SEBASTIAN — Paul Skyland was performing a range of songs from Jimmy Buffet and Dan Fogelberg to the Righteous Brothers and his own tunes on the Tiki Bar & Grill stage on a recent Tuesday night.
The audience was paying attention and Skyland was storytelling between songs. A breeze from the Indian River Lagoon couldn’t beat back the temperature that hung in the upper 80s or the humidity, but that didn’t bother the patrons.
The heck with the temperature. They were enjoying Skyland, their drinks, their food and waters of the Indian River Lagoon.
That’s the nice thing about the Tiki Bar and Grill on Indian River Drive in Sebastian. It’s a great place to go for lunch, dinner or just to hear the music which is live four nights a week and karaoke or DJ two other nights.
The only night without entertainment is Monday.
We were in no rush to eat so we ordered beers with appetizers and settled back to listen to Skyland.
The Tiki Bar and Grill (formerly Suzy’s Tiki Hut) continues to add features and tables since our first visit there two years ago.
Our appetizers, nachos ($7.50) and chicken quesadilla ($9) arrived and we dug in. The nachos were a multicolored mix of blue, red and tan chips smothered in beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, jalapenos and sour cream. My two companions and I liked them although I would vote they increase the beef and the cheese.
They certainly didn’t skimp on the jalapenos, a feature I really liked.
The chicken quesadilla featured two large flour tortillas and stuffed with chicken and cheese. It came with sour cream and salsa. I really liked it and would suggest the chicken quesadilla is certainly more than enough of a dinner for one person.
I ordered the fish tacos ($9) for dinner, a companion ordered the fish and chips ($8.50) and her husband settled on the Philly cheese steak ($8.50).
The two fish tacos – a mix of blackened mahi-mahi, onions and cheese – came with spinach, tomatoes and tartar sauce for stuffing. They were very good.
The mahi-mahi was moist and very hot. I’m not a fan of tartar sauce but I tried it on the tacos and it really pumped up the flavor.
My dish came with two sides. I ordered the potato salad and cold slaw and was satisfied with both of them.
One of my companions gave a hearty thumbs up to the Philly cheese steak which came covered in onions and mushrooms under a melted blanket of mozzarella.
His only complaint was that although it was a good the large sandwich was messy to eat. So, if you order it have extra napkins ready.
His wife liked her fish, but didn’t like the chips, which were standard French fries. Her major complaint was that while her fish was piping hot, the fries were just warm.
She put the fish away quickly, but just picked at the chips before finally pushing them away.
Chips aside, we didn’t regret stopping at the Tiki Bar and Grill. My companion kept asking his wife why he never knew the restaurant was there. He said now that he does he will be back.
The price for appetizers, drinks and dinner for the three of us was $64 without tip. That’s not a hefty bill for the lagoon setting, the good music and the food.
It’s hard to argue with that combination, but my companion’s endorsement of the Tiki Bar and Grill just confirmed what I learned two years ago after the new owners – Chris Pinson, John Campbell and Dawn Biehl – bought the place.
We’ll be back.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of the Sebastian River News.
