Critic's Review
I hadn't been to Sea Watch in a long time; time to give it another try. From the street it just looks like a huge restaurant; a big lot with driveways that were designed for Europeans; The entrance is on the left instead of the right. They have a valet at the main door, but you're free to self-park, which is one thing that the restaurant does right.
From the lot, nothing has changed much since my last visit.
A lot of stairs to climb; a brass railing. Old wooden doors.
There's a hostess as you walk in. She asks if I want to sit inside or outside, I chose inside as it's kind of sticky out. The place has some interesting rooms with tables randomly placed throughout.
She opens a heavy door into a room with most of the windows open and I feel the wind as she opens it; "This is inside", I'm thinking. There are 2 women sitting in a little alcove. She walks me over and puts me about 8 feet away. Okay, I'm thinking. There are literally 6 people in the restaurant, and the place is the size of Utah. There's no privacy in the place; no booths, no partitions. The way things were back in 1970.
My server comes over and I ask if there are specials. No specials. For a waterfront restaurant, the menu is very weak. And $3 more expensive than the last time. $19 for a lobster roll. I had the Clam Chowder last time and it was lousy so I wasn't having soup. They didn't have any fish that I couldn't get at any other restaurant in the city.
I get an iced tea and order the mussels, mainly because I don't want to pay $25 for something that isn't going to be very unique.
Every time I ask for something, I get "No Problem". What is wrong with young people these days? I'm sure my parents said that 1000 times about me, but it's really annoying, and shows a lack of sophistication and manners to me. I've mentioned this once or twice before I think.
Music isn't bad, surprisingly. Jimi Hendrix, Canned Heat, Van Morrison. The speakers are outside somewhere; the view is mostly of bushes; the beach is pretty far away.
Seconds after taking the photo, the hostess leads a couple over and sits them down right next to me. At this point I'm holding my tongue; trying not to say ""Do you really have to sit people so close together in a huge restaurant with 8 people in it". I took a look around to verify that something hadn't changed while I was checking my messages.
Nope, still no people.
I hear a duck quacking; but no, it's the woman's phone next to me. Her husband was clearly embarrassed by the silly ringtone, but it was really kind of funny. Better than the theme from Rocky. So I got to overhear her phone conversation as she walked someone at her office through some procedure keystroke by keystroke.
I look around outside and confirm that there is no outside seating. The alcove with the open windows it the outside seating. Didn't I ask for inside?
After 12 minutes of reading the NY Post on my phone the server comes by and asks everyone if everything is ok. We're all just sitting at empty tables waiting for our food, so what is there to be ok about?
The woman is still on the phone, I turn to the guy who was about my age, "Remember when you got bread in restaurants". He grumbled in agreement, and we continued to wait. $15 for lunch and no bread.
Another 3 minutes and the food comes out. Am I really going to put lemon on mussels in tomato sauce?
At first glance, the mussels looked like a decent portion; they even gave me an oyster fork. A minute later I get a bowl for the shells and I'm ready to dig in. Alas, the mussels didn't taste like they were made fresh. For one, freshly steamed mussels are steaming hot, and these weren't. And the red sauce was junk.
The "broth" wasn't broth at all; it was like they dumped a ladle of their conch chowder into the bowl; a musty tasting soup with old, canned tomatoes. Not a very inspiring dish.
I asked for my check and out I went. Another bad lunch in Fort Lauderdale.
Conclusion
Sea Watch was old and outdated 5 years ago, and it's about exactly the same now. It's a perfect example of a restaurant where the owner is just counting his cash and isn't interested in improving the restaurant in any way. The menu here is weaker and more expensive than before; they're not drawing anyone in with the food. The owner also owns Bimini Boatyard, which has fallen many slots on the totem poll of choices in Fort Lauderdale. It's unfortunate that so many prime spots are owned by bad corporate operators who just run them as bad tourist traps.
Sea Watch is just a tourist trap, because if you know anything about it, you go somewhere else. I hated everything about my visit today. I can't see recommending it to anyone for any reason.
Review 8/30/10
Sea Watch on the Ocean is cut from the ancient mold of seafood restaurants with a nautical theme taken to the extreme. The all wood with anchors and oars everywhere motif just makes me think of the places my parents took me when I was a little boy growing up on long island.
Its worthy of note that you can't really see the ocean from most seats at Sea Watch. Unless you're outside its really not part of the view.
Not unexpectedly, the crowd here leans toward elderly. There's not much going on here in the summer. So why come here? Maine Lobsters. You long-time Floridians who think those spiny giant shrimp they try to pass off as lobsters are lobsters; think again. There's nothing like cold-water Maine lobster. And Sea Watch files them in from Massachussets. And they get enough of them so that they're not priced too badly considering their long journey. ($16).
It started out badly as the bread is just bad; they give you a big wedge off of a stick of butter but the bread just doesn't taste very good. I ordered a cup of New England Clam Chowder and it was lousy. Oversized chunks of potatoes, not enough clams and hardly any flavor; it was too thick and gloppy. Just a waste of calories.
I was thinking that I made a mistake ordering a $16 lobster roll here as it seemed unlikely that the kitchen would be capable of executing such a treat. But when they put it down in front of me I knew that wasn't the case; this was going to be good.
The roll was stuffed with big chunks of lobster with celery and just enough mayo to hold it together. The lobster was tender and delicious. There are few treats in life that compare with a well executed lobster roll. The house made potato chips are also quite good. Too good as I had quite a few of them.
Now one dish does not a great restaurant make, and a real good restaurant wouldn't serve me the goop they call clam chowder here. So with a limited sample, I'd have to say that this place is likely hit or miss. They do know how to cook lobster, which may be all you need to know.
Note that they have a pretty good early dinner special between 5pm and 6pm, including a small lobster entree. The menu we have says $19.95 but they raised the price this year to $20.95; still a good deal.