Imagine this:
You've spent the day on a beautiful, white powder sand beach. Your children played in the calm blue water and hunted for seashells. You are a golden tan and relaxed from a day in the sun. You go back to your resort, take showers, and put on casual eveningwear. Now you're ready for dinner at the Beach House.
The Beach House Restaurant is the perfect place for a relaxing family dining experience, with room for the kids to play on the beach while you sip a mango colada on the terrace next to them. You can enjoy your meal inside the large dining room or on the beachfront covered deck (where I always sit). Sometimes they have a musician at sunset, too. The view is absolutely amazing.
I felt like I could sit there forever enjoying the breeze, waves, sunset, good food, and drink. I never miss the opportunity to have at least one meal at the Beach House when I'm on Anna Maria Island.
The food is delicious, from the Sunset Salad at lunch to fried calamari or coconut shrimp appetizers and Scampi Anna Maria or the New York Strip steak for dinner. They have a very good children's menu as well. Children are given a special treat for dessert (a sherbet pop).
If you have an entertainment card, you can get one dinner for free. Check the Sarasota book for details. This will save you up to $20; it’s almost worth buying the card for this deal alone!
Inside you'll find a small gift shop with reasonable prices. They have some nice cotton casual wear and sometimes offer really good sales. They also carry matted lithographs of Anna Maria. When I'm on vacation, I usually buy a print by a local artist of the area to hang in my bedroom to remind me of the beautiful vacations I've enjoyed.
For more info about the Beach House, check out their website here. You'll find that the same owners also have two other places on the island. I've eaten at them as well. The Beach House is my favorite.