fish out of water

June 12, 2023

Fish Out of Water: Fresh from the gulf and the oven

By Pam Windsor
June 12, 2023

WATERCOLOR – Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, Fish Out of Water offers a unique dining experience so close to the beach, you can come in and dine while wearing flip flops and cover-ups.

Located within the WaterColor Inn and Resort, “FOOW” as it is sometimes called, is known for Southern Coastal cuisine and stunning views.

True to its name, Fish Out of Water has a few locally sourced seafood dishes specially prepared by its world class culinary team. You might want to try the Gulf Oysters, Shrimp & Grits, or the popular Dos Grouper Tacos. Those tacos are made with blackened grouper, avocado, cabbage, salsa, cilantro, and lime.

FOOW is a family-style restaurant that strives to offer something for everyone, so there are non-seafood favorites, as well.

The FOOW Burger comes with an array of fixings, but guests can also add an egg, bacon, or avocado to suit their tastes. There is also the fully loaded signature BLT with smoked turkey breast, avocado, Cajun aioli, applewood bacon, tomato, farm greens, served on its famous made-from-scratch sourdough bread.

“The BLT is a very popular item for us,” explained Matt Moore, corporate director of projects and concepts for The St. Joe Company, which owns FOOW.) “We make our own sourdough bread and, in fact, make about 30 to 40 loaves every day. People often ask, ‘Where do you get this bread?’ We’re able to say, we don’t get it, we make it here, fresh.”

Moore said that’s one just example of the extra steps taken at FOOW to make both the food and the experience shine. He credits that to the dedicated culinary team and hospitality staff determined to keep guests coming back.”

“A lot of restaurants serve similar things in this area, but we add a little uniqueness to what we serve. Guests might not always be able to put their finger on exactly what makes it special, but it’s there. And a lot of it has to do with the people we hire. They become family, they care, and that translates to the dish at the end of the table.”

The restaurant has become a hot spot for brunch. And while there are many brunch items to choose from, like the WaterColor Omelet with baby Arugula, tomatoes and Swiss cheese; or the Avocado Toast, FOOW’s version of French toast is a big draw.

“Our French toast has been a staple for us,” Moore said. “Everybody comes to Fish Out of Water for brunch, including myself, for the French toast.”

Specialty desserts are also a big deal at FOOW. Make sure to save room to sample the ice cream sandwich, key lime pie, or Dirt Road Anthem (also known as Mississippi Mud Pie).

Adults may want to try one of the bar’s creative specialty cocktails, with whimsical names like Swim to the Second Sandbar, Beach Hair Don’t Care, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

And whether you’re dining here with family, friends, or a special date, you’re sure to enjoy it with that up-close view of the water.

“You get the Gulf view here,” Moore said. “We’re only one of about three restaurants that really has a true Gulf-front seating view in the 30A area.”

FOOW added more seats during renovations several years ago to make sure guests have less of a wait during peak dinner hours.

Fish Out of Water is at 34 Goldenrod Circle in Santa Rosa Beach. Open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., reach them by phone at 850-534-5050, or visit www.foow30a.com.

April 1, 2023

St. Joe eateries offering Easter brunch dine-in or to go

Blog, Home Page Blog

April 1, 2023
Special to 30A Food & Wine

SOUTH WALTON – A trio of local eateries are welcoming guests for special Easter brunch Sunday, April 9, while WaterColor is offering holiday meals to-go or delivered.

Havana Beach Bar & Grill

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy buffet fare featuring brunch specialties, a prime rib carving station, chilled seafood bar, kids’ selections, desserts and more. The price is $85 for adults, $45 for children 12 & under. Call 850-588-2882 to make your reservations and inquire about the full menu.

Havana Beach Bar & Grill is located at 63 Main Street, Rosemary Beach.

Fish Out of Water

7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The culinary team is opening the restaurant early and offering a chef selection of springtime favorites, along with a Mimosa Bar and Dessert Bar. Reservations are not accepted; walk-ins welcome.

Fish Out of Water restaurant is at 34 Goldenrod Circle, WaterColor.

WaterColor LakeHouse

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy an egg-travagant Easter Brunch at the WaterColor Lakehouse, including an extensive breakfast menu, omelet station, salad garden, seafood bar, carving station, hot selections and kids’ cuisine. Email WCISocialEvents@stjoe.com for reservations; cost is $85 per adult, $42.50 per child ages 6 to 12, and complimentary for children 5 and under.

Easter Brunch To-Go or home delivery within WaterColor

The WaterColor team is offering a family-style Easter Brunch for four to-go, and delivering within the WaterColor neighborhood. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. delivery or pick up; place your order by emailing WCISocialEvents@stjoe.com by noon on Friday, April 7. Price is $275. Pickup location is Gather Kitchen + Bar, at 34 Goldenrod Circle in WaterColor.

