PALM BEACH SHORE'S SAILFISH MARINA--GREAT FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER AND SUNSET CELEBRATIONS

A trolley carries customers around Palm Beach Shore and other hotels

One of the nicest Sunday brunches one can imagine is at the Sailfish Marina in Palm Beach Shores on Singer Island, Florida, a relatively well-kept secret and a lovely respite from the hustle and hubbub of the nearby communities of West Palm Beach and Jupiter just minutes away.

Sailfish Marina is a charming place located diagonally across from Peanut Island.  Boats enter through the inlet of the Lake Worth Lagoon separating Palm Beach from Singer Island.  The boats docked here are a show in themselves, big and beautiful.  Charters are available for fishing, and there is a “taxi” service across to Peanut Island, the artificial island created to serve as JFK’s headquarters and bunker during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  With the passing of time, this artificial reef has developed into a delightfully rewarding public park and off-the-beach snorkeling site.  Walk right into the water, and before you are knee deep, you can see the fish.  Don’t wear jewelry when you snorkel here as there are even barracudas—albeit small ones--who will be drawn to the sparkle. 



You get to see some really big fish

 The Sailfish Marina boasts a “seawall aquarium.”  Walk along the edge of the walkway and see dozens of different kinds of fish of all sizes and colors, and if you care to, you can treat them to a meal.  They love to be fed.  Bring your own bread or purchase fish food from a machine.

Be on the lookout for pelicans, not that they are difficult to find.  They thrive at the Sailfish and perch on the pilings creating beautiful living sculptures.  If you catch it right, you will enjoy their unique performance when the fishermen come in and clean their catch at the long sheltered tables.  Those pelicans, very familiar with the routine, patiently wait as the fisherman skins and guts and filets his catch, throwing pieces here and there to his hungry, anxious, audience.

The fisherman filets his catch in front of a waiting audience



They are waiting for their share!




They are ready to dive in too



Sunsets at the Sailfish Marina are times for celebrations, and each Thursday evening there is a Sunset Celebration with music and entertainment.  Local artisans show their creations, and everyone gets happy!  I never leave there empty-handed.



Walking around on a Thursday night for
the Sunset Celebration



The Sailfish Marina’s restaurant is top notch.  On Thursday nights you’ll undoubtedly get a flashing beeper as you wait for your table, but you’ll be able to walk the whole length of the marina as you wait for the flashing lights to blink.

Writing about the restaurant brings me back to my original thought—Sunday brunch.  While you can order off the menu, the Sunday buffet is well worth the $19.95.  We had seats at the window walls.  In warmer weather the front window walls open totally to the water. 

Let me describe brunch buffet:

We begin with the freshest of fruit: beautifully arranged giant strawberries, sliced watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew melons. 

Then we see platters of nicely rolled slices of nova salmon paired with capers, beautiful, ripe, sliced tomatoes (a special treat after what we get up North), and thinly sliced purple onions. 

Moving on we see heaps of herring covered in cream sauce loaded with onions. 

Covered servers contain mounds of freshly scrambled eggs all light and fluffy, bacon and sausages, waffles, fruit filled crepes, and sausage gravy—with a mound of fresh biscuits on the side (this is, after all, the South).

Cross to another section for bagels, cream cheese, English muffins, toast, and butter.  This is also the place for a selection of pastries.

Move a bit further, and order from the omelet station.  Anything you can think of that could possibly please your omelet palate is there for the asking.

The coffee is delicious.  The service friendly and prompt.  There’s no waiting for coffee refills, and as we’ve met my cousins for breakfast and are talking up a storm as we catch up with each other, no one rushes us.  This breakfast has become an annual Florida vacation reunion ritual for us, and we spend a long time enjoying the Sailfish Marina’s hospitality.

Rob and I make sure to get to at least on Thursday night Sunset Celebration.  We stroll along the seawall aquarium and watch the fish.  We feed them too.  We walk up and down the docks and wish we could have a boat “like that one.”  We buy some things from the artists.  We’ll have a wonderful fish dinner too.

If you are anywhere in the Palm Beach County vicinity, put the Sailfish Marina on your hit list.  You won’t regret it.