Down the Hatch

Waterfront seafood joint tucked at the end of Front Street on the Halifax River side of Ponce Inlet, in what started as Captain Frank Timmons' 1940s fish camp — Timmons is the guy who pioneered the party boat charter business out of the inlet. The bar came first for the fishermen, then someone suggested a fried fish sandwich, and the restaurant grew from there through the 70s. Menu is straight coastal Florida: Spicy Spanish Snapper, Black-N-Blue Tuna, bacon-wrapped scallops, the Hatch Fried Platter, king crab legs. Indoor tables or the outdoor deck over the water where you'll watch charter boats come back in and pelicans work the dock. Changed hands under new ownership in late 2024.

What to order

Get the Fish of the Day grilled or blackened — whatever came off the boats that morning is what to eat here, not the pasta side of the menu. Ride in before 5p to grab a deck table before the sunset crowd stacks up at the host stand.

Hours

Sun–Thu 11:30a–9p · Fri–Sat 11:30a–10p