The useful question about Clearwater restaurants on the water is which water you'll be looking at: tables on the beach face west over the Gulf for the sunset, while tables at the marina and on the bay side of Sand Key look across Clearwater Harbor at boats coming home. Clearwater Beach sits on its own barrier island, cut off from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway, and Clearwater Harbor is the stretch of that water between the beach and downtown, crossed by the Memorial Causeway.
This guide starts with the Gulf-side tables, moves to the harbor side, then covers tying up a boat for lunch, the east side of the city, and when to book. If the view matters less than the plate, Clearwater restaurants away from the water are a different list, from Greek grills to pho on the mainland.
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Gulf-facing sunset decks
For a sunset table on the sand, Tate Island Grill at the Sandpearl is the pick, because it sits steps from the beach on the quieter north end and a musician plays the boardwalk as the sun goes down.
South of the pier on the same west-facing shore, Seaguini, the Italian-leaning seafood room at Opal Sands, sits about half a mile from Pier 60, and regulars order the scallops, lobster bisque and steak tartare with the sunset in the window. Plan on $50 to $100 a person.
For the view from ten floors up, the Jimmy's On The Edge rooftop bar sits on top of the Edge Hotel at 505 S Gulfview, looking over the Gulf, the Intracoastal and the beach. The bar runs 11am to 1am, everyone gets a free shot at 5pm, and the fish sandwich ($16.25) and smokehouse burger ($16.50) carry the menu. DJs and bands play Friday and Saturday from 7pm to 11pm. The bar itself says its hours depend on Mother Nature, and a diner caught in a downpour reported a leaking roof, so watch the sky.
Pick one deck for a drink and another for dinner, then walk between them along the west-facing sand of Clearwater Beach at golden hour.
Over the Sand Key bridge, Watercolour Grillhouse at the Marriott on Sand Key is the romantic choice, a piano-bar dining room at 1201 Gulf Blvd about 1.6 miles south of Pier 60. Book and ask for the outdoor Gulf-view seating, then order the mashed potatoes, the tortellini mac and cheese and an Italian espresso martini; dinner runs 5pm to 10pm and there's valet at the door.
On the sand
If you want sand under the table, Crabby's Beachside Pavilion at 10 Bay Esplanade is the one, with picnic tables, a deck and an open look at the Gulf sunset about half a mile north of Pier 60. Its owners call it the oldest beach pavilion in Florida, the building turns 100 in 2026, and the Hamilton family ran it from 1964 until a January 2026 sale to Beachside Hospitality Group, which gave it the Crabby's name.
Order the Bairdi crab, the clam chowder or the fries, which aren't coated in wheat flour, and skip the ceviche. It opens at 8am for breakfast and serves until 10pm, or 11pm on Friday and Saturday, and one reviewer comparing it with Frenchy's said there was never a long wait for a table.
Right by the pier, Tommy's Tiki Bar at 400 Mandalay Avenue is a feet-in-the-sand hotel bar for mojitos and chicken nachos, but it closes at 7pm, so it only catches the sunset in the short days of winter.
If the sand-side tables are full, there are plenty of beach restaurants a block back from the sand to fall back on, and the walk back for sunset is short.
Harbor and marina side
On the harbor side, Backwaters on Sand Key is the pick: its outdoor tables sit on a dock over the bay, close enough to Coachman Park that one Fourth of July crowd watched the city's fireworks from dinner. It's at 1261 Gulf Blvd, open 11am to 10pm daily for steak and seafood at about $20 to $30 a person, with free valet, a bar full of TVs and a lightly blackened Captain's Platter that reviewers single out.
Backwaters is just 0.16 miles from Watercolour Grillhouse, yet the two face different water, which is the whole trick of Sand Key. At the same address, Maggie Mae's Waterfront does breakfast and lunch only, 7am to 2pm every day, at $10 to $20 a person.
Expect a 15-minute wait mid-morning on a weekday, funny signs on the walls, Prosecco splits next to the mimosas and the odd bird swooping past the outdoor tables. The Original Maggie Mae's Burger is two quarter-pound patties with American cheese.
Back on the beach's south end, Cesare At The Beach at 794 S Gulfview is a trattoria on the inland side of South Gulfview with water views, serving dinner from 5pm at about $20 to $80 a person. Regulars come back for the snails with fresh bread and the pappardelle with wild mushrooms, and it's about 0.8 miles south of Pier 60.
Back at the Clearwater Beach Marina, where the Memorial Causeway reaches the roundabout, three restaurants share the docks within about 0.2 miles of each other.
Bait House Tackle & Tavern at 45 Causeway Blvd is a working tackle shop with an open-air dock restaurant, where you watch the charter boats come in over drunken shrimp and blackened-shrimp Island Tacos. The shop opens at 7am and the kitchen at 11:30am, both close at 10pm, and it holds a 4.7 from about 3,200 reviews.
