Florida Beach Vacation Rentals

Surf Coast: South of Cocoa Beach thru Vero Beach

You can go to our Surf Coast Guide on Yelp.com for the easy iPhone guide with longer reviews, maps, etc. Meanwhile… Heading south from the runway surf break at Patrick AFB you’ll come to the predominantly residential part of the beach running all the way to Sebastian Inlet.  Satellite Beach and Indian Harbor Beach have beach parks, but not much more for tourists.

Then comes Indialantic, a one square mile beach town with a small boardwalk of surfing fame (Kelly Slater surfed there for Shagg’s Surf Shop team when he was a true gremlin!), surf shops, seafood restaurants, coffee shops, pizza, ice cream and some nice beachfront rentals close to the little downtown but far enough down the beach to be private.  No hotels.  Just you and the locals in a little beach town with great surf and good views of the shuttle launches. It’s also the closest beach to DisneyWorld, Oh My Gosh! 

Downtown Old Melbourne with a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and bars is just across the bridge on the mainland.  It is also the site of the Melbourne Art Festival which is one of the best art shows in the country due a big patrons program that guarantees the artists’ sales. Melbourne Beach comes after Indialantic and the rest of the beach to Sebastian Inlet pretty much runs under that name.  Mel Beach is mostly residential, but there is a nice pier on the river/lagoon for sunsets and a small beach park.  Its little “downtown” street is the last vestige of civilization before running down the beach about 15 miles to Sebastian Inlet with its great fishing and world famous surf break.  If you’re looking to really get away, there are a few VRs on the way down the beach, and there is a good grocer down that way.

Cross the Sebastian bridge and you’re soon in Vero Beach with its polo fields, gated oceanfront communities and fancy shops.   This is also the section of coast where Mel Fisher got his start with a great find of gold doubloons in the knee deep surf.  Plus Dodgertown is here, the spring training complex for the baseball team, set among orange and grapefruit groves, as any spring training baseball field should be and with seats from back when all our fannies weren’t quite so wide.  It’s a real slice of history and lots of fun.

On the riverside you’ll find Sebastian, the closest thing to a New England fishing village you’re going to find in Florida, with nice restaurants along the river and a large fishing fleet ready rocking at the docks. The Surf Coast has everything you need for a great vacation at and around the beach. Here’s where to eat when you’re there.

Music & Entertainment:

Brevard Live is the place to check out for who’s playing where all over the county.

Restaurants & Food:

Mainland Melbourne:

Meg O’Malley’s:  THE Irish pub in the area.  Big, good gourmet pub grub, live Irish music, lots of fun and the host of all sorts of holiday events from Meg O’Ween to St. Patty’s Day.
810 E New Haven Ave, Melbourne, (321) 952-5510
Matt’s Casbah: Nice outside patio with a wide variety for lunch and dinner including vegetarian.
801 E New Haven, Melbourne, (321) 574-1099
Continental Flambe’: Good French food. Pricey dinners, but a good lunch value
936 E New Haven Ave, Melbourne, (321) 768-2445
Edelweiss:  Funkyyyyy, and great with a fun owner/chef. A great little find. German beers on tap and nary a vegetable in sight. Fabulous schnitzels, sausages, and all the rest. And oh that great beer!
2543 S Harbor City Boulevard, Melbourne, (321) 723-6555
Conch Key Grill: Nice laid back riverfront location with decks and a couple of bars. Live music on the weekends and one hell of a happy hour show on Friday afternoons.
6355 N US Highway 1, (321) 751-5311

Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Satellite Beach:

