Restaurant, Market, American, $ There’s no better place to get fresh-caught seafood than Walt’s. Part fish market, part fun place to eat and drink, this local haunt only serves fresh fish that was caught within the last 24 hours. For over 100 years, locals and visitors alike have visited Walt’s for grouper, red snapper, flounder, cobia, mahi-mahi, tripletail, shrimp, mullet and more.

Walt’s Fish Market is a Sarasota institution that serves up conch chowder, stone crab, and a menu full of freshly caught seafood straight from the Gulf.

For a fun history lesson and tasty seafood, all rolled into one, head over to Walt’s Fish Market for a meal and a story. Established in 1941 when local fisherman Walter Wallin inherited a fish market from his father, Walt’s only sold fresh fish and offered fried fish sandwiches to patrons. Today, Walt’s is a full-service restaurant and fish market with live music every day and the promise of the “freshest seafood possible.” Sit in the dining room for a fresh seafood meal and a side of “gator bites” or hush puppies, and then pop over to the historic market and pick up some fresh fish for a cookout at your vacation rental.

Known for its fresh seafood, Walt’s Fish Market is a family-owned and operated restaurant that’s been in business for more than 100 years. Featured in Sarasota Magazine and Herald-Tribune as one of the best restaurants in Sarasota, it also doubles as a seafood market where patrons can purchase fresh seafood and take it home to prepare themselves. What’s more, Walt’s Fish Market features a tiki bar, where you can sit outdoors while you enjoy their delicious food and drinks with friends and family.

Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, (941) 921-4605, waltsfishmarketrestaurant.com. Walt’s started as a fish market on Whitaker Bayou, but the Wallin family struck gold in the 1940s when Tom Wallin purchased a small fryer and began cooking up the catch of the day for hungry local fishermen. In the decades since, the restaurant was relocated to U.S. 41, renovated and expanded and now boasts a bustling bar, but the eatery has never wavered in its commitment to offering delicious straight-off-the-boat eats.

If you’re looking for a Sarasota Seafood Restaurant consider checking out Walts Fresh Fish Market and Restaurant. With an impressive menu of traditional and creative seafood specialties you’re sure to find it a chore to make just the right selection for your lunch or dinner. From appetizers to soups and salads, seafood baskets or entrée items that you may order either broiled, grilled, blackened or fried you’re sure to find something to satisfy your seafood craving.

Walts is touristy, but the quality of the fish is fantastic- I would recommend it for people who want a classic Florida dinner with local, fresh caught seafood. The atmosphere is great, but FYI the location isn’t walkable- it’s right on a major road, not downtown. It was a little pricier than a few of my other recs (which speaks to the quality of their seafood and the service!), so I would arrive early for their happy hour if you are on a budget.

Walt’s Fish Market found its beginnings in the early 1900s when Claus Wallin immigrated to America from Sweden. Claus’s son Walt Sr. opened the first Walt’s Fish Market after he returned from World War II. To this day, Walt’s is the only market and restaurant in Sarasota. Chef Rigo takes the freshest seafood in the area to create mouth-watering entrees like peel and eat shrimp, mahi-mahi sandwich, soft shell crabs, seafood scampi, and more.

Devour their freshest, top-quality seafood that is locally sourced from around the world. It has been their restaurant’s mission and they have definitely established excellent quality and service as they are one of the favorite seafood restaurants in Florida. Get hooked on their freshest catch of the day as their fishermen deliver various seafood for the Chefs to cook in whatever style the customers request.

In downtown Sarasota, explore a distinct and locally sourced scene. The owner and chef of Indigenous, Steve Phelps, uses his own fine-dining restaurant to help advocate for more sustainably minded aquaculture and makes his case with seasonally focused dishes like Green Curry Fish Dip. Nearby, Selva serves up coastal Peruvian cuisine, while farm-to-table staple Boca always features a lively atmosphere.

