Restaurant Review: Beachside Seafood Restaurant and Market of Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Just three streets over from the Jacksonville Beach lies the Beachside Seafood Restaurant and Market. The Beachside Seafood Restaurant and Market has been in business since 1989 and sells fresh tuna, swordfish, salmon, Mahi-Mahi and even sushi-grade white tuna. Live lobsters are the order of the day, and one can also locate fresh oysters, clams, and mussels.

However, the Beachside is more than just a great seafood market. While one half of the building is dedicated to selling seafood, the other side sports a kitchen and a small bar, where one may go and order such items as deviled crab, fried alligator tail, and seafood gumbo. Entrees include such fishes as Grouper, Red Snapper, Swordfish, and Ahi Yellowfin Tuna, each of which comes either grilled, blackened, or breaded and fried. Concerning the Ahi Yellowfin Tuna, one may also get it seared rare. Beachside Seafood Market also offers the Whole Belly Clam Dinner and the Captain's Platter (consisting of clam strips, fried fish, deviled crab and your choice of shrimp, scallops, oysters, or calamari).

For lighter fare, there are such items as the Lobster Po' Boy sandwich, seafood quesadilla (stuffed with shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat), or the Beachside fish taco (served fried, grilled, or blackened with cheese, tomato, and cabbage). And for those who are not seafood lovers but who are stuck with someone who is, there are several non-seafood choices like Cheesesteak, the Chicken Cheesesteak, and the Belly Buster ½ pound Burger.

While recently in the Jacksonville area with a friend, I decided to stop in at the Beachside Seafood Restaurant and Market for lunch. I found the place rather busy for a Monday afternoon, and had to hunt down a menu before I knew what to order. I decided upon the alligator tail, as well as the crabmeat salad. My friend ordered a Beachside Basket consisting of shrimp and gator tail.

After we picked up our orders, we sat in the upstairs area of the building, where a small bar was also situated. I tried my fried alligator tail, which was actually cut up into small bite-sized pieces. The meat inside the breading was quite good, tender, and juicy. This was the first time I had had alligator that I could actually bite into and chew. I ate up the alligator bites and found them even better after dipping them into the house chipotle ranch sauce.

My friend liked his alligator bites as well. However, neither of us much cared for the fries that came with his Beachside Basket; the taters smelled of old oil and were dry.

I tried my crabmeat salad and was pleased with the amount of crab provided, as well as the overabundant salad underneath the crab. I only wish that there had been some kind of dressing provided for the salad; I made do with the remoulade sauce that was available by the bar, but I much prefer ranch dressing.

Our bill for all the food was not too bad; we ended up paying a bit more than $35. I would certainly return to the Beachside, if for nothing more than its succulent gator tail. Next time, though, I will also pick up some sashimi-grade fish from the case.

Here is some additional information about the Beachside Seafood Restaurant and Market:

Beachside Seafood
120 3rd St South Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
Phone: Market 904-444-CRAB • Restaurant/Take-Out/Delivery 904-444-TUNA
Hours - Sun -Wed 10 -9 • Thurs-Sat 10 - 10