Best waterfront restaurants, bars and beaches to visit on Anna Maria Island
I'm not exactly 100 percent sure I should share this information, but right now is the perfect time to visit Anna Maria Island. The bridges leading to the island from Longboat Key and Bradenton's Cortez Road and Manatee Avenue have all been clear on recent evenings and even weekend afternoons. In fact, we've even been easily finding parking spaces for all our favorite restaurants and shops along Bridge Street and the equally popular Pine Avenue.
And, did you notice, there's a certain coolness in the evening air lately? Yeah, that would be the foreign feeling we haven't experienced without the help of air conditioning in about five months! Anyway, the better weather should be nice, especially if you're attending any of the fun, outdoor events taking place this weekend in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. These include a "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" party at Anna Maria Island's Freckled Fin, one of my favorite Irish pubs in Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice.
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It's always a good time, though, to visit Freckled Fin, which is located in the city of Holmes Beach. For those unfamiliar with Anna Maria Island, it's an approximately seven-mile long barrier island on the coast of Manatee County — just south of Tampa Bay and west of downtown Bradenton's newly expanded Riverwalk — containing three small, charming cities. From south to north, they are Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach, and Anna Maria.
I visited all three island cities multiple times for my recent story about the best burgers on Anna Maria Island. You'll find everything from delicious diner-style to gourmet burgers. They're served at seven eateries ranging from a more upscale restaurant, which also serves some of Sarasota-Manatee's best seafood, to a concession stand found on the end of the iconic Anna Maria City Pier.
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Anna Maria Island is also home to several of my favorite sports bars in Sarasota and Manatee, with two just down the road from each other on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach. Another, which also made my best burger list, is in the city of Anna Maria. Craving quality BBQ? You'll find an outstanding, globe-trotting barbecue restaurant on the island in the city of Bradenton Beach.
Really, though, you can't visit Anna Maria Island without having a drink or an entire meal while overlooking the Gulf of Mexico or Intracoastal Waterway, perhaps with your toes right in the sand while enjoying one of our amazing sunsets. Five of Anna Maria Island's most famous destinations recently made our list of best beach bars, with even more featured on our list of best waterfront restaurants. These are truly among my favorite places to visit on the planet.
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And then what about the actual beaches on this gorgeous barrier island? Anna Maria Island is home to three of my favorite beaches in the Sarasota-Manatee region. All are open to the public and with free parking — which, again, is much easier to to find these days — and there's one each in the cities of Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria. Oh, yeah, and don't forget to look for celebrities while visiting Anna Maria Island, as many have homes in our Sarasota-Manatee area and even right on the island.
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida-Georgia Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best waterfront restaurants, beaches to visit on Anna Maria Island
