SEBASTIAN — The Beach House is a little gem of a restaurant in the Village Square area off US 1, just south of Main Street. The restaurant, open for both lunch and dinner, is located in one of the shops at the rear of the square.
Open for about four months, it occupies the spot of the former Las Palmas Cuban Restaurant.
The restaurant is bright, cheerful and has a porch overlooking a small pond which is where my wife and I and two friends found ourselves on a recent Saturday night.
The weather was great and the table was cozily tucked at the end of the porch.
The Beach House offers a nice variety of wines and beers, both on tap and in the bottle. I particularly liked the Lagunitas Brewing (Peteluma, Calif.) Rich Copper Ale.
I’ll be upfront about The Beach House. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it – from the great staff and inexpensive menu to the quality of the food and the relaxed atmosphere, something emphasized in its slogan, “Casual dining in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.”
As the sun started to set, we set our sights on the “Testing the Waters” (appetizers) part of the menu. We opted for beer-battered onion rings ($5.95), garlic parmesan wings ($6.95) and the corn fritters ($3.95).
The appetizers arrived in quick order.
The nicely fried onion rings were large, not greasy and piping hot. No complaints from anyone there. The eight garlic parmesan wings were my favorite.
It was a great blend and made the chunky wings and legs particularly savory. I’m really not a wings fan, but plan to order these the next time I’m at The Beach House.
The corn fritters were hush-puppy-sized fritters lightly fried with whole kernels of corn and accompanied by maple syrup for dipping. The maple syrup was a great side to the fritters and heads around the table nodded happily as we attacked this appetizer.
Another thumbs up.
For dinner, I went with a beach burger, a one-third pound burger ($7.95), done medium well with French fries and coleslaw. My wife opted for the macaroni and cheese ($8.95) with potato salad and garlic toast.
One friend decided on the fish ‘n chips ($9.95) with fries, hush puppies and coleslaw. Her husband selected the beer-breaded shrimp ($9.95) and potato salad.
I found my burger to be perfectly cooked and tasty. It came medium/well and from the size of it I think the kitchen might have made a mistake, serving me the 1/2-pound burger rather than the 1/3-pound menu item. The burger came with fries that weren’t thin or fried potato wedges.
Instead, they were more sculptured and chunky than typical fries and sparked a debate at the table whether we could call them crinkle fires.
We didn’t and I was glad I picked them.
My wife really enjoyed her macaroni and cheese.
“It’s comfort food and really cheesy,” she said. The dish was not huge, which was a good thing considering all the cheese. It was enough to keep hunger at bay and end the night without feeling bloated and waddling out of the restaurant.
The shrimp was lightly breaded and very good, said one of our companions. He noted how large they were and even suggested to the waiter that the restaurant could have easily gotten away with serving just six of the big boys rather than eight.
Three of our meals arrived right on time. Our second companion was puzzled by why it was taking so long for her fish ‘n chips to arrive when the other three dishes arrived hot and together.
The waiter noted the delay, apologized and assured her the fish would be along shortly.
The fish ‘n chips arrived and were everything our companion was looking for – a crisp coating without being greasy and a moist and flaky filet. She also got those wonderful sculptured fries.
As we wound down our meal, the cook arrived at our table and apologized for the delay in getting out the fish ‘n chips. One piece of fish broke as she took it from the fryer and she didn’t want to serve it broken so she started over. The explanation was appreciated.
The delay really didn’t impact anyone’s enjoyment at the table because the night was so nice and we were on that oh-so-pleasant porch.
Dinner at The Beach House won’t break the bank or even dent your wallet.
No item on the menu tops $10. It’s a good place for a nice, inexpensive night out in comfortable surroundings.
Dinner for two with a couple of appetizers and drinks will run $50 with tip for two, a very reasonable fare for food that is so nicely done.
The dining room also includes a very inviting bar with a good number of beers on tap and plenty in bottles.
While nowhere near the beach, The Beach House has an on-vacation feel without on-vacation prices. I’d just like to see them add a few more tables to that great porch.
Although it doesn’t jump out at you and takes some work to find, it is worth the effort.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Sebastian River News.
