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Orange Beach Restaurants

Below are reviews of some of the restaurants found in Orange Beach

Lester's	Cosmo's	Louisiana Lagniappe	Gulf Bay Seafood Grill	Cafe Grazie
Ginny Lane Bar & Grill	Geno's Fresh Catch Grill

Lester's
24821 Canal Road
Orange Beach
251-974-2525

We have some great news...Lester's on Canal Rd in Orange Beach ! After a long delay in opening, Lester's is open and we can all rejoice. We went for the first time on a Thurs night and had a wonderful experience....great food, great service, great music, great atmosphere. Even my house brand Gin & Tonic seemed better than usual.

We ordered various items so we could all share and try as many different dishes as possible. The Peppercorn Seared Tuna was not only wonderful but was presented so beautifully that we could not resist taking a picture right on the spot. Our Fried Oysters were perfect, the Mustard Battered Grouper Fingers with Remoulade Sauce were great. But it was the popular (we were told) Shrimp and Mushroom Spring Rolls that had us doing backflips up the gorgeous wood staircase (see photo) to the upper bar area.

The atmosphere is very special with vintage motorcycles displayed around a mezzanine above the main dining area and a humongous tree decorated with seasonal fru-fru. The tree was decked in Mardi Gras finery during our visit. Lester's has more of a city bar type atmosphere and I expect the ratio of babies in highchairs to be a bit lower at Lester's than some other local restaurants, blessed relief in summer season. Lester's prices seem to be right in line with the other better restaurants (few that there are) down here.

All the salad dressing are homemade at Lester's which shows you how much they care about quality. And, Lester's serves local Gulf shrimp, not Asian imports. To top it all off, best live music I have heard in Gulf Shores since the Songwriter Festival. Call to ck music schedule.

Bottom line: I wanna go back and work my way thru the whole menu----and soon !

Cosmo's Restaurant & Bar
25753 Canal Road--in Fish Camp Landing
Orange Beach, AL ph 948-WOOF Sushi starts at 5 pm daily
http://cosmosrestaurantandbar.com

This is our favorite restaurant down here--hands down. Best food, best prices and it is for Grown-Ups !. Attractive and unusual serving pieces compliment the nicely displayed food and drinks. We have made about 6 visits in the first three weeks since it opened and tried different things every time and never been disappointed. The Sesame Seared Tuna Salad served rare is our favorite so far. The crab cakes are the best we have had in the area. Cosmo's appetizer Crawfish tails come in a flavorful light sauce with dipping chewy bread--soooo good. The sides are great and so reasonably priced. We think it is wonderful to have all these choices besides french fries , but have asparagus or gingered greens as a side dish instead. The Black 'N' Blue Shrimp Wrap is very tasty and one person in our group who has had Calamari all over the world, including Japan, thought Cosmo's was as good and tender as any he had ever had. Brian Harsany who has opened Cosmo's has done stints at several other local restaurants like Giggling Grouper and Bayside Grill but this restaurant that he has opened, we think, hits the best for providing the type of place we have been missing. Lets just hope he continues to keep low carb, intensely flavorful dishes on the menu and we'll keep coming back. Do everyone a favor and don't tell anyone you know who have the 'high chair' age family members about this place !!! This is grown up food for grown ups.

Not sure of hours, but they are open for lunch and kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on weekend nights this summer but due to excellent customer service, we have been served dinner late on occasion.

Louisiana Lagniappe (pronounced Lan-Yap)
at SanRoc Cay Shopping Area, in the back
27267 Perdido Beach Blvd.
Orange Beach, AL
251-981-2258

Three of us went to Louisiana Lagniappe for the first time since Ivan. The interior looked great, the service was friendly and professional. It seemed that the menu items and prices were generally as before. We like it that they will split an entree between two people and serve each a salad and potato for an extra $4. Our appetizer of fried eggplant, crabmeat and hollandaise sauce was crispy, hot and good altho the breading on the thin slices of eggplant overpowered the taste of the eggplant. One person at the table thought maybe it was a fried green tomato, so indiscernible was the taste of eggplant.

