Food #4: Old Florida Fish House
Old Fish at the Old Florida Fish House
My family has always centered our vacations around gluten-free food. We don’t have many options at home, so when we travel, we eat as much novelty food as possible. We’ve been at the beach this past week and my mom made reservations for nearly every night, and our first night was hard to top. We finally got to go to Old Florida Fish House—a place she’s dreamt of for years.
As we pulled up, it felt like we had been invited to an exclusive garden party. There were hundreds of twinkle lights that imitated fireflies, and we were surprised to be greeted by valet. The garden party had a huge budget.
To find the hostess table, we walked through an archway tunnel of vines illuminated by purple lighting. On either side of us were different vendors, from snow cone stands to clothing stores. We reached the hostess table and were directed to the water view while we waited for a text telling us our table was ready.
The view of the bay was stunning as the sun set. It cast a warm glow on the outdoor portion of the restaurant and made the water sparkle with pinks and reds. We took photos and soon after received a text. Our table was next to a beautiful wall with flowing water that mimicked the view we had just captured in our photos.
Our waiter was incredible. He informed us that there were three separate kitchens: one for oysters, one for sushi, and one for main entrees. I’ve heard the sushi chef is famous for his rolls, and if you ask for off-the-menu sushi, you can taste some of the best sushi around. I regret not trying it.
Why didn’t I order sushi for my entree? Because our waiter was a great salesman.
“Tonight’s special is the Grouper, which is a favorite and has been on our menu for over 14 years. It includes lump crab that has been cooking since 10 a.m. and has essentially been bathing in butter all day,” he said.
Crab in a butter bath? Sold. Five out of the six of us ordered it. One got sushi.
Fried crab claws were also on the menu with a little GF next to it, so of course, we got a plate of those for appetizers. They stole the show. I used to eat basketfuls on vacation before I went gluten-free. Now they are more precious than gold. I rated them very high, which you can find on my Instagram @thelittlethings.g.
While we waited for our food, we told stories as usual. My sister and brother-in-law had just joined us for the week after going fishing the day before. They had plenty of stories to tell. My favorite was about the thrill of catching the prehistoric fish, tarpon, and the respect it’s given. We spoke of the old fish at the Old Florida Fish House—too good not to share here.
My sister and her husband weren’t necessarily in their element when they were asked to join their friend on this fishing trip, but they were happy to try it out. The friend and his buddy gave them a quick rundown on what they were trying to do and some guidelines.
They were going to try to catch a tarpon (obviously), but with hook and line only. Under no circumstances could it be brought out of the water. They could catch it momentarily, take a photo (still in the water), then release it. Many more rules and regulations followed, as well as a certain etiquette true tarpon fishers honor.
Sounded boring. Catch an old and decrepit fish, take a blurry photo of it still in the water, and release it. Wow.
I was wrong. Not boring.
The thrill of tarpon fishing is in the catch. Tarpon put up such a fight that it’s reward enough to say you were able to reel it in. It’s almost an art—the task of giving enough slack when needed, reeling without the line snapping, and knowing when to switch between the two. It’s a dance between the fisherman and the fish, a full-body motion, swaying with the tarpon’s lead, then pulling it back to the boat.
Their friend knew the tarpon’s tango and called out the next step for my brother-in-law and sister to take.
“Give it slack, he’s about to leap. Get your camera ready too.”
The five-foot-long prehistoric fish swam from the boat, picking up momentum to try and snap free from the line. With all its might, it broke out of the water and revealed its full glory, a sight that was illegal otherwise. My sister captured the unique moment in a photo. Thankfully, the line didn’t snap.
The next step was to end the dance and begin the fighting match. Once reeled in next to the boat, their friend had to grip the tarpon by the mouth. It weighed around 120 lbs, dragging five feet behind them in the water and was fighting with all its strength against him. Now, it was the fisherman’s turn to get a little roughed up by the fish.
He had just exhausted the tarpon by forcing it to the boat and believed it was only fair that the tarpon got to exhaust the him back. Those that respect this idea don’t wear gloves when holding the tarpon by the mouth. Instead of protected their flesh, they let the fish cut and tear their hands as a payment of respect.
It’s a bloody, exhausting match that ends in a tie.
With one friend holding the fish, the other friend jumped in the water to take the well-earned picture. It was so cool! The water took up half the photo, and the top half is of the people sweating in the boat trying to handle the tarpon. I’ll post it on my Instagram as well (@thelittlethings.g).
Our story time ended when our entrees came out. Five plates of grouper with butter soaked crab meat sitting on a bed of mashed potatoes with green beans and carrots lined our table. My favorite bite was the crab, followed by potato, or grouper and potato dipped in the butter.
We finished our main dish and ordered a flourless chocolate cake for the table. It was divine. The cake was rich and felt like silk melting in my mouth. It had roasted marshmallow, chocolate syrup, and shavings on top.
Overall, I give The Old Florida Fish House an 8.1 out of 10. The service was incredible, there were so many things to do while we waited for a table and tastes to try. Even if you didn’t want to get dinner, you could get a bottle of wine from their store and enjoy it while playing games with a view of the bay.
I will definitely go back, get the crab claws, and try their sushi menu!
Thanks for reading, talk to you soon,
Gracey