Ocean Harvest Bar & Grill

Overpriced, but wonderful food.
Closed…

The restaurant was nothing fancy in décor but was attractive, orderly and clean. Our server, Justin, made excellent appetizer and dinner recommendations to us. We had the squid fries which I honestly could have made a meal of. Very very generous portion. And their special sauce was out of this world.
I had a side salad and the blue cheese dressing was made by them, also and was very good.
Then our entrée came! We both had the fresh catch of the day, grilled grouper, which Justin told us was swimming the seas just that morning. It was so fresh I sure do believe it.
Some reviews mentioned the portions as skimpy but we found them more then adequate or ordinary. My wife had the margarita slaw and it was excellent. The greens were average. The French fries were good.
For dessert we had carrot cke which was standard fare but my wife had the key lime pie and it came with a spiced strawberry sauce and cream and raved over it.
We found the prices to be right in line for fresh catch and will definitely visit again.
Great job!
Oh, forgot to mention their house tartar sauce. Their chef must have trained as a saucier. Excellent.

Calamari fries. Fish tacos. Locally owned. Five stars!

We used to eat here couple of times a month. Last night it was bad all around. Service was slow and disorganized. The food was horrible. Fish and Chips had more batter than fish, fries were soggy. The Shrimp Basket was just shy of being burnt, way overcooked. Side of avocado for a sandwhich was actually wasabi! The margarita was so sour it was not drinkable. The waiter took it off the bill, but did not offer anything else, or seem to care. Too many other places to eat in town, we will not go back.

The fish tacos are mamma-​slappin good. This place is a hidden gem.

I drive by this place everyday on my way home from work and figured I would give it a try. I have to say I absolutly love it! The service was prompt and relaxed, we never felt rushed and had plenty of time to relax and enjoy our drinks after dinner. I got the Squidwich, it was amazing — perfectly cooked. My friend got the Grouper and was impressed as well. I really like that there is a Captain that fishes for the restaurant, and has a charter boat.
I can’t wait to go back and try something else!

I enjoyed this place. It’s located in a sort of sketchy looking strip mall. It’s just a no frills, completely unpretentious seafood spot. We came with the intentions of dining in, but the kiddo was acting up so we ended up taking our food to go. They were accommodating to our needs. I got the mahi-​mahi Reuben. It was a somewhat spicy mahi fillet with Swiss, grilled onions, thousand island on marble rye. It was a nicely done version of this dish. I liked that the fish was spicy. Also had some gulf oysters which of course were fresh and tasty. Not terribly expensive either. Good spot.

Delicious. Kind of sketchy about high rated Unilocal restaurants that are holes in the wall. Had the squid fries and seared wahoo and tuna. Delicious. Enjoyed the blackened mahi I split with the smoked rib eye. The sides are mediocre but the fish and meat were delicious

NOTE — June 5, 2013 — This restaurant is CLOSED now due to «management issues» according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Heard about Ocean Harvest from friends. It exceeded expectations on our first visit and is our new favorite Bradenton restaurant.
First, having a chef and fishing boat captain team up to create a Florida style restaurant is a winning combination. A great selection of freshly caught local fish, prepared in a variety of styles with interesting side dishes.
We had tender Squid Fries, Margarita slaw, amazing Blue Marlin lightly seared and served sashimi style, 2 crispy Caesar salads, a lump crabcake and 2 dozen fresh oysters ($ 14 per dozen). All washed down with draft Stella Artois, Guinness, Blue Moon and Magic Hat (so 4 pints).
Didn’t make it as far as dessert but there was no room! A great feed for $ 84 plus tip. We’ll be back.
TIP — You can buy fresh seafood here. We got their Gulf shrimp and now don’t have to drive all the way to Maggie’s Seafood at the Sarasota Weekend Market to get this quality.

Very good food and Heather was an excellent server! Had the blackened grouper sandwich… Great! Seafood Gumbo was very good as well. Very clean and friendly place.