Next door at 25 Causeway, Salt Cracker Fish Camp will cook the fish you caught that morning; one crew brought in mangrove snapper and redfish and had them fried and blackened. It opens at 8am on weekends for breakfast and seats you outside along the water.
On the roof of the Pier House 60 hotel by the marina, Jimmy's Crows Nest looks over the pier, the beach and the harbor at once, pours a free shot at sunset and serves a smoked fish spread worth ordering. Service is bar-style and the rail fills up, so get there early.
When the fish matters more than the view, the city's grouper and stone crab dinners away from the docks are worth the trip inland.
Dock and dine by boat
Of the restaurants you can dock at, Island Way Grill at 20 Island Way is the surest bet, because its own website says its slips are open every day, first come, first served. It sits about 0.7 miles east of Pier 60 across the water, with dinner from 4pm on weekdays and noon on Saturday, Sunday brunch from 10am to 1:30pm, and an early supper menu, a sushi bar and an oyster bar. It takes reservations online, and arriving by car you get free valet or a free lot.
On the marina, Crabby's Dockside at 37 Causeway Blvd is one that Boatsetter's boating guide lists for dockage, an open-air seafood house with seating up to a third floor, big fans, Florida grouper and a Dockside Punch. It runs 11am to 10pm (11pm on Friday and Saturday) and has about 8,300 Google reviews; one diner recommends booking, and the view from the top is the reliable part, while the crab cakes and stuffed flounder draw complaints.
That guide lists dockage at Bait House and Salt Cracker too, but the city marina beside them has no transient or day docks, so call the restaurant before you count on a slip. Downtown, Clearwater Harbor Marina at 210 Drew Street offers daytime side-tie moorings first come, first served, near the Cleveland Street restaurants. Dock details change, so call the restaurant or the dockmaster before you idle in.
AJ's Dockside on the bay side, covered below, is a marina bar where at least one regular keeps a jet ski and a boat, but its website doesn't advertise dockage for passing boaters, so call ahead there too.
Bay side, east Clearwater
On the east side of town, AJ's Dockside at Cove Cay Marina is the real waterfront table, while the two Sunset Point Road places with sunset in their names list no water view in their descriptions or reviews. Old Tampa Bay is the water between Clearwater and Tampa, crossed by the Courtney Campbell Causeway.
AJ's Dockside sits inside the gated Cove Cay community at 1300 Cove Cay Dr, about 6.8 miles east-southeast of Pier 60 on the Tampa Bay side, and the entrance looks like a private condo gate: tell the gate you're going to AJ's and you'll get a pass. You park in a boat yard and walk to an outdoor bar with fans and shade over the marina.
Happy hour runs Monday to Friday from 2pm to 5:30pm, dogs are welcome, and the grouper tacos and blackened grouper are the orders; one couple called $16 for three small shrimp tacos poor value, so drinks with a view may be the play. It also runs a party bus to and from the airport if you ask.
Sunset Grill on Sunset Point Road is a family-owned throwback, open 8am to 8pm (9pm on Friday and Saturday), known for key lime pie and a chipotle hot sauce it bottles itself. Plates run about $10 to $20, but pie is over $7 a slice and reviews of the dinners are mixed.
About 0.6 miles east, Sunset Lounge is a dive bar with pool tables, darts and a pinball machine, open until 3am every night, with live music on Friday and Saturday and smokers welcome. Both sit about 4 miles north of AJ's, so treat them as an east-side night out, not a waterfront meal.
When to book
Book the dining rooms for sunset, starting with Cove Kitchen + Bar, which suggests dinner reservations, and Island Way Grill, which takes them online. For the decks that don't mention bookings, like Tate Island Grill and Crabby's Beachside Pavilion, time your arrival instead.
The clock moves a lot: sunset in Clearwater falls as early as 5:35pm at the end of November and as late as 8:31pm around July 1, so check sunset times by season before you choose a table time. A Crows Nest regular put the rest of it plainly: if you're going for sunset, go early.
Watch closing times as well: Tate Island Grill stops serving at 8pm on weeknights, before a midsummer sunset, and Tommy's Tiki Bar shuts at 7pm. Harbor-side tables need no sunset timing at all, which makes Backwaters, Bait House and Maggie Mae's the easy calls for a walk-in lunch.
Valet is common at the hotel and Sand Key rooms, from free at Backwaters and Island Way Grill to $15 at Cove, and the city's beach parking page has current lot rates. If stone crab claws are the goal, Florida's harvest season runs October 15 to May 1, so they're a fall-to-spring order. Choose the water, then the table.
Frequently asked questions
Published July 27, 2026
