INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — It has been a few years since we reviewed Sonya’s – the fine dining restaurant at Disney’s resort in Wabasso – which we have always thought more than a bit overrated. So returning recently on a Tuesday evening for an overdue update, we were a bit taken aback to be told Sonya’s is only open Thursday through Sunday.
Guess we should have known that, but what to do? “Why don’t you try Shutters,” the hostess suggested. “The dishes are different, but the two restaurants use the same kitchen.”
Hmmm. If Sonya’s has invariably left us disappointed, what are the odds we are going to be thrilled with the resort’s casual restaurant? But given that the hour was getting late, and we were beyond hungry, we decided to give Shutter’s a try.
Lucky us. Shutter’s turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
On this evening, we were seated in a booth just in front of the open-kitchen, in a bright, large dining room with a lot of wood and nautical trimmings. No tablecloths here like Sonya’s.
But the wooden booths and tables – and the vaulted ceiling and sailboats – reminded us of a number of seaside restaurants where we have dined in the northeast.
Even before the waitress took our wine order, there were hot rolls on the table.
For starters, I decided to order the spinach and arugula salad ($5.99) and my husband opted for the baby iceberg wedge ($5.49).
Both salads were quite large. The spinach and arugula, which had diced tomato and feta crumbles, featured chunks of refreshing watermelon.
The deconstructed iceberg wedge was topped with blue cheese dressing, and had diced bacon, tomato crumbles, and onion, on the side.
Not sure that for this dish, deconstruction helps – but both salads were nice.
For entrées, I chose the citrus infused shrimp scampi ($18.99) and my husband went for the apple-bacon wrapped sea scallops ($18.99).
This was not your ordinary shrimp scampi, but consisted of butterflied shrimp set atop perfectly prepared linguini, tossed with white wine and a citrus and roasted garlic butter, accompanied by grilled crostini.
An excellent dish.
My husband’s four sea scallops were a thing of beauty, perfectly grilled, wrapped with bacon and set atop sautéed baby spinach, sweet onions, and swirl potatoes with a port wine syrup.
For my taste, the bacon slightly overwhelmed the scallops, but my husband loved them.
For dessert, we decided to try two of the house-made dishes – the key lime pie and the bread pudding ($5.49). The key lime pie was very creamy and a bit too sweet.
The bread pudding was another deconstructed dish with a crème anglaise, caramel sauce, and chocolate bits served on the side.
The warm bread pudding itself was wonderful. My vote would be to enjoy the bread pudding and skip the adornments, with the possible exception of the crème anglaise.
Dinner for two, with a modest bottle of wine, came to $100 before tax and tip. This is $20 – $30 less than a similar dinner in Sonya’s would cost, and you are likely to emerge happier.
The Shutter’s menu is more diverse than Sonya’s, offering a wide variety of options ranging from several multigrain flatbreads ($11.99 to $13.99) to burgers ($13.99) to mussels, clams or shrimp steamer buckets ($14.99). These dishes make this a great place to dine with kids or teens.
Shutter’s also plays host to brunch (adults, $23.99, children up to 9, $16.99) 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, Shutter’s is a pleasant place to dine, and probably an excellent choice for brunch. Next time, we will be more careful about the day of the week and give Sonya’s another try – but this year, we feel we did well in discovering Shutter’s.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
