16 Best Waterfront Restaurants in Venice, Florida [2022]

This is a list of the best waterfront restaurants in Venice, Florida.

All these offer outdoor seating, great views and seafood.

Let’s dive right in…

Here are the best places for waterfront dining that we’ll talk about:

Fins At Sharky’s
Sharky’s On the Pier
Crow’s Nest Restaurant, Tavern & Marina
Dockside Waterfront Grill
Snook Haven
Pelican Alley
Pop’s Sunset Grill
Nokomo’s Sunset Hut
Waterfrontoo
Tarpon Point Grill and Marina
Pinchers Venice
Old Salty Dog Venice
Pilot House on Venice Beach
Shark Tooth Beach Concessions
Jetty Jack’s
North Jetty Grille

Fins At Sharky’s

1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice, FL

Fins at Sharky’s offers a fine dining experience with waterfront views of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an excellent place to go for a special occasion. Imagine the 700 foot Venice pier with a beautiful sunset in the background. This is definitely one of the best waterfront restaurants in Venice, Florida.

For appetizers, we would highly recommend lobster seafood chowder, grilled octopus and oysters Rockefeller. Before ordering your main course, check out their excellent selection of wine by the glass. Since they’re one of the best seafood restaurants with outdoor dining, you want to order:

Surf and Turf
Caribbean Cobia
Chilean Sea Bass
Cod fish and chips
Sushi

If you’re looking for an upscale restaurant with a view, this is it.

Sharky’s On the Pier

1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice, FL

Sharky’s offers a more casual waterfront dining experience in South Venice. It’s located directly in front of the 700 foot Venice pier next door to Fin’s at Sharky’s. They offer live music, a lobster boil outside on the deck and a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico.

Their most popular menu items are blackened grouper, grouper sandwich, fresh fish of the day and nachos. We would highly recommend coming for a lobster boil right on Venice beach.

There is outdoor seating on the deck, air conditioned indoor seating and a tiki hut in case you came for the drinks. Check their events calendar to see who’s playing live music. To avoid a long wait, make a reservation before you come.

Crow’s Nest Restaurant, Tavern & Marina

1968 Tarpon Center Dr, Venice, FL

Crow’s Nest Restaurant is among the best waterfront restaurants in Venice, FL. It’s also one of the closest to downtown Venice. They offer two different waterfront dining experiences.

The lower level is a tavern with great views. Sit at the tables closest to the windows for the best view. The tavern also has its own menu and tends to get crowded.

The upper level is an upscale dining room with water views from almost every table. The floor is raised the further away you get from the windows. So everyone gets an excellent view of the water.

The most popular menu items are clam chowder, scallop salad, seafood bouillabaisse, stone crab claws and Key Largo grouper. Top off the night with a slice of key lime pie. It’s definitely on our list of the best lunch places near Sarasota.

Dockside Waterfront Grill

509 N Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL

Dockside Waterfront Grill offers outdoor dining on the water with beautiful views of sailboats and yachts. Since it faces the Northwest, the sunset views are spectacular. There are no other Venice restaurants on the water like this. Especially since many tables are within 1-2 feet of the water.

Popular menu items are the grouper sandwich, seafood chowder, New England clam chowder, grilled scallops, blackened corvina, french dip, shrimp tacos, grouper tacos and any fish tacos.

While they don’t accept reservations, they do have an online waitlist. Expect a 5-10 minute wait. For 6-8 people or during peak times, expect a 20-30 minute wait. If you’re looking for a dockside restaurant near Sarasota, this is it. Since it is a dockside grill, you can also pull up by boat.

This dockside restaurant in Venice, Florida is not affiliated with Dry Dock Longboat Key or Dockside Grill Punta Gorda.

Snook Haven

5000 E Venice Ave, Venice, FL

Snook Haven is a waterfront restaurant in Venice that’s right on the Myakka River. Nothing says “Old Florida” like driving a mile on a dirt road to get there. If you’re looking for live music or their banjo schedule, check out their entertainment schedule online.

Popular menu items are gator bites, brisket sandwich, friend catfish sandwich, smoked meats, friend green tomatoes, chicken wings and their amazing homemade chips.

This is one of the best restaurants in Venice, Florida to experience “Old Florida”. The days before high rise hotels and 100’s of traffic circles. They also offer boat rides and have a canoe launch. Did we mention it’s right on the water?

Pelican Alley

1009 Albee Rd W, Nokomis, FL

Pelican Alley is a fun place to eat with live music on the Intracoastal Waterway. They’re known for their water views and live entertainment. Since it’s right across the bridge from Casey Key, it does get very busy. We recommend dining late and calling to make a reservation.

Popular menu items are seafood chowder, stuffed shrimp with crab meat, red snapper sandwich and the baked potato. The burger was okay and we recommend skipping the crab cakes.

And if you’re looking for nearby open air bars, Pop’s Sunset Grill is next door! Pelican Alley also has excellent reviews!

Pop’s Sunset Grill

112 Circuit Rd, Nokomis, FL

Pop’s Sunset Grill offers a waterfront dining experience on the Intercoastal Waterway. While 70% of the tables have a water view, the best views are on the lower level. This is among the outdoor restaurants made for people who love watching boats come and go.