The special of the evening was Grouper stuffed with crab and shrimp and a sauce on it. We thought it was really good. Our salads were very good. There is only one dressing, the 'house' dressing. The stuffed potato was a little on the heavy side, sort of flat and uneventful. One of us ordered the stuffed shrimp which were very good and had a nice flavorful sauce. Louisiana Lagniappe is not an inexpensive place to eat. You do get very large portions, wait staff in snappy tuxedo like uniforms, cloth tablecloths, water with your meal and glasses with your beers but it will cost you. We noticed that they did have a small dish of hushpuppies on the table w/ some butter but brought no bread with our meal. All of us shared on order of bread pudding w/ bourbon sauce for dessert and it was ok--not great, just ok and none of us could taste any bourbon in the sauce. It had pecans sprinkled on top and I got one rancid pecan piece in one of my bites--never a nice thing. The restaurant does have a great view of the marina outside the huge windows in the rear and in warm weather you can sit on the outside porches. Entree prices range from about $15 to $25.

Gulf Bay Seafood Grill
Orange Beach

We had a good dinner at a great price this week at the Gulf Bay Seafood Grill on Canal Road in Orange Beach. The back of the menu had some good deal, off-season, $7.95 dinners. We ordered Lemon Butter Sun Dried Tomato Grouper and Smothered Mediterranean Grouper. The first dish was suppose to have come with fettuccine alfredo but our super-nice-guy waiter let us substitute fresh veggies for the noodle part. This was in spite of the fact that the specials said 'no substitutions'. We paid something like a buck extra to have the small salad instead of slaw. They told us that all the salad dressings were ho-made. I love hearing this news. The Cajun vinaigrette was good but what was brought out as a honey mustard, well we were just not sure what it was, seemed like ranch dressing without any seasoning in it. No big deal, we could have asked for something else and our sweet waiter would have fixed us up I am sure. Our fish was well prepared and well seasoned and the veggies were perfect--not over done. They retained their bright fresh color and had a slight crispness that let us know that they were not overcooked. Only sour note was my Gin & Tonic....worst bar drink I have ever been served down here. I think the bartender used club soda, or flat club soda, or flat something...anyway...it was awful. Neither of us could taste the gin nor any tonic. The seating area in restaurant is one big room, and it would be nice if there was a 'young family with high chair kids area' and maybe a separate area for those without babies--but I guess I am dreaming :o)

Cafe Grazie
at SanRoc Cay Shopping Area, in the back
27267 Perdido Beach Blvd.
Orange Beach, AL
251-981-7278

We have recently had two very enjoyable evening meals at Italian themed Cafe Grazie. The one thing that comes to mind first is great service. This is unusual for our area. We talked to our server the on the second visit and she told us that in addition to extensive training, the employees must pass a large test before they are allowed out on the floor. Even on Valentine's Day, with the place full to capacity and in the 'off season', the service never missed a beat. This is rare even in big cities.

We found the menu to be quite large and offers many dishes for those in search of something other than noodle dishes. On Valentines we tried the nightly specials, both entree and appetizer. Both were really good. The Fried Calamari appetizer with Marinara Sauce is well prepared and a generous portion. We thought the Oven Roasted Portabella appetizer was a little skimpy for the price and we wished the little piles of green sauce were pesto instead of the mildly flavored parsley. And on the subject of flavors, we, being folks who like strong and spicy flavors, wish that maybe the intensity of the flavors was kicked up a notch. To do that, they would need to use the more pricey imported Gorgonzola cheese where that cheese is specified.

The Veal Marsala entree was tasty but the included Spaghetti Grazie was pretty tasteless. See if they will let you substitute a veggie.

One very nice touch is the baked garlic/olive oil mix and fresh bread that is brought to the table. We prefer our "Italian bread to be a bit more chewy--made with a higher gluten flour, but just the same, it is a nice extra to your meal.

A real bargain is the Classic Minestrone Soup.

We tasted the Cheesecake and Tiramisu desserts--good--but who has room ! Maybe better to finish the meal with a steaming cup of Cappuccino. Cafe Grazie uses Community arabica coffee.

Entrees from about ten bucks to twenty.

