Last Wednesday, my husband and I decided to try the sunset prix fixe at The Tides, long regarded as one of the island’s best restaurants.
From last year, I remembered that their summer deal – a salad and entrée for $15, along with wine by the glass for $4 – was extremely popular. They are offering the same special this year, so . . .
“. . . We’d better make a reservation,” I said. “Naah,” my husband demurred. “Their summer menu is only offered until 5:30. We’ll get there at 5. Surely at 5 there’ll be no trouble getting in.”
I don’t know who this Shirley is providing my husband with bad advice, but when we arrived at 5:02, the hostess informed us only a single table was unclaimed – a high-top in the patio bar. Since there were two couples coming up the walk behind us, we accepted the bar table instantly.
As it turned out, it was a beautiful night for al fresco dining. And while we found it hard to believe The Tides was packed at 5, a visit by my husband to the washroom found every inside room totally full. Amazing!
But perhaps not so amazing, given the quality of the dishes and wine being offered as part of this prix fixe.
While we enjoyed three different $4 wines (very decent) last year, this time we ordered a bottle of William Hill chardonnay for $22. A very good wine value. Then for starters, I ordered The Tides’ house salad and my husband opted for the BLT wedge. (A Caesar is also an option).
The house salad was a mix of baby field greens, tomatoes, red onion and cucumber. The BLT was a wedge of iceberg, with bacon, red onion, Maytag blue cheese crumbles, grape tomatoes, and buttermilk blue cheese.
Then for entrées, I opted for the Scottish salmon and my husband chose the filet mignon and shrimp combination. The other Sunset Menu entrée options were an exotic mushroom ravioli (sure sounded tempting), a chicken scaloppini Milanese, and the marinated grilled pork tenderloin,
The Scottish salmon was perfectly prepared in a potato crust, and was surrounded by a creamy dill sauce.
Equally high honors went to my husband’s mini surf-and-turf. The petite prime filet mignon was perfectly cooked rare, served with a peppercorn sauce, and the beef was accompanied by three crispy shrimp in a sauce gribiche. Excellent. The entrées both came with carrots, buttermilk mashed potatoes and haricots verts.
At this point, we were not really thinking dessert – but we finally decided to share a slice of the bread pudding ($8).
All told, with a very nice bottle of wine, the check for our party of two came to $62 with tax – pretty amazing for a meal of this caliber. If you stuck with salads and entrées, had a glass of wine each, and skipped the dessert, a party of two could actually dine well at The Tides for just over $40 before tip.
High season or low, The Tides continues to excel – consistently providing some of the best meals to be had anywhere in Florida.
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.