Bizzarro Famous New York Pizza: Location, location, location. BIg slices, weak sauce though, but oh that oceanfront boardwalk location is hard to beat for a quick slice. Wonderfully rude counter dudes who are too cool for their shoes.
4 Wavecrest Ave, Indialantic, (321) 724-4799
Petrillo’s Italian Eatery: Others continually pop up to claim the title, but decade after decade Petrillo’s has one of the best pizzas on the beach. Good crust and sauce. Petrillo’s is a family owned place and serves a wide variety of pretty good Italian entrees in a family friendly setting. They might not amaze your taste buds, but you won’t go home hungry or broke.
960 N Highway A1A, Indialantic, (321) 953-6888
Beachside Cafe: GOOD breakfasts with 10 types of benedicts, and the lunches and salads are good too.
109 5th Ave, Indialantic, (321) 953-8444
Sun On the Beach: Good breakfast/brunch and there’s even an ocean view which is unusual for this area.
1753 Highway A1A, Satellite Beach, FL 32937, (321) 777-9483
Skewers Mediterranean Grille: Wonderful beachside Lebanese grill with belly dancers.
144 5th Ave, Indialantic, 321) 727-8944
Bonefish Willy’s Riverfront Grille: Riverfront gourmet seafood shack. Good food. Sit on the deck overlooking the river.
2459 Pineapple Ave, Melbourne, (321) 253-8888
Pane E Vino Italian Restaurant: Excellent family style Italian.
1800 W Hibiscus, Ste 122, Melbourne, (321) 676-5499
Mezzaluna’s: Again, excellent Italian food, but with outside decks and music some nights
1385 Highland Ave, Melbourne, (321) 254-6166
Texas Roadhouse: Good beachside steakhouse and a good value. Peanut shells on the floor motif.  Call ahead to get your name in line.
425 E Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Beach, (321) 773-3220
Charlie & Jake’s:  Good beachside barbecue joint with a good “feedbag” take out drive through menu.
445 E. Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Beach, (321) 777-7675
Thai Thai II: Good, fresh entrees, good sushi, a nice clean setting, and a real nice staff.
2324 North Highway A1A, Indialantic, (321) 773-6144
Long Doggers: Coolest thing anyone ever did with a dead Dunkin’ Donuts. Funky picnic table outside dining with good pub type grub and a Sunday deal on steamed clams. Waffle fries and mahi sandwiches and a good seared tuna.
890 Highway A1A, Indialantic, 321-725-1115

Markets:

Downtown Produce:  GREAT resource for cheap fruit and vegetables and a wonderful, well priced selection of meats, fish, cheeses, wine, beer, and lots and lots of condiments. Go here first and fill in the rest elsewhere.
7856 Ellis Rd, Melbourne, (321) 254-4048
Green Turtle Market: Good gourmet market with lots of prepared dishes and a good wine selection.
855 E. Eau Gallie Blvd, Indian Harbour Beach, (321) 773-2001
Direct Seafood Outlet: The local seafood wholesaler who also sells retail. As fresh as it gets.
1643 Cypress Ave, Melbourne, FL 32935, (321) 242-2243

Sebastian:

Mulligans:  Right on the beach with a nice bar and patio, good breakfasts and a higher grade menu than you might expect.
3384 Ocean Dr, (772) 492-0110
Lemon Tree:  Great little diner near the beach with real good breakfasts.
3125 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, (772) 231-0858
Ocean Grill:  This place has been around so long that it is no longer on land, but instead it’s suspended over the ocean.  As the beach has eroded, the Ocean Grill remains, a landmark with the history that comes from being the go to place for locals and the fancy version of snowbird that has defined Vero Beach.  The place is pretty cool and definitely well located.  The food is expensive for what it is, but the Ocean Grill is so Vero that you might have to go for lunch at least.
1050 Beachland Blvd, Vero Beach, (772) 231-5409
Toojay’s Gourmet Deli:  Florida has a couple of small chain delis that folks dream about as they head back south for the sun.  Toojay’s is one of them and everything they serve is good from their great pastries to their full course meals.  Famous for their piled high sandwiches, you can’t go wrong here.
555 21st St, Vero Beach, (772) 569-6070
14th Ave Steakhouse:  You’d never know to look at it from the street, but this is a great steakhouse that has been a Vero landmark for a long, long time.  Incredible prime rib!
2023 14th Ave, Vero Beach, (772) 778-1020
South Beach Pizzeria:  Good pizza rules and this some great pizza.
1621 Ocean Dr, Vero Beach, (772) 231-1110
Chef Lin’s Asia Buffet:  $11.95 for all you can eat and it’s really good and really fresh with lots of seafood and meat choices, dimsum dumplings, and a whole dessert buffet.  There is nearly always a line, but it moves right along and it’s well worth it.
1850 Us Highway 1, Vero Beach, (772) 778-6989
Sake Japanese & Thai Restaurant:   Japanese, Vegetarian, Thai, and Asian Fusion tucked in a little place on the beachside.  Parking can be tough, so if you’re on vacation just go in an off hour and enjoy great sushi, tempura, curries, and that great Thai coffee.
42 Royal Palm Pt, Vero Beach, (772) 978-9798
Italian Grill:  Good authentic and creative Italian dishes.  Not cheap, but this
is Vero.  Nothing’s cheap!  These folks feed you good food and plenty of it.
2180 58th Ave, Vero Beach, (772) 567-6640