known for Gulf seafood, including grouper, shrimp, and mullet. Smoked fish spread adds another connection to the region’s fishing traditions, while hush puppies and coleslaw accompany seafood plates.
Star Fish Company’s roots reach back to the 1920s, but its dockside restaurant took shape after Karen Bell purchased the business in 1996. She expanded the kitchen and added eight picnic tables, turning a longtime seafood operation into one of Cortez’s most recognizable places to eat by the water.
Address: 12306 46th Avenue West, Cortez, FL 34215
5. Dry Dock Waterfront Grill – Longboat Key
Since 1989, Dry Dock Waterfront Grill has served seafood overlooking Sarasota Bay, with its award-winning grouper sandwich becoming one of the restaurant’s best-known specialties. Its location beside a marina puts Sarasota Bay, rather than the open Gulf, in the foreground.
Grouper appears alongside other seafood choices, including snapper, shrimp, and scallops. The menu stretches beyond baskets and sandwiches into plated dinners, giving this stop a different role from the simpler fish camps in the collection.
Outdoor waterfront seating and an upstairs dining room provide two distinct settings within the same restaurant. On Longboat Key’s southern end, the address places it along Gulf of Mexico Drive, but the dining view faces the bay.
Address: 412 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FL 34228
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