Blue Water Bay

Blue Water Bay
12 SE Second Ave

1.5 thumbs up (out of 5)

With an original location operating in Melrose (the small country town just east of Gainesville), Blue Water Bay recently opened a second restaurant in Downtown Gainesville. The Melrose spot has somewhat of a famous reputation as a good seafood eatery. However, you must realize that anywhere with working electricity and running water automatically earns legendary status amongst the locals out there.

All in all, it's just a decent seafood restaurant. If you like Harry's, but wish it was in a different building, then BWB may be just the place for you. It's nothing terribly unique, but then again, how can you distinguish yourself when you're a seafood/meat restaurant? The only real way to do so is to have really fresh ingredients, creative and tasty sides, and nice atmosphere.

First off, BWB likes their deep fryer. Batter it, fry it, and dip it in some creamy sauce is certainly their motto. A seemingly popular menu item was what I have dubbed the platter of batter. This heaping pile of trans fats and grease will surely clog at least 5 arteries by the time you are done. While we were eating, no fewer than 5 parties ordered this monstrosity, which can only be explained by the chef accidentally dumping everything in the kitchen into the deep fryer. Please note that this was the table next to us, and I didn't intend for the woman's cleavage to be in the shot, but it does help provide perspective.
For my meal, I decided to be bad and ordered fish and chips. As you should know by now, I typically eat pretty healthy food. When I do splurge, I want it to be worthwhile. I can somehow override the guilt by saying, man that was damn good. I'm not sure what type of fish they used, as the menu didn't say, and I had never heard of what the waitress said it was before. Regardless, it came out looking like this.
Nothing like a plate of starchy goodness, right? Wrong. The breading was soggy and the fries were too. Like I said, if I'm going all in and getting a totally deep fried dinner, I want it to be crunchy goodness. It was not, and I was certainly disappointed. It was also quite pricey (forgive me, I don't remember the price, but I'd guess it was around 14 dollars). The side of steamed vegetables was just OK.

My dining partner got the burger with the mango cole slaw. It looked like a burger, and the slaw was OK. I think the presentation was lacking as well, as the plate seemed empty and the "garnish" just looked like debris that accidentally fell onto the plate.
All in all, it's not a horrible restaurant, but it's certainly not great. They made the location quite nice, and by redoing the facade, the entryway is much more inviting than the Sovereign or Ti Amo (the previous occupants). Simply put, the menu is seafood and meat. If you're into that, it's totally understandable, but I'm sure you could get better elsewhere. Again, you have to distinguish yourself as a seafood/meat restaurant by having fresh ingredients, creative and tasty sides, and ambiance. I think they spent too much money on the ambiance and ignored the rest.
Will they stick around? Probably. You'll certainly see a huge crowd of out-of-towners in their Gator collar t-shirts out on "nice" dates with their dolled up southern wives on nights before home games, but you certainly won't see me there again.