Happiness Comes in Waves at

As you drive down McGregor, you have a multitude of places to choose from to dine and drink. Nestled right off of McGregor, adjacent to a marina, Deep Lagoon Seafood is a must-try spot. As you pull up, you are greeted by some very lovely boats, which are indeed for sale. They offer complimentary valet, which presents an opportunity to forego the parking lot war that could ensue at any restaurant, or store in any area.

As you walk in to ask for your table, you’ll find the seafood counter on your immediate left. If you are a seafood lover like me, then you will be taken aback at the absolutely stunning selection of items they have right there on ice for you! When I see seafood on display like that, I know I am about to be served super fresh seafood – and that is always a good thing.

There is a really cool and unique bar, smack dab in the middle of the place, where you can sit and eat. Or, you can choose to eat indoors, on the patio, or right on the water. In the past, I have sat on the water, as it is very cool to see the boats next to you.

This time, I wanted a corner seat on the patio – still outside but a little more private. A friendly server greeted us and explained a great deal they were offering: $30 off of a bottle of wine for each two entrees you order. They have many wines to choose from, including a $30 bottle of wine. BAM, free wine!

With the red wine order secured, we now had to choose our appetizer selection. It’s always hard because they have many delicious options, but we decided on the hush puppies and oysters. Because they have a such a wide variety of oysters, we asked for two of each type to compare. The Blue Point, Bon Secour and Wellfleet were my favorite. Each offered a unique buttery, nutty and briny taste to them.

Now I must say I have had their gator bites before, and as a gator meat connoisseur, these are top notch. They lightly bread and fry them to absolute perfection! We also tried the crab Rangoon. It featured blue crab, which elevated the dish.

The hush puppies were some of the best I have ever had. They were fried to perfection and so tasty. These creamy little nuggets of fried goodness with chunks of sweet corn brought on the nostalgia. It was reminiscent of the Thanksgiving casserole my mother makes, which made me smile. Most noteworthy about this dish is that it was served with honey butter. This is not a typical accoutrement to this appetizer, but it was the best decision they could have made. We gave this a ten out of ten and highly recommend this dish!

Now that we had already started to feel full, we wanted to go with a lighter dish than the usual. Both opting for fish entrées, we went with the chili rub tripletail and the grouper Rockefeller. Based on the presentation, we knew that these dishes were going to taste great! Guess what? Yep, they were not at all disappointing.

The fresh tripletail was grilled to perfection with sweet chili and secret spices, accompanied by yellow saffron rice and an avocado salad. The combination felt very Caribbean in nature. Meanwhile, the grouper was served on a small bed of mashed potatoes and asparagus with a light hollandaise sauce. The combo was both tasty and comforting.

All of the dishes went very well with our wine, which was a cabernet sauvignon. The last time I went to this establishment, I split the chocolate cake with my daughter, Eden, and we could not finish it. It was truly amazing, but huge.

This time we decided to try another variety, and went with the pineapple upside down cake and the raspberry swirl cheesecake. While I love raspberry and cheesecake, I can get these anytime from Publix, so I was super excited to try my cake. The flavor packed into the little cake was beyond scrumptious. The menu states it is served warm and gooey, and that is indeed how it is served and I cannot ever have it any other way now.

Between the location, service, offerings and deals, this place gets two thumbs up! It is a great place for date night, family night or to bring friends, colleagues and clients!