rattlefish grill
mattThis weekend my fiancee Traci and I went to RattleFish Raw Bar & Grill which is tucked away off Westshore and Tyson in south Tampa. RattleFish is located on the edge of the planned NewPort Tampa development and is also next to the new WestShore Yacht Club. In June, the Trib reported that the owners of RattleFish are selling the popular restaurant and the marina, which has only been open a few years, to a developer who plans to turn the spot into a high-end “dockominium” for boaters. The developer reportedly intends to make RattleFish into a private restaurant/club house within 16 months. Probably a great way to ruin the place.
I could live without some of the try-too-hard-to-be-trendy crowd that frequents RattleFish (particularly the happy hour bar horde), but the place consistently has good food and a relaxing island vibe that feels miles away from Tampa. Too bad the food quality is likely poised to head downhill when the place gets converted (how many really great meals have you ever had at a country club? I’ve had very few!). Anyway, I guess we can enjoy the “real RattleFish” while it’s still here.
On our latest visit, we had warm crab and spinach dip with chips as an appetizer. I ordered the chopped salad with grilled shrimp and Traci had a blackened chicken sandwich (the bun was soggy, not good) with slaw and fries. My salad was tasty and the New Orleanian in me loves that RattleFish’s croutons are spiked with Tabasco. My favorite dish out of our several visits to RattleFish has been the fish tacos (not unique anymore, but tasty) and the seafood margarita (a delicious chilled salsa and seafood dip). The outside deck area is great for drinks and sunsets.
Bottom-line: Check out the “real RattleFish” sometime soon for good seafood and a relaxing island vibe before it gets absorbed into the latest South of Gandy upscale development.
Inspection Scorecard: January 2006 Violations: Critical (3), Non-Critical (4)
Tags: restaurant, review, tampa
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July 5th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
those croutons sound good. i’m on my way.
July 5th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
i only went here once when it first opened. parking was nonexistent. service was rather lame, and the food, well, lets just say it didnt come close to matching the admittedly somewhat nice view. the outdoor bar appeared to be decent prospective hangout, however, the parking problems make it probably not worth the bother. the ‘dockominium’ crowd can have it. one wd think someone else might open up some decent joints off s. westshore now that the richey-riches are set to move in…
July 5th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
I love their friend Oreo’s benigns
July 6th, 2006 at 12:11 am
go over to restaurants.com and pick up a rattlefish gift certificate for $25 and pay only $12.50 for it. Gary and I decided that was what we would get a friend for her birthday present this coming weekend. LOL, so, I spent $50 and got her $100 worth of food…..Gift Certificates RULE!
July 10th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
dreaming-
South of westshore is certainly lacking for good eats. As for parking at Rattlefish, we got lucky and found a spot right in the parking lot out front. We have had to park across the street and down a bit before - pain in neck but not a deal breaker. Again, food will likely head down hill after the conversion.
Addison- I’m gonna check that gift certificate site out- cool.
cheers
matt