Haven't been down since COVID. What are the best upscale dinning venues in Port A these days?

Black Marlin in Palmilla is great.

Phoenix is a favorite

Roosevelt's as well

No upscale, but I like Castaways.
If it matters, the owner was a good friend of NW80's. He and his family took his dog in after he passed. Him and his boys also fired his ashes out of their shotguns.

Venetian Hot Plate is a nice Italian restaurant. Call ahead for reservations. They are usually very busy. Without a reservation, you will not be able to get a table because of the limited seating capacity.

For us and we eat there a lot. Several places that we usually frequent:

The Phoenix.....Al Fresco only for us! Inside is very small and loud.

Lisa Bella's

Roosevelt's...The 1886 bar is nice. It is located where Beulah's was originally.You can order appetizers etc from Roosevelt's

La Playa is really good but hard to get in. First seating means go by about 4:15 and sign up...entire party be there at 5:00.

Venetian Hot Plate is good if you like Italian.

Beach & Station Street is a favorite but haven't been in years.

NW80 loved Jay's boys. Someone told me the last time I was down that Jay had sold Castaway's. I don't know if that's correct.

It was pretty good. It's now parking for the Blue Cowboy and Crazy Cajun

Take the ferry across to Rockport and go to 495 Chesapeake Eats.

Crazy Cajun is in a class of its own. Love it!

Just ate at Roosevelt's and Venetian Hot Plate this weekend. Both were great and the 1886 bar by Roosevelt's was nice too.

torn down

La Playa is your best bet!

Venetian hat plate or Grumbles .

Tortugas

Jetty said:

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Venetian hat plate or Grumbles .

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Grumbles is awful.

southernboy1 said:

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Crazy Cajun is in a class of its own. Love it!

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Loved this place.

If someone wanted a list of where not to eat Grumbles would be #1 on my list.

Pedro Cerrano said:

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La Playa is your best bet!

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Crab enchiladas

Make the drive over to The Cheetah Club in Corpus. Fine dining.

Two or three times a year we will head to Corpus and eat at Yardarm.....Pretty unique. It you get a reservation and pull into the address and say, "This can't be it."

It is!

Some buds and I went fishing out of Bluff's Landing (Flour Bluff) last week... ...went to the land cut with a guide and did well. On the guide's recommendation we took some of our speck catch over to Black Diamond Oyster Bar (also in Flour Bluff) and they fried it up for us that night. It had been many years since I had eaten a meal at BDOB so I didn't know what to expect, but it was absolutely outstanding, as was the rest of the food. It's definitely not a fancy place but we had an excellent meal there - actually way better than any I had at multiple restaurants during two stays at Port A earlier this summer.

Tortuga's and Black Marlin, two of the best in Port A, can both be booked via OpenTable. Both are excellent, but you need to be on time or they will cancel your reservation. If you go to Tortuga's, don't fall for the South American fish. Eat the local and fresh seafood. Their seafood fondue (or something like that) is a great starter. On my last visit to Black Marlin, I was served perfectly blackened redfish. It was perfect! At both, the grit cakes are fantastic. If they don't come with your meal, order a side.

Phoenix is great. Fantastic food. You can call and get reservations. I've only eaten outside and never seen the interior.

Venetian is good Italian. Like mentioned you will need reservations to get in.

Roosevelt's is more of a special occasion restaurant. If you want to dress up, this is the place for you. The 1886 bar next door is a good place to start or finish.

MacDaddy's is good and has a wide selection. I know they have BBQ, which is surprisingly good, and plenty of other classics. It's simple food for the most part but excellent.

Blue Water Cowboy is nice with a small menu. It's a good balance between a place where you want to eat AND drink as it has a nice neon vibe to it. Interior is nice. It might be owned by an Aggie based on the decor.

Crazy Cajun is a classic if you want boiled food. Think shrimp, crawfish, potatoes, corn, etc.

LaPlaya is above average with a more diverse menu than TexMex restaurants and is usually crowded.

