Enjoying Life
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2011
- Messages
- 205
I did a lot of research trying to find some decent non-chain restaurants in the Orlando area for our recent trip. I'm happy to report that I found a couple of old time Florida style hidden gems. Their names are High Tide Harry's and Boston Fish House.
High Tide Harry's is about 15 minutes from the Sea World area. They had a bunch of daily specials at reasonable prices, like; oysters for $5.99 a dozen, steamed lobsters for $15.99, and colossal shrimp for $20 a pound. There were many others, but these are the ones I remember.
I had the lobster and my wife had the shrimp. The lobster was good, but my wife's shrimp were just unbelievable! She asked for them broiled with garlic butter, and they were cooked perfectly. She got about a dozen huge shrimp. They were delicious.
It's very hard to get to fresh shrimp cooked perfectly in most restaurants nowadays. You definitely can't get them at any of the popular chains. They also have a large selection of side items. The sides we had were exceptional. We will be going back the next time we are in Orlando.
Boston's Fish House is near Winter Haven and is about 25 minutes from the Sea World area. Please don't confuse Boston's to that horrible place; Boston Lobster Feast. These are two entirely different places.
We got there at 3:55 with the restaurant opening at 4:00. There was a pretty long line inside of mainly senior citizens. We were the last ones to squeeze in the door. The people after us started a line outside.
We were given menus and were informed that we had to order and pay before we go in. That almost blew it for us. We almost left, but we decided to give it a go. I'm so glad we did. The line moved very quickly and we were seated in a nice clean booth by 4:10.
My wife ordered the fried shrimp special for $8.25 with a $3.50 side salad. I ordered the steamed clams special for $10. For drinks I had a micro brew draft beer for $2.50 (excellent), and my wife had the house red wine for $5.75. That was a good value too. It was nice and dry and came in a small carafe that amounted to about two glasses. When the food came, we were surprised at how good it was, given the cheap prices.
A lot of people were eating fried entrees and onion rings. After tasting the shrimp, I know why. They were not greasy. They were fresh, light, and delicious. We mainly avoid fried foods when eating out. In most places, it's heavy, greasy, and just plain disgusting. This was not the case at Boston's.
This place reminds me of some of the classic seafood restaurants I grew up with in the Jersey Shore area. They had a sign on the door that they would be closed 2 days for Memorial Day. This is not some corporate run chain restaurant, this is a family run place. We can't wait to go back there on our next trip to Orlando.
Both these places were very inexpensive, but that's beside the point. I judge restaurants on their food and cleanliness, and believe me; I am very critical. It takes a lot for me to give a restaurant a glowing recommendation.
I am a stickler when it comes to cleanliness, but I'm happy to say that both these places exceeded my expectations in that department. The menus at Harry's were so clean. They must have just washed prior to our arrival. In both places; the menus, tables, floors, silverware, condiments, plates, and everything else very clean.
http://www.bostonsfishhouse.com/ordereze/default.aspx
http://hightideharrys.com/
High Tide Harry's is about 15 minutes from the Sea World area. They had a bunch of daily specials at reasonable prices, like; oysters for $5.99 a dozen, steamed lobsters for $15.99, and colossal shrimp for $20 a pound. There were many others, but these are the ones I remember.
I had the lobster and my wife had the shrimp. The lobster was good, but my wife's shrimp were just unbelievable! She asked for them broiled with garlic butter, and they were cooked perfectly. She got about a dozen huge shrimp. They were delicious.
It's very hard to get to fresh shrimp cooked perfectly in most restaurants nowadays. You definitely can't get them at any of the popular chains. They also have a large selection of side items. The sides we had were exceptional. We will be going back the next time we are in Orlando.
Boston's Fish House is near Winter Haven and is about 25 minutes from the Sea World area. Please don't confuse Boston's to that horrible place; Boston Lobster Feast. These are two entirely different places.
We got there at 3:55 with the restaurant opening at 4:00. There was a pretty long line inside of mainly senior citizens. We were the last ones to squeeze in the door. The people after us started a line outside.
We were given menus and were informed that we had to order and pay before we go in. That almost blew it for us. We almost left, but we decided to give it a go. I'm so glad we did. The line moved very quickly and we were seated in a nice clean booth by 4:10.
My wife ordered the fried shrimp special for $8.25 with a $3.50 side salad. I ordered the steamed clams special for $10. For drinks I had a micro brew draft beer for $2.50 (excellent), and my wife had the house red wine for $5.75. That was a good value too. It was nice and dry and came in a small carafe that amounted to about two glasses. When the food came, we were surprised at how good it was, given the cheap prices.
A lot of people were eating fried entrees and onion rings. After tasting the shrimp, I know why. They were not greasy. They were fresh, light, and delicious. We mainly avoid fried foods when eating out. In most places, it's heavy, greasy, and just plain disgusting. This was not the case at Boston's.
This place reminds me of some of the classic seafood restaurants I grew up with in the Jersey Shore area. They had a sign on the door that they would be closed 2 days for Memorial Day. This is not some corporate run chain restaurant, this is a family run place. We can't wait to go back there on our next trip to Orlando.
Both these places were very inexpensive, but that's beside the point. I judge restaurants on their food and cleanliness, and believe me; I am very critical. It takes a lot for me to give a restaurant a glowing recommendation.
I am a stickler when it comes to cleanliness, but I'm happy to say that both these places exceeded my expectations in that department. The menus at Harry's were so clean. They must have just washed prior to our arrival. In both places; the menus, tables, floors, silverware, condiments, plates, and everything else very clean.
http://www.bostonsfishhouse.com/ordereze/default.aspx
http://hightideharrys.com/