The meal starts with coastal greens salad, chicken and vegetable soup. Mains and sides include blackened shrimp with yellow grits and tomato gravy, roasted prime rib with horseradish cream and red wine jus, loaded mashed potatoes, honey roasted carrots and rolls. For dessert: carrot cake with spiced cream cheese frosting, French silk pie with Nilla wafer crust. Kids can enjoy carrots and celery with ranch dip, chicken tenders with BBQ sauce, Easter cupcakes and mixed fruit salad.

May 24, 2022

Fish Out of Water: Entirely in their element

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By Laura Holloway
May 24, 2022

WATERCOLOR – Traditionally, a “fish out of water” describes someone found out of their element, but Fish Out of Water – also known as FOOW – is a palatable taste experience created by a kitchen staff found entirely in their element. Perhaps more of an homage to the restaurant’s commitment to seafood plucked fresh out of the water, the eatery’s name is topping everyone’s list of “must-eat” places on 30A.

Located at the WaterColor Inn, a St. Joe Hospitality property, Fish Out of Water offers sweeping views of the Gulf, and whether dining with family on vacation, celebrating a night out with friends, or enjoying the romantic gulf breezes with a special date, the restaurant offers just the right atmosphere for a memorable dining experience. And the menu, which features brunch, mid-day fare, and dinner, offers creative twists on coastal favorites, living up to its promise of “authentic cuisine and impeccable flavors.”

Freshness of the food is top priority at FOOW.

Chef Wichuta Theamsuwan, or “Chef Jules,” leads the culinary charge as Fish Out of Water’s kitchen manager. Described by those who know her as a “passionate leader who works hard and expects the best,” Chef Jules works diligently to create a fresh, savory menu and maintain a hard-working, talented kitchen team. The plates traveling from kitchen to table at the restaurant are not only exquisite in taste, but beautiful in presentation.

Chef Jules said the best compliment she’s ever been paid about her food was, “Ooh! Looks so nice! Tastes so good!”

“I believe that we taste first with our eyes, and then with our mouths. So I want the experience to start even before your first bite or even before you smell the dish being served,” she said. “I make sure that my dishes reach our diners looking fantastic, and it is absolutely essential that they taste just as good as they look.”

She chooses salt, herbs, and butter most in flavoring the food, and said, “At Fish Out of Water, we’re able to source such fresh seafood that it doesn’t require a lot more than that. We like to let the ingredients speak for themselves.”

Kristy McKinney, director of restaurants for St. Joe Hospitality, agrees that the freshness of the food is the most important aspect of the menu.

“Our restaurant is situated directly on the Gulf of Mexico, with views of the water, and people want to taste that experience as well as see it. We have fresh seafood delivered to our kitchen every day at Fish Out of Water, and we serve it in a way that lets the natural flavors shine. I like to say that with fresh seafood you don’t have to do a lot to make it taste wonderful, but if it’s not fresh, there’s nothing you can do to save it. So, we would only serve our guests fresh seafood. If we can’t get it fresh, it’s not on the menu.”

FOOW offers both a brunch and happy hour, in addition to regular service.

Brunch is served from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily and features such savory excursions as a Benedict (with a house-made English Muffin, poached egg, and hollandaise, and served with bacon, ham, or sausage and breakfast potatoes), citrus and herb cured salmon (on toasted sourdough with a boiled egg, capers, pickled red onions, roe, and Crème Fraiche), and the FOOWly Loaded BLT, made on toasted sourdough with smoked turkey breast, avocado spread, Cajun aioli, applewood bacon, vine tomato, and farm greens.

A midday menu takes over from 2 to 4 p.m. for Happy Hour and offers Smoked Gulf Coast Fish Dip (with green tomato jalapeño chow-chow, and house-made salt crackers), a Shrimp Salad Roll (on brioche with farm greens, pickled red onion, and tarragon mayonnaise), and a selection of specialty cocktails like the Horsefeather, made with Benchmark Bourbon, lime, ginger beer, Peychaud, and Angostura.

FOOW does not accept reservations and encourages diners to dress casually. The restaurant is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and to-go orders may be placed online for curbside pickup. Large groups and families are easily accommodated, and a children’s menu is offered for younger diners. Fish Out of Water is located at 34 Goldenrod Circle and can be reached by calling 850-534-5050 or by visiting www.foow30a.com.

March 30, 2020

FOOW: New fish, same waters

Blog, Home Page Blog

March 30, 2020
By Liesel Schmidt

WATERCOLOR – A reincarnation – or reimagining, perhaps – of the restaurant previously known as Fish Out of Water, FOOW officially opened in June 2018 with a new look, a new menu, and a newly refreshed dedication to providing guests with something unique and an atmosphere unlike any other. Find yourself captivated by the view, a landscape framed by massive windows that run along every exterior wall of the expansive, open-plan dining room to welcome in breezes and spill the sunlight that glitters on the Gulf just outside. Whether you take a seat at a table on their outdoor deck or stay inside, this is one restaurant where fantastic views are as much a part of the menu as any of the spectacular dishes created in the kitchen.

