Whenever you’re craving a dinner featuring some of the local seafood delicacies that Anna Maria Island is well known for, the Blue Marlin Restaurant is where you’ll find plenty of them. This top tier Anna Maria Island Restaurant is located in the community of Bradenton Beach on historic Bridge Street. Started in 2011 by highly experienced restauranteur and fisherman Adam Ellis and his wife, the purpose of his new venture was to offer the most incredible local seafood that he was so familiar with to the Anna Maria Island community and travelers, made with a true culinary passion and inspired creativity.
Location: 121 Bridge St, Bradenton Beach, FL
Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., open to 9 p.m. on Sundays
Ellis purchased a 1920s cottage in the historic Bridge Street area and performed a remarkable restoration, incorporating benches and tables built from recycled dock wood and nautical décor such as oars and ship lanterns scattered throughout the restaurant. They retained and restored the original wood flooring of the cottage as well. The current interior features a warm, inviting and charming ocean-themed atmosphere that is certainly one of the highlights of the restaurant.
Most importantly, the seafood here is extraordinarily well done and always guaranteed to be perfectly made, fresh and delicious. The owner goes out every day to purchase the highest quality local fish and seafood for his restaurant from career fishermen in the historic fishing village of Cortez right next door. There are few places on the island where you’ll find this combination of locally sourced seafood, expert culinary skill and a genuinely committed owner who strives for perfection with all of his restaurant’s outstanding menu offerings.
Delectable and expertly prepared local seafood dishes
At the Blue Marlin, you can choose from some expertly prepared mouthwatering seafood dishes, all made with the freshest ingredients. Just a quick look at the menu is enough to spark your appetite with appetizer choices that include the Cortez cracker shrimp (local Gulf shrimp dusted with Cajun spiced cornmeal, seared and served with chipotle mayo), or Tampa steamed clams in a garlic and white wine butter served with bacon.
Delicate smoked fish sourced from the village of Cortez is also served when it is seasonally available with baby pickles, red onions, and cream cheese to enhance the flavor. Other choices include Gulf garlic shrimp seared in olive oil and seasoned with lime and red pepper flakes, or Gulf shrimp, pork and chicken egg rolls.
Try the catch of the day three different ways
Choose three different options: Fulford, Pecan and Thai for the catch of the day, hand-selected from local fishermen in the village of Cortez. Sandwich options include a grouper sandwich with baby greens, fried green tomatoes, and fresh local vegetables or a signature Blue Marlin burger.
The Cortez Boil includes Tampa bay clams and huge Gulf shrimp in a potato, corn and chorizo seafood broth. Traditional southern Gulf shrimp and grits are on the menu of course, along with a Florida clam linguini with a white wine and garlic butter sauce or a blackened Catch of the Day in an alfredo and basil pesto sauce.
Add fish, shrimp or filet to any of the salads including a house salad, Junie’s salad with tomatoes, red onion, mixed greens, cucumbers, and feta in a homemade roasted tomato vinaigrette, or the Blue Marlin salad with blue cheese, pecans, mixed greens, and a homemade balsamic honey vinaigrette.
The freshest local seafood, guaranteed
You won’t get seafood and vegetables any fresher than what you’ll find at the Blue Marlin, as it is literally caught just hours before you arrive at the restaurant and then prepared by experienced and skilled chefs who love what they do. Their passion for cooking shows in each and every dish that you’ll order there. Find out why this little restored cottage has become one of the most famous local seafood restaurants on Anna Maria Island, and get the Blue Marlin experience the next time you are staying at one of our Anna Maria Island vacation rentals.
