INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Perhaps because it’s a bit out of the way at the northern end of our island, Disney’s resort offers visitors a choice of two restaurants – one formal, one casual.
As we noted in the 32963 Dining Guide, the more formal of the two, Sonya’s, is certainly one of Vero’s better restaurants, very conveniently located for residents who live from Indian River Shores north to Windsor.
But the casual restaurant, Shutters, with a lot of wood and nautical trimmings, is a pleasant place to dine as well, reminiscent of a number of seaside spots where we have dined in the northeast.
While the dishes served by the two restaurants are different, they share a common open kitchen – and the food in both Sonya’s and Shutters is prepared to the same high standard.
The service in Shutters is attentive as well. On our most recent visit, even before the waitress took our wine order, there were hot rolls on the table.
For starters, I decided to order Shutters house salad ($5.99) and my husband opted for the chopped iceberg salad ($5.99).
Both salads were quite large. The house salad consisted of mixed greens, topped with golden raisins, toasted pumpkin seeds, orange sections, and dressed with zinfandel vinaigrette.
The chopped iceberg was topped with creamy herb ranch dressing, tomato, cucumber, avocados and radish. Both salads were nice.
For entrées, I chose the pan-roasted shrimp scampi and linguine ($19.99) and my husband went for the catch of the day, which on this occasion was dolphin ($21.99).
This was not your ordinary shrimp scampi, but consisted of butterflied shrimp set atop perfectly prepared linguini, tossed with capers, sundried tomato and spinach in a lemon wine cream sauce. An excellent dish.
My husband’s dolphin was perfectly grilled, and served with creamy grits, Andouille sausage and tomato chutney.
On this evening, we decided to forego dessert, but know from previous visits that Shutters house-made dishes provide a dependably wonderful end to any meal.
Dinner for two, with a modest bottle of wine, came to $105 before tax and tip. This is $20 – $30 less than a similar dinner in Sonya’s would cost.
The Shutters’s menu is more diverse than Sonya’s, offering a wide variety of options ranging from several multigrain flatbreads to burgers to mussels, clams or shrimp steamer buckets. These dishes make this a great place to dine with kids or teens.
Shutters also plays host to brunch each Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to the wide variety of breakfast dishes, the brunch features complimentary champagne, mimosas, and Bloody Marys.
Bottom line, Shutters is one of the better casual dining places around, and probably an excellent choice for brunch.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