Popular menu items are the Grouper reuben, coconut shrimp, shrimp Rangoon., mango rub shrimp skewers, shrimp steam pot and crab cakes. If you’re planning to come for the sunset, request a table with a fire pit in the middle.

Since they have a dock, it can be reached by land or boat. If you’re into live entertainment, check out their live music calendar. Pop’s Sunset Grill is definitely on our favorite list of tiki bars near Sarasota.

Nokomo’s Sunset Hut

690 S Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, FL

Nokomo’s Sunset Hut is a waterfront dining Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Nokomis. It’s a fun place to eat on the water with live entertainment. They don’t take reservations, so expect a 30-60 minute wait.

Popular menu items are mahi mahi tacos, pulled pork nachos, pulled pork luau, lobster roll and flat breads. We would also recommend trying their pineapple cole slaw, pineapple cake and key lime pie. Make sure to try their famous bloody mary’s.

While it’s on our list of Sarasota restaurants on the beach, the beach area is tiny. So while your kids can play in the sand here, there are technically better places for that.

Waterfrontoo

2205 N Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, FL

Many people call it the “Waterfront Too restaurant” or “waterfront 2”, but it’s actually Waterfrontoo. While it’s considered a waterfront restaurant in Nokomis, FL, the view is just okay. The upper deck has a few tables overlooking a small canal.

Popular menu items are the grilled grouper, prime rib, escargot, coconut shrimp, chopped steak and their famous beer bread!

Since it is facing West, we would highly recommend coming for the sunset. While they have a great dinner menu, they also offer a Sunset Menu 4-5:30pm. Their early bird dining menu is fabulous and discounted. No reservations. You can also come by boat.

Tarpon Point Grill and Marina

121 Playmore Dr, Venice, FL

Tarpon Point Grill and Marina is one of the newest waterfront restaurants in Venice (2021). It’s located directly on Myakka River and took the place of Myakka River Oyster Bar. It’s got lots of outdoor seating right by the water.

They completely renovated the outside patio area. There are new wooden tables a few feet from the water, with their own tiki hut roofs. Since they have their own docks, you can also come by boat.

Popular menu items are their firecracker shrimp tacos, coconut shrimp and oysters Rockefeller.

Pinchers Venice

900 Venetia Bay Blvd, Venice, FL

Pinchers is a seafood restaurant on the water in Venice, Florida. It offers outside seating with views of a small pond or indoor seating with air conditioning. Pinchers has many locations in Lakewood Ranch, Fort Myers and around Florida.

Popular menu items are crab dip, stuffed grouper, grouper sandwich, steamed clams and stone crab claws (during season). We would recommend coming for happy hour and a few sangria’s. But as we mentioned, it’s on a pond.

Old Salty Dog Venice

1485 S Tamiami Trail, Venice, FL

The Old Salty Dog is a restaurant with outdoor dining overlooking a marina. The marina is directly connected to the Intracoastal Waterway. It’s a great place to grab a quick bite to eat while sitting outside on their covered deck.

Popular menu item are their conch fritters, crab dip, mahi mahi wraps, grouper wraps and their grouper rueben sandwich. It’s nothing fancy, just a restaurant in Venice, FL on the water with great service. While this Old Salty Dog is located in Venice, FL, they do have many locations in Sarasota and Longboat Key.

Pilot House on Venice Beach

101 The Esplanade N, Venice, FL

Pilot House is one of the only Venice beach restaurants. It’s a small cafe that offers a quick bite to eat on the beach. They offer burgers, hot dogs, french fries and ice cream. It’s fast, cheap and not that greasy. While they do offer outdoor seating, most people just eat on Venice beach. Everybody loves their hot dogs.

Shark Tooth Beach Concessions

208 S Casey Key Rd, Nokomis, FL

Shark Tooth is a convenient waterfront cafe on Nokomis Beach. It’s a small restaurant that offers a quick bite to eat. It’s nothing fancy, but it has excellent shrimp tacos! They’re also known for their pulled pork sandwiches, brisket sandwich, burger, hot dogs and french fries.

If you’re looking to have lunch on the beach, this is the place. We recommend ordering an ice cold beer or margarita and watching the sunset. They have about a dozen chairs facing the Gulf of Mexico, so you can imagine the sunset view.

Jetty Jack’s

2000 Tarpon Center Dr #1042, Venice, FL

Jetty Jack’s is a tiny restaurant on the water located at the South Jetty on Venice Island. People usually order their hot dogs and ice cream. During the day, you’ll find lots of people fishing and others eating ice cream. However, it starts to get very busy about 30-45 minutes before the sunset.

You can walk on the South Jetty platform into the Gulf Mexico as the sun goes down. While it is one of the waterfront restaurants in Venice, it’s really just a place to get hot dogs and have a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico.

North Jetty Grille

1000 S Casey Key Rd, Nokomis, FL

North Jetty Grille is a small waterfront cafe on Nokomis beach. We would recommend ordering a cuban sandwich or Mahi Mahi sandwich. It’s a great place to have a cold beer and have a view of the jetty area. After eating, you can walk out into Gulf of Mexico on the North Jetty.

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