Seeking VB Restaurant Advice

[sadler]

We will be making our first visit to VB in March and would appreciate suggestions and opinions about onsite and offsite restaurants. We are a family of four with a 14 year old DD and a 8 year old DS. At WDW our favorite restaurants are Artist Point, Flying Fish, Jiko's, Coral Reef and Kona Cafe. Any suggestions as to restaurants with comparable quality in the VB area would be appreciated. I know that the VB concierge has a menu book and will make recommendations but I want to know what my fellow DVC members think.

 

[vbfamily]

Well, IMHO, the restaurants at the resort are very good. We have never had a bad experience. I would maybe compare Sonya's at VB to Artist Point at WL. I would compare the food at Shutters to Kona Cafe-maybe. Shutter's and Sonya's have really good food but you can't compare the theming at the restaurants you mentioned to anything at VB.

Ocean Grill(e) (sp?) has good seafood. They are in VB, down by the Holiday Inn. Actually, the restaurant inside the Holiday Inn Oceanside has pretty good ceasar salads and steak-which you can get at the resort.

Sonyas at the resort has a good seafood buffet twice a week. Shutters has a character breakfast on Saturdays.

Shutters and Sonyas have Mickey Mouse pb&j, pancakes, waffles, ravioli, pasta, etc.-if your kids enjoy that and you get the Mickey straws with your drinks.

For hot dogs and sandwiches I would suggest Casey's Place in VB. They have little picnic tables and they have the best hot dogs and french fries in the world. They have a huge local lunch business and we never go to VB without stopping here. It's a nice break from the resort if you happen to drive into town.

Capt. Hiram's is a nice place-I'm not sure if I am calling it by the right name but someone here will know the right name.

Have fun.

 

[Scoootch]

Only been to VB once but Capt. Hiram's was very good!

If and when we get the chance to go back, we'd definetly go there again

 

[baileybrad]

We ate at Captain Hirams and their clam chowder was excellent. It is a very casual place. We really enjoyed eating the burgers, sandwiches, and salads from the pool side snack bar. It was very easy way to enjoy a meal.

 

[ncligs]

I agree with the above posts about the on-site restraunts.Here is a link below for others in the VB area.They have a lot of choices with in a 5-20 minute ride away.Including chain restaraunts like Chili's,Outback,Ruby Tuesday,Bob Evans,etc. The Indian River Mall also has a food court in it.

http://www.metatiki.com/index.cfm?m...ngs&BusinessType=Food/Dining&city=VeroBeachFL

 

[KNWVIKING]

...just for the "Dirty Oysters".

 

[Paul in CT]

We really like the Black Pearl in Vero Beach for more formal dining and Captain Hirams for casual dining and seafood.

The Black Pearl website is: http://www.blackpearlvero.com/

 

[trainfun]

If you decide on fast food you can go to Route 1, and go north just a short distance and you will see a Publix Supermarket on your left. There's a Subway sandwich shop in there. A few miles north you will find Mc Donalds, and a combined Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/KFC.

Going south on 1 into Vero Beach (about 15 minutes) will bring you to Outback, Chili's, IHOP and most other fast food joints. The Chili's has great burgers.

I can second the favorable reviews of Capt. Hirams, a fun place with decent seafood. We usually get there when we are "home" at Vero.

The menu book with lots of local restaurants is in the lobby at Vero, you can just go and look at it anytime.

Have a great trip!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Here is my 2 cents:

ON SITE-
Sonya's & Shutters are both outstanding. Sonya's is more formal, however they share the same kitchen so the menus are similar. In fact, they can get anything from the others menu if you ask nice. I had a great poched flounder (I think that was the fish) at Sonya's, and would highly recommend it.
Sonya's expensive, Shutters moderately expensive.

OFF SITE-
We have ate at The Ocean Grill, and The Black Pearl (Riverside- I think there is another). Ocen Grill was outstanding. The shrimp cocktail was to die for, but I suggest ordering a side of horseradish to spice up the sauce. It is a very busy restaurant, so be prepared to wait in the bar area for an hour or more.
The Black Pearl (Riverside) was okay, but I would not return. It seemed a little 'odd' in there. I can't quite put my finger on it. Although food and service were adequate, something did not sit right. Some locals said that it changed owners within the past couple of years, and it has gone downhill.
Ocean Grill expensive, The Black Pearl moderately expensive.

Sonya's, Shutters, and The Ocean Grill are all great places, and I will return to all of them!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[gracelrm]

We had the Sunday Brunch at Sonya's on our last visit and thought that everything we had was wonderful! We had our three children with us, which made for a very expensive meal, but I believe it was worth it. We thought Shutters was pretty good and even enjoyed the pool side short order place! We also liked Capt. Hirims. I've heard there is a pizza place really close to VB, but we didn't try that on our last trip.

 

[vbfamily]

We paid for Sunday brunch for our kids a few times at VB and then last time we were there, if I remember correctly, they said all they wanted were mickey waffles. I believe the server let them order off the children's menu and I think it was cheaper than ordering the full brunch for them-and then the chef kept making them more and more mickey waffles We were the only ones in there because it was gettin close to 2:00pm

 

[CaptainMidnight]

http://www.metatiki.com/index.cfm?m...ity=VeroBeachFL
Great link, ncligs. Only thing I see missing is the Bob Evans that's located by the Mall. Great place to get some family style takeout to put in the fridge and heat up for great meals back in teh room.

Also, don't forget that nice Chinese takeout next to Publix.

 

[Beth]

Through recommendations on this board, we tried the "Patio Restaurant" on our last trip this past October.

It's an eclectic spot in Vero that's been there for a very long time, with an INCREDIBLE collection of antiques!

The early bird special is one price for the salad, appetizer, entree, dessert, 1 glass house wine, bread, etc. It's very good, and you can't beat the price!!

http://www.veropatio.com

 

[vernon]

The restaurants in the hotel are very good, but a little pricey. Ifyou are staying more than a couple of days you may want to venture further abroad.
There is a massive book in the lobby of VB that has the phone numbers and samle menus of a lot of the restaurants in the area. For Seafood I liked Jack Baker's Lobster shanty and this has a great view over the intracoastal waterway. If you like to try something more adventurous the is a very good "authentic " Mexican slightly north of the resort on the US1. It's called Hirmana's. Very good food and the happy hour margarita's takes it's toll LOL.

 

[sadler]

Thanks for all of the great information. We will certainly try Sonya's and Shutters. It sounds like we would enjoy Ocean Grill as long as there is not too long of a wait for a table (our DS can get impatient). Are we likely to avoid along wait at the bar if we make a reservation or eat dinner early? I see that the the Black Pearl has two locations-- the original and the Black Pearl Brasserie near the ocean. Does anyone have feedback on the Black Pearl Brasserie? Thanks for the info on The Patio-- Is this restaurant appropriate for children? Also, has anyone tried the Lemon Tree? It sounds casual and good for the kids but is the food good? Thanks again.

 

[Beth]

The Patio is not that formal - most everyone we saw there were dressed "resort casual." I would imagine children would fit in fine...

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by sadler
It sounds like we would enjoy Ocean Grill as long as there is not too long of a wait for a table (our DS can get impatient). Are we likely to avoid along wait at the bar if we make a reservation or eat dinner early?

I went into Ocean Grill at about 5:00pm to make a reservation for later that evening, and the place was nearly empty. The hostess told us that they do not take reservations for parties less than eight. In short, you will likely be okay if you go early. If not, at least you will have time to go somewhere else.

Have fun......

 

[sumessefui]

If you like Italian food, you must try the Italian Grill.