The sun begins to sink into the Gulf, turning the white sand of Bradenton Beach gold in the late afternoon light. As its descent quickens, the sky becomes increasingly dramatic, fiery streaks of red and orange giving way to a purple glow as the last embers of the sunset burn away. There is a feeling that comes with a day on the beach, an energy that propels you into the night. Like the last bit of sand between your toes or the salt water in your hair, the sun seems to stick in your bones, living on inside your mind, replaying the simple beauty of the day. It’s a specific, magical feeling that can only be felt by those who have had a day spent at the beach—or walked through the doors at the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant. Located smack dab in the middle of Bradenton Beach, the Beach House has been serving up the fresh flavors of the Gulf since its initial revamping from the Harbor House restaurant in 1993. In the summer of 2024, the Beach House underwent another change after being purchased by Beachside Hospitality Group. “Six weeks later we were ravaged by the hurricane, which, if we’re trying to be optimistic about it, gave us the opportunity to put our own personal touch on the place,” says Daniel Sullivan, director of Southwest operations for Beachside Hospitality. “We put in new floors, a fresh coat of paint and just tried to brighten up the dining room a little bit so that it wasn’t so dark. We also spruced up the outside dining area and (at the time of interview) are almost finished with our outdoor bar.”

The team at the Beach House knows what their customers want. They want to eat fresh fish, sourced straight from the Gulf. They want to dine in front of pristine beach front views. Most of all, however, they want to retain that feeling of beachside magic. For the kitchen staff and diners alike, it’s an experience that begins with the food. Start your meal with the crispy brussels, an appetizer that is sure to get your taste buds firing on overdrive. Brussels sprouts are halved and roasted with a sticky, sweet soy plum glaze, before being topped with a generous dousing of Sriracha aioli and fried shallots. The result is a dish that will make even the pickiest vegetable eaters a fan of brussels sprouts and will have diners licking their fingers, wondering just how the plate was cleaned so quickly. 

There is a secret to the chicken Florentine, an unctuous, decadent dish served atop a bed of mashed potatoes submerged in a parmesan cream sauce. “Always brine your chicken,” says Executive Chef Cherry Carreon. “I use a lot of stuff in my brine including fennel seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and fresh fennel. When you cook the chicken, even if it’s good, if it’s not brined then it’s dry inside. If you brine it, it’s tender inside and has flavor.” The chicken breast, crusted with a concoction of panko, parmesan, chili flakes and herbs, is juicy and flavorful, grounding the entire dish. The parmesan cream sauce, however, is what takes the plate to another level—wild mushrooms are sauteed with pungent heirloom tomatoes and spinach before parmesan cheese and cream are folded in. 

Balancing four kinds of fish in one dish is no easy task. But for Chef Carreon, it’s all in the sauce. The seafood pasta features shrimp, sea scallops, jumbo lump crab and fresh fish all served on a bed of buccatini and topped with a piece of delightfully chewy focaccia bread. Making this dish possible, however, is the fresh basil marinara sauce, where heavy notes of garlic and fresh fennel make the sweet tomatoes sing. The sauce is the perfect partner in crime to the seafood, sauteed and basted with white wine, adding just enough acidity to allow the flavors of the sea to all shine in their own right. 

Although the Chilean sea bass is a decidedly not local fish, it’s one that is likely to be a mainstay on Beach House’s menu for quite some time. Delicate, flakey, buttery Chilean sea bass is lightly seared before being cooked in a parmesan crust, adding a crunchy layer of umami flavoring to every bite. A drizzle of beurre blanc sauce over the sea bass and accompanying asparagus adds a creamy, luxurious finish. The dish wouldn’t be complete without sweet, floral, coconut jasmine rice. “We cook the rice with coconut milk, before adding in sauteed ginger, red pepper and coconut cream to make it sweet,” says Carreon. The stuffed combo is an ode to the Gulf, where fresh Gulf grouper and royal red shrimp delicately sauteed in lobster stock and filled with a seafood stuffing that features shrimp, crab meat and herbs, bound together by a garlic herb mayonnaise. Served alongside sprigs of grilled asparagus, that sweet coconut rice and a wine cream sauce, the stuffed combo is a different approach to the classic flavors of Sarasota. 

Chef Carreon is not one to waste resources. The honey fig glazed salmon uses the leftover figs that the staff use to make the fig and vanilla old-fashioned—cooked down with honey and calabrian chili peppers to create a beautifully sweet glaze with just a touch of heat that is slathered atop the grilled salmon. Paired with sauteed mushrooms, spinach and roasted potatoes, the honey fig glazed salmon is a wonderfully simple dish that is a testament to the classic pairing of savory and sweet. 

The Beach House is not just about the entrees and appetizers however. Both the kitchen and the bar staff take their desserts and drinks just as seriously. Good key lime pie makes you smile. Great key lime pie makes you wonder why you ever have any other kind of pie—that’s the kind that Beach House serves, topped with a sweet drizzle of raspberry puree that adds a touch of sweetness to the creamy, tart delicacy. 

The beachside crush is a sweet, nectarious cocktail, almost akin to a jolly rancher candy but in liquid form. Tito’s vodka cuts through a base of muddled lemons, agave nectar, cranberry juice and peach schnapps. Club soda gives the drink a distinctive fizz. If you’re feeling like a king, try the Elvis on the beach. A dreamy creation built upon the base of Beach House’s signature frozen pina colada, the cocktail is decidedly sweet, but not overpowering. A float of Gosling’s Black Rum balances nicely with the inclusion of Hard Truth peanut butter whiskey, which gives the drink a kick of rock and roll.