BUBBA GUMP SHRIMP COMPANY

185 Boardwalk Place West
Madeira Beach, Florida 33708
Tel: 727-397-4867

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is a chain restaurant, but it happens to be the first place I tried in John's Pass Village and I enjoyed it. It's next to the parking garage and I was hungry. It's the first restaurant I could see and I made a beeline for it. I'm glad I did.

The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor dining; I opted for the outdoors since it was a sunny 70 degrees and I found a table with a nice view of the John's Pass Bridge and the other customers and outside bar. Like most outdoor dining venues in Florida - especially on the waterfront - pesky birds can be a problem. They go for the easiest food they can find and that's quite often on the dining room floors of restaurants. Bubba's has done a good job of discouraging these feathered pests with the strategic placement of fishing line at various locations. The birds can see the lines, you don't notice them, and the birds stay away. It's almost like an invisible fence.

Bubba's has a nice variety of seafood offerings and a full service bar. I started my lunch with a nice Margarita in a shaker. The drink cost $8, but I was able to get 4 drinks out of the shaker. What a bargain. The menu includes - no surprise - lots of shrimp dishes. You can get crabs, calamari, hush puppies, sandwiches, soups and salads for appetizers. Entrees include fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, drunken shrimp and other shrimp dishes prepared just about any way you can imagine.

Non-shrimp entrees include Southern Fried Chicken, fish and chips, pork chops, baby back ribs, sirloin steaks, and a surf and turf special. Lobster is also available, along with salmon, mahi mahi and tilapia prepared any way you want.

I had something that was great and I will try it again. I must warn you that it is a huge meal. It's called the "Net Catch Entree" and is a big metal pail with beer steamed peel and eat shrimp (I guess maybe two dozen of them), along with carrots, celery, corn on the cob, potatoes and Andouille Sausauge all steamed together and tossed with either garlic sauce or a secret Cajun spice recipe. I went with the Cajun spice and it was delicious and extremely filling.

Bubba's is open 7 days a week from 11am to 10pm.