Ginny Lane Bar & Grill
4780 Wharf Parkway
Orange Beach, AL, USA
(251) 224-6500
http://www.ginnylanebarandgrill.com/

The Ginny Lane Bar and Grill, located in The Wharf shopping complex, is a welcome new addition to the local dining landscape. My recent visit on a weekday night proved to be a delightful mid-week break for my out-of-town guest and me.

Probably the first thing you'll notice when you enter Ginny Lane's is the giant 6' x 8' TV screen located above the Brit-style bar. Several other TVs are located in the dining area, but the mega-TV coupled with the food and selection of beverages is sure to be a hit for local sports enthusiasts. Also reminiscent of a Brit pub is the large chalkboard menu that covers one wall in the dining room. Ginny's has entertainment in Fridays and Saturdays too.

The special cocktail menu is enticing with a large selection of martinis. The Caramel Apple martini, a pleasant relative of the popular was Apple-tini, was tasty and tart with a hint of caramel, but not too sweet. The Lemon Drop martini was delicious and tangy. Large beer and wine selections are available that would compliment any toast of good cheer.

While looking over the menu, a delicious mixture of freshly milled red pepper, parsley and grated Parmesan cheese in oil with warm bread got our taste buds in tune for the salad and main course.

The dinner menus offered a complete selection of appetizers, soup, and salad. Main course dishes of seafood, beef and chicken and sandwiches provide a broad range of selection and price ranges. It's almost bathing suit time here on the Gulf Coast so my guest and I decided to split the meal. It was a good idea too, because the chef served up a generous portion of the dishes we ordered.

We asked our waiter for an extra plate so that we could share two of our dishes. Instead, he surprised us by serving our dinner and salad already divided into two portions, each on its own attractively shaped smaller plate and each artfully presented with garnishes. This gesture, at no added cost, made a big impact on us.

Our meal:
The shrimp and artichoke bisque was creamy and rich tasting. The warm salad with goat cheese served with the Greek salad dressing can be ordered as a main course with the addition of shrimp, grouper or chicken. Created with a wonderful selection of mixed greens and stout goat cheese, the salad alone was satisfying and the Greek oil dressing was distinctive.

Fillet mignon…just the sound of it makes my mouth water. The serving was beautifully prepared – rare; and could have been cut with a butter knife! A side of seasonal veggies, including Jicama, a Mexican root was interesting in taste and consistency resembling water chestnuts.

Dessert? Crème brulee and coffee. Wonderful with nicely caramelized sugar tops with just the right amount of crunch. Yum!

Our experience at Ginny Lane's Bar and Grill was soothing and more than satisfying in terms of atmosphere, food and fare. Go for it!!

Geno's Fresh Catch Grill
26651 Perdido Beach Blvd.
Orange Beach, AL, USA
(251) 975-1388
Hours:
Open 7 Days
Lunch 11 am - 4 pm
Dinner 5 pm - till
http://www.genosfreshcatchgrill.com

Located in front of Zeke's Landing Marina facing Beach Blvd. We have been there several times and always had a nice dining experience with good food. This place can be very busy at popular meal times--plan ahead. Geno's serves PRIME steaks--hard to find now-a-days. We have had Steak Diane, cooked perfectly, twin 4 oz medallions sauteed with Dijon mustard, cream, vegetable and house mashed potato--was very good and the meat was tender,tender, tender. Not cheap tho.. The sea bass with spinach, tomatoes, and capers was very good. Cajun Shrimp and Grits-good. The Creamed Spinach and Artichokes - with asiago cream is large enuf for two or more to share as a side dish--very rich. Orange Beach restaurant with the Island's only exhibition kitchen and the screened outdoor seating area is open seasonally. Can't figure this out: "Memphis Wings - grilled chicken wings served with Carolina BBQ sauce" --why not MEMPHIS BBQ sauce ? Rather loud, busy atmosphere with cheap chairs but attractive plates that compliment the food. . Better gumbo elsewhere, skip the gumbo. The servings are large here, consider sharing. Good wine list.

Rental Condos

We have used this company on several occasions and found them to be very reliable.
Orders might take a few weeks but they always arrive.

02/26/2008

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