Avocado flatbread — The Avocado Flatbread brings together a symphony of color and flavor.

Magically balancing elegance with a certain air of coastal casualness, they manage to keep the atmosphere bright, airy, and approachable rather than stuffily inaccessible. Reflective of that is their menu, offering a collection of dishes whose Southern roots call to mind Sundays at home, family tradition, and comfort food – just elevated to a new level.

“We felt the need to create a casual and ‘easy’ environment for full families to enjoy in our area, where people are coming to experience the beach and that coastal lifestyle.”
– Matt Moore, executive chef

“We felt the need to create a casual and ‘easy’ environment for full families to enjoy in our area, where people are coming to experience the beach and that coastal lifestyle,” said Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Director Matt Moore. “We invite flip-flops and guests directly off the beach, yet we do it keeping the integrity of what we stand for.”

Named “Chef of the Year” in 2017 by the American Culinary Federation, Moore has more than a decade of experience leading acclaimed food and beverage programs at luxury properties throughout the South, and that level of skill is clearly evident in all that he does.

Filet — The 6-ounce beef filet comes with choice of sauce and side, two hushpuppies, and seasonal vegetables.

Perfect for a casual lunch, FOOW serves up a selection of salads, sandwiches, buckets, and tacos, not to mention their signature artisan breads – all of which put an undeniably unique spin on things. Paying delicious homage to the South, the Sweet Tea Chicken Sandwich features succulent chicken breast topped with arugula, tomato, and house-made pickles nestled in a buttery brioche bun, then slathered with Sweet Tea Bourbon Glaze and served fried to crunchy perfection or grilled.

As the sun begins to set, dinner options dive into deeper waters and run further afield, offering entrees for every predilection – be it land or sea – whose exquisite flavors play perfectly in harmony with the views unfolding all around. For a true taste of local beauty, try Whole Boat Line-Caught Snapper, or bite into bayou country with Louisiana Gulf Shrimp.

“Casual environments often lead some to believe that it requires a less talented force to execute, yet we’ve been successful in overcoming that stereotype,” Moore said. “Our menu is locally sourced, always fresh, and always made creatively in-house, with a passion that’s really representative of who we are as a team.”

In saying so, Chef Moore does not speak out of turn, nor does he offer up false promises of what one might expect to see gracing their plates. Expertise, creativity, and an acute awareness of the importance of presentation, flavor profiles, and technique are clear in every aspect of the menu, regardless of what’s on order. From appetizer to entrée to that last sweet kiss of one of their decadent, imaginative desserts, FOOW is everything one would wish for in a restaurant so ideally situated – and these waters are definitely worth diving into.

FOOW is located at WaterColor Inn, 34 Goldenrod Circle, Santa Rosa Beach. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; FOOWBar is open daily 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. with daily Happy Hour from 3 to 5 p.m. Reservations not accepted. For more information, call 850-534-5050 or visit www.FOOW30A.com.

Seagrove Beach V Seagrove 30a food and wine

February 13, 2015

3 for 30a – Valentine’s Weekend Edition

Blog, Fish Out of Water, Home Page Blog, Paradis

By Natalie Haddock

Looking for something a little more impressive than candy and chocolates this Valentine’s Day weekend? This week’s installment of 3 for 30A are the restaurants that are sure to amaze that Someone Special with playful cocktails, creative menus, and a setting that is sure to have their heart aflutter.

Friday, February 13 – Start off the romantic weekend at the award winning Fish Out of Water at the Watercolor Inn and Resort. From 5:00-6:00 every day they offer happy hour pricing on wine and beer, appetizers, and specialty cocktails. Try their Dr. Feel Good to set the holiday mood; or for a real kick in the pucker order the popular Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which is made with Cat head honeysuckle vodka, lemon, jalapeno, and fresh mint. For full menu options check out http://www.watercolorresort.com/florida-gulf-coast/restaurant.asp.

Saturday, February 14 – The most lavish dining experience this Valentine’s Day is arguably at V Seagrove. Their farm to table based menu highlights features that change frequently based on the ingredients that best utilize the Chef’s artistry. One tantalizing treat we know to anticipate, however, is the “ooey gooey” German Chocolate Brownie Bread Pudding served with almond ice cream. We can also look forward to a decadent Banana Cream Praline Parfait as a selected dessert. For reservations call 850-468-0973 or visit http://vseagrove.net/ for more information.

Sunday, February 15 – The holiday may be over, but Restaurant Paradis in Rosemary Beach is still serving a memorable fine dining experience all weekend long. The contemporary lounge invites you to cozy up on a dark leather loveseat until whisked off to a quiet table for two in the intimate dining room. Off menu features included this weekend are a Filet and Lobster Tail with mashed potatoes as well as a mouthwatering Chateaubriand. For full menu and reservations, visit http://www.restaurantparadis.com/paradis-food.html.