Southeast Volusia residents were surprised in late 2007 when local icon Sea Harvest Seafood abruptly closed its doors after more than 20 years. The owner traced the move back to damage from the 2004 hurricanes.
This restaurant and retail market, a favorite place for locals to eat fried fish and fried oyster sandwiches and maybe drink a beer or two while sitting outside on the Indian River, sat vacant and forlorn for more than a year.
Now the good times are back. Remodeled and renamed the Dolphin View Seafood Restaurant, the establishment reopened this past December with a new twist: grilled and blackened fish and shrimp along with the fried standbys.
News-Journal Senior Night Metro Editor Barry Gear and his wife, Marie, decided to meet for lunch recently to try a couple of the grilled offerings.
This restaurant and retail market, a favorite place for locals to eat fried fish and fried oyster sandwiches and maybe drink a beer or two while sitting outside on the Indian River, sat vacant and forlorn for more than a year.
Now the good times are back. Remodeled and renamed the Dolphin View Seafood Restaurant, the establishment reopened this past December with a new twist: grilled and blackened fish and shrimp along with the fried standbys.
News-Journal Senior Night Metro Editor Barry Gear and his wife, Marie, decided to meet for lunch recently to try a couple of the grilled offerings.
What's so good about this place?
Laid-back "old Florida" atmosphere, ample amounts of fresh seafood for reasonable prices and a spectacular view of the Indian River from a big bend of the Intracoastal Waterway.
This is a very casual establishment, with food ordered at a counter and taken home in plastic foam containers or eaten outside in baskets on wooden dockside tables or in an open air pavilion that features a tiki bar. All the seafood is bought from local wholesalers or fishermen.
What did you order?
Marie ordered the grilled mahi mahi dinner, which featured several
pieces of fish, hush puppies and coleslaw. Instead of the regular
waffle fries she got the special house "crazy flavored" rice,
apparently seasoned with turmeric and containing bits of tomato, green
pepper and onions. I had the grilled grouper sandwich basket, which
featured a hamburger bun, several pieces of grilled grouper, waffle
fries, a hush puppy and coleslaw. We shared sides of conch fritters and
sweet corn nuggets. We both had soft drinks - lemonade and diet cola --
which came with unlimited refills.
What did you think?
We loved our grilled fish -- it was fresh and tasted wonderful and I knew I was being sort of healthy for once, despite the fries. Marie blessed the house rice and said it went well with her grilled mahi. She also liked the shredded coleslaw, calling it "creamy." The hush puppies are first-rate, too, about the size of Ping-Pong balls, not too heavy and with a hint of sweetness.
I upgraded my waffle fries to the "Yukon Gold" version, which the house claims absorb 25 percent less oil. These upgraded waffle fries were worth the extra 99 cents, with much more flavor and crispness than the standard house version.
The corn nuggets -- "You have got to try them," the menu states -- were bursting with sweet corn and a very nice offbeat accompaniment, tiny little taste treats.
Marie remarked that the conch fritters, about the size of shooter marbles, were mighty tasty and full of conch bits, not just balls of fried batter. She liked them but thought the remoulade sauce was very spicy. I tried a couple without the sauce and found they are plenty spicy without it.
What else?
The Dolphin View also sells flounder, shrimp, scallops, oysters, clams and crab cakes in all kinds of combinations, along with hamburgers, veggie burgers and chicken, as well as a variety of salads on its "Healthy Choice Menu." The place recently started offering $5.99 lunch specials from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. that include a quarter pound flounder sandwich with fries and a soft drink, and wraps of grouper, mahi, shrimp or chicken with a soft drink. Beer is offered on tap or in the bottle; wine is available, too; and the tiki bar sells pre-mixed liquor drinks.
What about the cost?
Marie's mahi dinner was $10.95; the same price as my grouper sandwich basket. The conch fritters were $5.95, corn nuggets $2.50 (on sale), and the fries upgrade 99 cents. Our refillable soft drinks were $1.99 each. The total came to $37.92.
Dolphin View
WHERE: 107 N. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach.
HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sunday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Breakfast buffet 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS: Credit cards welcome. All dining outdoors. Shaded and pavilion tables available.
CONTACT: 386-402-8859; more info at dolphinviewseafood.com
Laid-back "old Florida" atmosphere, ample amounts of fresh seafood for reasonable prices and a spectacular view of the Indian River from a big bend of the Intracoastal Waterway.
This is a very casual establishment, with food ordered at a counter and taken home in plastic foam containers or eaten outside in baskets on wooden dockside tables or in an open air pavilion that features a tiki bar. All the seafood is bought from local wholesalers or fishermen.
What did you order?
Marie ordered the grilled mahi mahi dinner, which featured several
pieces of fish, hush puppies and coleslaw. Instead of the regular
waffle fries she got the special house "crazy flavored" rice,
apparently seasoned with turmeric and containing bits of tomato, green
pepper and onions. I had the grilled grouper sandwich basket, which
featured a hamburger bun, several pieces of grilled grouper, waffle
fries, a hush puppy and coleslaw. We shared sides of conch fritters and
sweet corn nuggets. We both had soft drinks - lemonade and diet cola --
which came with unlimited refills. What did you think?
We loved our grilled fish -- it was fresh and tasted wonderful and I knew I was being sort of healthy for once, despite the fries. Marie blessed the house rice and said it went well with her grilled mahi. She also liked the shredded coleslaw, calling it "creamy." The hush puppies are first-rate, too, about the size of Ping-Pong balls, not too heavy and with a hint of sweetness.
I upgraded my waffle fries to the "Yukon Gold" version, which the house claims absorb 25 percent less oil. These upgraded waffle fries were worth the extra 99 cents, with much more flavor and crispness than the standard house version.
The corn nuggets -- "You have got to try them," the menu states -- were bursting with sweet corn and a very nice offbeat accompaniment, tiny little taste treats.
Marie remarked that the conch fritters, about the size of shooter marbles, were mighty tasty and full of conch bits, not just balls of fried batter. She liked them but thought the remoulade sauce was very spicy. I tried a couple without the sauce and found they are plenty spicy without it.
What else?
The Dolphin View also sells flounder, shrimp, scallops, oysters, clams and crab cakes in all kinds of combinations, along with hamburgers, veggie burgers and chicken, as well as a variety of salads on its "Healthy Choice Menu." The place recently started offering $5.99 lunch specials from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. that include a quarter pound flounder sandwich with fries and a soft drink, and wraps of grouper, mahi, shrimp or chicken with a soft drink. Beer is offered on tap or in the bottle; wine is available, too; and the tiki bar sells pre-mixed liquor drinks.
What about the cost?
Marie's mahi dinner was $10.95; the same price as my grouper sandwich basket. The conch fritters were $5.95, corn nuggets $2.50 (on sale), and the fries upgrade 99 cents. Our refillable soft drinks were $1.99 each. The total came to $37.92.
Dolphin View
WHERE: 107 N. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach.
HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sunday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Breakfast buffet 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
MISCELLANEOUS: Credit cards welcome. All dining outdoors. Shaded and pavilion tables available.
CONTACT: 386-402-8859; more info at dolphinviewseafood.com
