WOODY'S RIVER ROO PUB & GRILL – Restaurant

Tied to the Manatee River in Ellenton with boat slips out front and a tiki bar running loud, Woody's River Roo is a Gulf Coast waterfront institution in the truest sense: arrive by water, eat outside, stay for the band. The kitchen works seafood and pub food hard — grouper and fried shrimp baskets, fish and chips, peel-and-eat shrimp, pulled pork BBQ nachos, salmon a la parrilla, a Philly cheesesteak. Diners consistently praise fast, cheerful service and the view; they warn just as consistently about parking and the wait. Both are worth it.

Cuisine: Restaurant