Where to eat: 10 essential restaurants in Vero Beach include Ocean Grill, Penny Hill Subs
Bucket-list restaurants in Vero Beach are legendary and beloved, whether it be for the food or for the views — or both. They can be found downtown, on the beach by the Atlantic Ocean, on the water by the Indian River Lagoon.
When you think of Vero Beach, you think of these restaurants.
The city has too many must-visit restaurants to include them all, so TCPalm plans to publish more of these lists in the future. If you have a restaurant you think should be included in the next round — for Vero Beach or any other Treasure Coast city — email laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
Here are 10 essential restaurants in Vero Beach.
Owner Casey Steil opened Casey's Place in 1981 near State Road A1A in Vero Beach. The restaurant is a block from the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It has walk-up window service and outside patio tables with umbrellas. It serves sandwiches, fries, salads and even breakfast items, but it's best known for its burgers. Choose from seven different kinds, including chili cheese and bacon blue cheese. They're all 6 ounces of USDA choice Black Angus chuck, cooked to order, and you can make it a double or triple. Expect a wait at this popular spot, especially during season.
917 Azalea Lane, Vero Beach; 772-231-4790; caseysplace.net
C.J. Cannon's Restaurant and Lounge opened in 1984 at the Vero Beach Regional Airport, allowing diners to watch planes take off from and land on the runway. It's run by owners Chuck Cannon and his mother, Pat. It's described as a casual restaurant with an American-Southern menu specializing in comfort foods. The decor includes retro aircraft memorabilia, celebrity autographs, pictures and history scattered on the walls. The restaurant would be the best view to see the Navy Blue Angels fly during the Vero Beach Air Show, but it closes during the event, held every two years.
3414 Cherokee Drive, Vero Beach; 772-567-7727; cjcannonsrestaurant.com
Cobalt is an oceanfront restaurant at the Kimpton Vero Beach Hotel & Spa. It's just steps from the beach with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean from inside the restaurant or outside, especially around one of its fire pits on the outdoor patio during its popular weekend brunch or happy hour from 3-5 p.m. daily on draft beer, house wines and appetizers. Chef Matt Lange's menu features fresh and local ingredients paired with a selection from its extensive wine list or cocktail menu.
3500 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach; 772-469-1060; cobaltrestaurant.com
Chef Mitchell Weiss and his family, who have been in the restaurant industry for over two decades, opened Fishack bar and restaurant in 2011. It specializes in what it calls "hook-to-table" seafood cuisine. The atmosphere is casual and colorful with indoor and outdoor seating. The made-from-scratch menu has a variety of seafood dishes, po' boys, tacos, chowders and raw oysters. Specialties include crab cakes, shrimp and grits, crusted sea scallops, fish and chips, and the "Shackterranean" mahi.
1931 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach; 772-770-0977; fishackverobeach.com
Linda Moore and Rick Norry opened Kilted Mermaid in 2011 on Old Dixie Highway. It's a neighborhood bar with live music where diners can choose between a warm, cozy atmosphere inside and a covered patio outside. It features over 25 local and global wines by the glass and over 80 craft and import beers. Pair them with artisan cheeses or cheese and chocolate fondues, as well as flatbreads, sandwiches, salads and small plates. It serves classic Irish staples year-round, including shepherd's pie. On St. Patrick's Day only, it doles out hundreds, maybe thousands, of Irish hot pockets: corned beef, cabbage, stone-ground mustard and Swiss cheese in a puff pastry.
1937 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach; 772-569-5533; kiltedmermaid.com
Ocean Grill, a steak and seafood restaurant, is one of Vero Beach pioneer Waldo Sexton's historic landmarks. It was built with mahogany, pecky cypress, wrought iron and Spanish antiques, and it opened on New Year's Eve in 1941. Three generations of the Replogle family have been running the restaurant since 1965. In addition to an upscale menu, there's a gift shop that sells appetizers, dressings, seasonings, desserts and to-go drinks. It's known to get decked out for the holidays with Christmas trees, lights and decorations.
1050 Beachland Blvd., Vero Beach; 772-231-5409; ocean-grill.com
Penny Hill Subs has been serving subs, salads and gyros since 1993. The sandwich shop's location on Beachland Boulevard closed in 2022, and its location on Old Dixie Highway came under new ownership in 2024. It bakes its own bread fresh daily and uses local ingredients. Popular subs include the Italian, the California club and the Monte Carlo, as well as the "Healthy Habit" with turkey breast, alfalfa sprouts, grated carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, blended oils, vinegar, salt, pepper and its unique cherry pepper relish.
1179 Old Dixie Highway, Vero Beach; 772-567-0043; pennyhillsubsfl.com
Riverside Cafe is a waterfront restaurant on the Indian River Lagoon at the base of the Merrill P. Barber Bridge, where people can dock and dine and watch the sunset. It's country music star Jake Owen's favorite hometown hangout. He got his start singing at the cafe and has remained friends with owners David and Ellen Lane. He shot scenes there for his "American Country Love Song" music video, and he often stops unannounced at the restaurant when he is in town. Its menu ranges from comfy finger foods and classic sandwiches to semi-formal entrees of fresh fish and steaks.
3341 Bridge Plaza Drive, Vero Beach; 772-234-5550; riversidecafe.com
Chef Leanne Kelleher opened The Tides restaurant in 2000 on Cardinal Drive in Central Beach on the barrier island. It's moving temporarily to a new office complex next to the 7-Eleven on South A1A while her old restaurant is razed and rebuilt. The fine dining restaurant features a distinct menu of Floridian and New American cuisine with Southern, Latin, Caribbean and classical French influences for the freshest seafood and the finest quality meats, as well as locally grown and organically raised vegetables and fruits.
Waldo's Restaurant & Bar, located inside the historic Driftwood Inn, is one of Vero Beach pioneer Waldo Sexton's historic landmarks. Sexton first came to Vero Beach in the 1920s and started building the Driftwood Inn out of the timbers of a dairy barn destroyed in a storm. Finished in 1935, it was supposed to be a family beach house. However, after many requests for rooms because of limited hotel options in the area, it expanded into the Driftwood Resort with an oceanfront restaurant and bar. It has indoor and outdoor seating with a guest-only pool in the middle, live music on the weekends and a wooden deck that sits on the beach.
3150 Ocean Drive, Vero Beach; 772-231-7091; historicwaldos.com
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Where to eat: 10 essential restaurants in Vero Beach for food, views
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