Rusty Bellies Waterfront Grill

 

Location & Type:  A Seafood Restaurant at the end of the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks

 

Day and Time Visited:  Saturday at 6pm 

What food was ordered : 

“Madame Butterfly” ($13.95) – Handbreaded & Fried gulf shrimp with French Fries and One Side (Corn Casserole)

“Blue Star” ($11.95) – Hand breaded and fried baby bay scallops with French Fries and one side (Corn Casserole)

Corn Crab Chowder as an appetizer ($3.95)

2 Iced Teas to Drink ($.95 each)

1 order of hush puppies to go – ($1.00) – because they are just that darn good!

 

Greatest Thing:  The Hushpuppies and the view of the water

Worst Thing:  Limited Parking (always at the Sponge Docks)

Our Experience:

My wife and I have eaten at many of the restaurants in the Tampa Bay area.  Its kind of like picking out a movie at Blockbuster…we've seen everything!  So to start out our Restaurant Review section, we wanted to start with a restaurant we haven’t been to before.  Therefore we chose a brand new restaurant that just opened this year – Rusty Bellies Waterfront Grill in the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks.  Since we’d heard from a few people all about it, we wanted to go check it out ourselves to see what all the fuss was about.

Driving up it is at the end of the Sponge Docks and is a bright green building that sits on the water and next to a huge ship labeled “Dixie”.  Parking is limited and all of the spot were full when we got there, but that is not surprising being that it is the sponge docks.  Many restaurants you have to pay a minimum of $2.00 just to park – which was not the case at Rusty Bellies.  They also had a great handicap ramp as well which you don’t always find.

Inside it was packed!  I guess people were finding out about this place!  The inside has a wall of windows that face the water and the view is spectacular!  You can even sit outside on their wooden deck overlooking the water.  We chose inside (we have a little baby who is not big on mosquitoes).

We were greeted by a friendly young waitress who took our drink orders immediately.  The menus were a neat idea.  They print the menus on regular paper that is folded like a newsletter and they have the month and year displayed at the top.  On the front is a story all about how Rusty Bellies came about. 

My wife ordered fried shrimp while I ordered the fried scallops (we always do this and split them together!)  The food was very good and seemed fresh.  Much better than some of the other seafood places I have eaten down there that will remain nameless.  We also ordered Crab Corn Chowder.  The flavor of the Chowder was very good although it was a little watery for me, I like my chowder thick!  The best part of the meal however was the hushpuppies they brought to the table – I kid you not the best Hush Puppies in the world!  They are homemade and hand breaded and soo good!  They have just a tiny bit of sweetness to them.  They were so good we had to order extras to go!

Overall we enjoyed our experience at the new Rusty Bellies at the end of the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, and would recommend this as one of your choices when visiting there.