Whatever the reason – allergies, a bad sunburn, whatnot – if you crave a tiki but need to dodge the beach for a bit, Walt’s Fish Market and Tiki Bar gives the tiki bar vibe with its palapa, boat drinks, and tropical tunes but without a beach in sight. The location cannot be easier to find along Tamiami Trail and the adjoining fish market makes the ‘what’s for dinner?. ’ question nonexistent.

Open 11-9 daily (closing at 10 on weekends), Walt’s Fish Market Restaurant sells same-day caught fish taken straight from the Gulf and prepared according to the best standards for gutting, cleaning, and more. You will taste how good and fresh this fish is in just one quick bite. It’s their specialty, after all, and the chefs here have many years in service (and many more to come)!

Mine are hog snapper (and it’s snapper cousins), pompano, mahi mahi, triple tail, grouper and mullet when it is fried up fresh and crisp or smoked. When it comes to shellfish, Florida stone crab claws can’t be beat, scallops are heavenly when unmolested by an overzealous chef, Key West pink shrimp are sweet and fine, and those petite Florida spiny lobsters are underrated.

Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-921-4605; waltsfishmarketrestaurant.com. Before stone crab season starts every year on Oct. 15, there’s a very well-known fisherman in Sarasota who receives a call from the Herald-Tribune. “We’ll have them opening day,” Brett Wallin, the fourth-generation owner of Sarasota’s Walt’s Fish Market, Restaurant & Tiki Bar, told me this past October.

It is one a few remaining fish markets and restaurant combination left in the area. The family has been here for over 100 years and has been serving up some of the best seafood in town. It features a large outdoor tiki bar and is a great place to enjoy drinks with friends and family in a fun atmosphere.

For more than a century now, Walt’s Fish Market has been serving up some of the best seafood in the area. If you’re staying in one of our Siesta Key vacation home rentals, you won’t want to miss this!. The fish that they serve and sell here at Walt’s is caught on the very same day you buy it.

Ranked among the best Sarasota seafood restaurants for fresh catches, Walt’s Fish Market operates a dual fish market and tiki bar. For more than 100 years, this family-owned favorite has brought seafood to the area. Visitors may shop from the market or eat at the restaurant.

They guarantee that their fish is the best you will ever taste. With outdoor seating to drink and dine at one of Sarasota’s favorite restaurants, it is full of local flair and the freshest seafood in town!. Stop on in and see why Sarasota is “hooked” on Walt’s!

Captain Curt’s Crab & Oyster Bar, The Old Salty Dog, and Walt’s Fish Market & Restaurant all serve a mean New England Style clam chowder. I won’t get into whose is the best. It’s probably better for you to have all three, and then make a decision on your own.

For a quintessential Florida seafood experience, Walt’s Fish Market is a must. From stone crab claws to fried snapper, their menu celebrates the best of Gulf seafood. Be sure to visit their lively Tiki Bar for a cocktail to cap off your meal.

4144 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231Phone: 941-921-4605 Visit Website. A post shared by Walt’s fish Market (@waltsfishmarket). Up next on my list of favorite seafood spots in the area is Sarasota’s own Walt’s Fish Market Restaurant.

Another favorite seafood restaurant of ours in Sarasota is Walt’s Fish Market. Walt’s is a longstanding restaurant and fish market that opened in 1918 with an interesting history!. You’ll definitely want to read the full story.

Walt’s Fish Market is the only market and restaurant in Sarasota, popular for its fresh-off-the-dock cuisine. Order the conch fritters, mussels and oysters. But make sure to sample their famous smoked mullet spread.

Walt’s: This restaurant is third generation-owned and they catch fish daily. I love the Oscar off the Hook and the fish dip!. Wait times can be long, as this is a hugely popular spot for locals and visitors alike.

When I travel I always want to go to a place that is an experience. There are tons of fine dining places everywhere, tons of seafood restaurants… but where is a place that encompasses where I am… this is Walt’s.