Port Canaveral on the east coast of Florida is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, fighting Port Miami for the number one spot. The port hosts ships from Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, and MSC. Port Canaveral also is a growing cargo hub, a base for multiple military facilities, and a home to around 200 small businesses. Visiting the port is not just for cruise-goers. You can also visit the beach or the campground at Jetty Park, park your boat at one of the four marinas, check out special events, and dine at one of the restaurants that sit along the waterway.
This year my family decided to head to the port for their July 5th fireworks celebration for Independence Day. Fireworks didn't start until 9:00 pm, but vendors and food trucks were around the park earlier, and the at least some of the restaurants had their own events and specials during the day. We opted for Fishlips, one of our favorite restaurants at the port.
Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill sits right on the canal with waterfront views from the back porch and upper decks. You can watch the cruise ships set sail from the port while enjoying a cocktail and some seafood. Fishlips menu includes some fun appetizers like Krab Rangoon Eggrolls, some of the largest oysters I've ever eaten, craft nachos and dips for the table, some great seafood sandwiches, and beautiful seafood pasta and rice dishes. For the land-lubbers, they also have wings, burgers, salads, chicken, and steak dishes.
My favorite meal by far is the Oyster Po-Boy Sandwich. As an oyster lover, I could always go for a good po-boy but am usually disappointed. So many restaurants throw a handful of tiny oysters with tons of batter onto a roll and call it a day, but Fishlips does not skimp with their oysters. Those babies are piled on and overflowing out of the bread. And these aren't small oysters hidden in breading. They are large and lightly coated, giving you the pleasure of eating an actual oyster rather than a ball of fried dough (no hate to fried dough, but when you want an oyster, you want an oyster).
My family opted for the Mahi Reuben and Seafood Roll (which really was two seafood rolls). We shared a side of fries and a side of onion rings. For the event, they were passing around samples of their Frozen Mango Habanero and Cucumber Watermelon margaritas, which were both incredibly refreshing on a humid Florida summer day, but I opted for the Mango-Raspberry Freeze which had mango and raspberry vodkas, mango puree, and raspberry liqueur.
Our server offered to let us keep our table for the fireworks even though there was a waitlist to get in, but we opted to head to the park area. Parking for the event was $15, but if you parked and ate at one of the restaurants it was free. The fireworks did not disappoint, but we were upset we forgot our beach chairs. The lawns and curbs were filled with people, so we found a place to stand where we hopefully weren't blocking any views. Overall, it was a great dinner and a really nice event. The best way to spend a summer night in Florida is with a cold drink and an ocean breeze. I highly recommend heading out next year for the Port Canaveral Independence Day event and grabbing a bite to eat at Fish Lips or any of the other wonderful restaurants along the water.
Sound warning for the video below showing the fireworks finale
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