One of the best restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton has earned national honors.
Among 47 dining destinations from across the country, with only three others from Florida, Star Fish Company has earned a spot on the 2024 USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year list.
Promoted as a place for “ultra-casual outdoor dining,” Star Fish is located in the historic commercial fishing village of Cortez on north Sarasota Bay in Manatee County. Karen Bell, a third-generation Cortezian dedicated to preserving her family’s commercial fishing heritage, owns Star Fish.
“To me, it’s almost shocking,” Bell said. “I know we do a good job with seafood, but we’re such a tiny place in this little village; it seems incredible to be recognized. Most people don’t know Cortez exists. I’m proud of us and the great people I work with and the quality seafood we provide. I’m just really happy and feel very fortunate.”
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What makes Star Fish Company stand out
Not only does Bell own Star Fish Company, a dockside restaurant, and seafood market, but she’s also the proprietor of A.P. Bell Fish Co., a wholesale seafood dealer located next door that her family established in 1940. Bell’s fleet of commercial fishing boats deliver fresh seafood to the A.P. Bell “fish house,” and it’s served next door at Star Fish — or shipped as far away as Asia. While dining at Star Fish, you’ll be captivated by the fishermen working alongside seabirds and the occasional dolphin.
For those seeking fresh Gulf seafood in a genuine Old Florida setting, it does not get any better tasting or more authentic than Star Fish. The restaurant has more than a century of history and places guests at wood picnic tables on the working docks of Cortez. It’s cash only; you order at the counter, and your food, including expertly filleted fish, is brought to you in a cardboard box. During the tourist season, the wait can be 90 minutes or more, providing ample time to order a cold beer and soak up the scenery.
What to order at Star Fish Company
Mullet. The menu notes that this fish put Cortez on the map and that it’s loaded with omega-3 oils and “good for ya!” I’m no nutritionist, but I can attest that Star Fish’s mullet is delicious, especially when served blackened or fried.
Cortez Special. Priced at $26.95, this might be the best dining deal in Florida. The special comes with Star Fish’s irresistible hush puppies, homemade coleslaw and either fries, broccoli or cheese grits. Get the grits. Next, you choose any two: shrimp (fried or sautéed), mahi-mahi (grilled or blackened), oysters (fried), scallops (fried or sautéed), grouper (fried, grilled, blackened or sautéed), crab cake or clam strips. My go-to order is the grouper (blackened) and scallops (sautéed).
Grouper Tacos. While fish tacos are common enough, the ones at Star Fish are uncommonly good, thanks to the fresh chunks of grouper tossed in spices and tucked inside two soft flour shells along with shredded lettuce, tomato, pepper jack and a smartly balanced sauce with a nice kick.
Florida Pompano. While the tourists and snowbirds gobble up the grouper and shrimp, true Floridians will want to opt for fish like mullet and pompano, with the latter boasting a rich, buttery taste best realized when grilled.
Po’ Boy Sandwich. How good is Star Fish’s fried shrimp or oyster po’ boy? When Emeril Lagasse visited the restaurant in 2016, he requested the recipe for their New Orleans-style remoulade sauce.
Karen Bell’s Key Lime Pie. Karen’s namesake rendition of Florida’s favorite dessert offers the perfect sweet ending to any feast at Star Fish.
See the full menu.
Did you know?
Located a short walk from Star Fish Company is another exceptional seafood restaurant, Tide Tables, which Bell co-owns with the local couple Bobby and Gwen Woodson. At Tide Tables, they cut their fish right on its Cortez dock on the Intracoastal Waterway, overlooking Anna Maria Island, and use it for delightful dishes such as Thai chili grouper bites or a blackened grouper sandwich.
In addition, Bell and her longtime employee, Josh Wilkinson, are reviving a local comfort food favorite called The Boiler Room, which she said should open in March. The Boiler Room, which will specialize in the cheesesteak sandwiches that made the restaurant famous before it closed a few years ago, is located in west Bradenton, about seven miles from Star Fish Company.
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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.