Mark and Ron are two of the best hosts in their establishment and the choice of daily caught fresh fish and shell fish is truly great. You have to try the mullet or pelagic dips always a hit at a function

This is my local seafood escape from going to another New American style chain restaurant. The atmosphere is nothing spectacular, it is located inside a small shopping center with a truly kick-​ass cupcake place. The interior is a step above a cafeteria, very casual place, and comfortable to boot.
Mainly, I come to Ocean Harvest when craving their Calamari Fries in an almost painful way. They are panko breaded squid strips covered in a sweet and spicy, citrus curry sauce. Which is a meal within itself. The chowders are also amazing.
Luckily, last time we dined, they were having a Hawaii themed specials event. I was able to score some super fresh and tasty poke /​slash/​salad thing— with massive chunks of fresh tuna, avocado, cucumber, and an explosively tasty sesame dressing.
Also, if you are in the mood for a deep fried seafood platter— holla at this place!

To start off the place from the outside doesn’t look that great but the food makes up for it.
Start off for sure having the squid fries. They have some type of sweet sauce on it and are BIG. Highly recommended.
Kids meals — chicken and shrimp were both good. Okra was also good as a side meal.
Blacken grouper is really good. Be careful though if you don’t like spicy foods… its good but a bit of a surprise.
Ahi salad was really good but definitely not worth the price. I’d recommend it on if it was about 50% less in cost.
Waitress was very nice and helpful. In fact everyone that was there seemed very friendly and «welcome» which is missing from most restaurants.
My only complaint was about the bill. I think I was charged for an item when I shouldn’t have been but rather than double checking the waitress said a comment like «I didn’t charge you for the other item»… I was suppose to have two anyway. I was a bit taken back by this.
Overall, this place is good for sure but its not cheap either. I think it should be a $$$ money sign.

Om nom nom nom.
I got the catch of the day, shrimp and bay scallops. Wowee was it good!
I chose blue marlin for the one of many catches of the day, which was larger than the palm of my hand (like the size of a man’s bifold wallet) with 5 shrimp shrimp twice the size of my thumbs and 4 sea scallops that were 2 inches in diameter easily.
I wouldn’t recommend the collard greens, as they were not seasoned with bacon as far as I can tell and a bit bitter, but I was going out on a limb and trying something different there; it’s a personal preference thing. The margarita coleslaw wasn’t bad, which was cabbage, a mixture of fruits and some oil and vinegar. Tart and sweet.
But ohhh myyy the fish was cooked perfectly and came with this delectable orange sauce made of mayo, dill, garlic, celery seed, paprika, a hint of chili and salt and pepper (from what I could tell). Delicious! The fish, shrimp and scallops were all superb when grilled on their own, but the sauce took the cake.
Will be back and I do recommend. Thank you Unilocal for driving me true.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Chowder covered cheese fries! Isn’t that enough to get you there in itself? The place is very «New England-​ish». Casual and includes a fish market.
I love the menu, the lobster roll was just ok, but the apps were awesome. I will be back for the chowder again and again.

bought fresh Salmon to grill at home a little pricey but the best I’ve found in the area
it was absolutely delisssssh!!!
Have not ever eaten there so my stars only reflect the quality of the fish purchased…

Was not impressed. Small portions 25 dollars for seafood platter. Small piece of fish 4 shrimp that were tough and 4 small scallops. Grits and collards were not good no flavor. Overpriced tourist restaurant I guess my expectations were to high. My son’s chicken fingers were just standard frozen out of the box chicken fingers nothing special, his fries average. They need Gordan Ramsey to train their Chef!

They had to relocate east of there old address do to the lack of room for customers and growth. They are going to have a full blown restaurant and full bar (yay).They should be totally operational in 2 weeks. With Mark cooking and running the kitchen and Capt. Ron bringing in all the freshest fish in Bradenton. It cant be anything less than excellent. The new hot restaurant for our area. Its located in the Top Hat plaza on Manatee avenue in Bradenton.

Holy sh*#%!!! unbelievable! Squid fries, jumbo shrimp peel and eat. Pulled pork is great.
Do yourself a favor and get the homemade, best Key Lime pie I’ve ever had hands down. Owner is very friendly and helpful. Will go out of my way to come back here again.

Finally made it in!!! Monday’s my only day off so I’m not gonna waste it on something that isn’t great… especially food! Don’t be fooled to think this is another typical florida seafood joint with frozen crap. Whole fresh fish and a real smoker outside will tell you different. Now add an amazing Chef and youre in business. I was blown away by a cinnamon smoked ribeye which was then blackened! Insane flavor matrix… Squid fries with an intense curry dipping sauce… killer crab fritters and saffron aoili??? AWESOME!!! Don’t forget a key lime pie! Thanks guys you rock!