If you want to sit by the water, Fin's and Grumbles are decent. You'll need to request a view of the water if you want it at Fin's. Fin's is sit-down service. Grumbles is counter service with a full bar. You get to choose your own table.

Virginia's? On the water? Yep. Will you get a view? Who knows. Food any good? Nope.

Stingray's is a good place to watch a ball game. I'd recommend simple foods and drinks. The rum bucket will take you out.

Irie's is casual and good for fried Gulf Coast seafood. They use a heavy, probably Panko, batter. Fried shrimp and fish is always a good choice. PoBoy is decent, but a far cry from anything in New Orleans.

Kody's? Love them for some reason. The interior is a dump, but the food is on par with Irie's. Good food, but some of the selections are highly priced as specials. Stick to the Gulf Coast classics.

Spaghetti and Seafood Works is good and has a good mix of seafood and pasta dishes. It's nice inside.

Swing bar is nice if it's not too crowded.

The Gaff is a dive bar serving beer and wine -- no full bar. It's a a classic though. Belt sanding races on select Saturdays. If you're wearing something nicer than blue jeans and a t-shirt, you'll definitely stand out.

Try Coach's for breakfast if they've made it back up on Allister Street. The breakfast taco is fantastic, and the pancakes are huge and require little to no syrup due to their sweetness.

I hope you enjoy your time there!

Oh, upscale dining?

In order...

Roosevelt's - call for reservations (dressy)
Black Marlin - OpenTable
Tortuga's - OpenTable
Phoenix - call for reservations
Venetian (last only because they're only Italian) - call for reservations

I lived in Midland for a long time. My daughter's late FIL was a CPA there. He had his own plane and loved to fish, especially fly fishing. It was virtually impossible to get him down in the spring until tax day and then the phone would ring. He flew down and we had two great days. He always liked to take fish back home and have a cook out for friends.

We stopped at Kody's on his way out of town to get their garlic butter fish....it's really good. About the time we got our food five blue haired local ladies sat down next to us. We got our food as the first one was trying to order. She eventually said, "I'll have what they got!"

The waiter explained that they didn't have fish and you had to bring your own. She eventually ordered.

In short order the next person was a repeat of the first...."I'll have what they ordered!"

I looked up to see my friend walking in the back door with a zip lock bag of fillets. He was that kind of a guy!

You forgot Lisabella's. Not upscale, but my family loves Port A Pizzeria. And they deliver.

The BEST was La Barataria. They were in Island Moorings. It took about two hours to dine.

She moved to the corner of Station Street & Cotter( former home of Lisa Bella's) We ate there on a Friday night. It was great?

Decided to go out on Saturday. Where do you want to go? La Barataria! It was great.

Sometime around midnight it burned to the ground. Wasn't us...

She opened Monterey Bay on Cutoff. It was great! Still took two hours. Real estate escalated rapidly after things were rebuilt as a result of Harvey and her rent escalated. She had to close.

If she shows up somewhere else I'm guessing it will be good. Hope she does....

Go to La Playa and take your fresh fish for fresh fish tacos

Beach and Station has closed.

76Ag said:

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Beach and Station has closed.

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It wasn't a high end atmosphere but that was some of the best seafood I've had in Port A.

sunchaser said:

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The BEST was La Barataria. They were in Island Moorings. It took about two hours to dine.

She moved to the corner of Station Street & Cotter( former home of Lisa Bella's) We ate there on a Friday night. It was great?

Decided to go out on Saturday. Where do you want to go? La Barataria! It was great.

Sometime around midnight it burned to the ground. Wasn't us...

She opened Monterey Bay on Cutoff. It was great! Still took two hours. Real estate escalated rapidly after things were rebuilt as a result of Harvey and her rent escalated. She had to close.

If she shows up somewhere else I'm guessing it will be good. Hope she does....

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Yeah, we met her a couple of times. Food was always amazing but never be in a rush to get out of there.

She did it all. Would never hire a sous chef. That's why it would take so long especially if busy.

Last restaurant I ate at in Port A was Mrs. Pete's. Guess it's time for a return visit!