I took the day, with my youngest children, to critique a few of the North beaches boat ramps and happened to see a sign for Latitudes on Madeira Beach. As it was on the waterfront and I saw boats docked we decided to stop in to see what was available for boaters in this neck of the woods.
Latitudes is located on the third floor on the intercoastal side of Gulf Blvd. at 132nd Ave in Madeira Beach. Walking in I was very impressed with the efforts to create a comfortable Key West type of atmosphere from the open air dining and ceiling fans, to the balcony seating with beautiful views of the waterfront right down to the decorations such as a stuffed Mahi Mahi.
The service was fast and friendly, there is a full bar and a decent selection of ice cold bottled beers for the beer drinker in the family.
 Docking, for now, is limited to the L shaped section of the marina that is noted on the sign (right hand corner of the image). There is room for up to three boats around twenty foot in length and is available on a first come first serve basis. If you're going to be heading in from the water it would be a good idea to call ahead to ensure that there is space available for your vessel.
In speaking to the manager, he said that they are in negotiations with the city and the marina to make more space available for patrons and we will update this review when the circumstances change.
The menu is very robust featuring appetizers including raw oysters, crab stuffed mushrooms, grouper cheeks and something for just about everyone in the family to whet their appetite. There was a nice selection of salads and entree's ranging from $8 to $18 including seafood selections and a range of steaks.
I asked my server about the grouper and she said although it wasn't filleted on the premises it was fresh, local and not frozen so being reassured I figured I'd try my standard... the blackened grouper sandwich. The kids did what the kids do and both ordered the kids chicken nuggets and french fries. It was rather nice to see a child friendly restaurant, not only with selections for the younger ones but also with the coloring place mats that kept them occupied while I took a few pictures and talked to a few of the regulars.
The grouper sandwich comes with a pasta salad or cole slaw and you cannot substitute french fries. I went ahead with the pasta salad and asked for a side of fries.
The children were impressed with the taste and quantity of their meals but the grouper sandwich left much to be desired. For the first thing, it came grilled and not blackened. When I made my server aware of the issue, instead of cooking a new piece of fish, they simply sprinkled some blackening seasoning on the grilled grouper that I was originally served. (Very poor form in anyone's book) When I brought it to the attention of the server there was no offer to re-cook the fish, nor was there any offer to adjust the bill for the mistake.
 The grouper wasn't firm, and although it was the smallest piece of meat I've ever seen on a sandwich, it was grouper though I'm not at all convinced as to it's freshness. As you can see from this picture... not only was it smaller in diameter than the tomato, it was roughly the same thickness.
The pasta salad was good, the fries adequate and the beer was cold.
We ordered a Greek salad to go for my wife as she was enjoying the day without the kids. Her feedback on the salad was that the dressing was very good but the beets were spoiled and acidic which gave the rest of the salad a less than stellar taste to say the least.
It's really a shame because we loved the atmosphere and the other diners that I spoke to said that their meals were from good to outstanding. Maybe there was a momentary lapse of reason in the kitchen, lack of oversight with the vegetables or maybe one should just stick with the appetizers and enjoy the beverages and the atmosphere.
Although the prices were reasonable ($35 for two kids meals, a grouper sandwich, side of fries and one Heineken) and the atmosphere outstanding... I could not recommend Latitudes to friends or visitors based on this experience. If you've dined at Latitudes, Madeira Beach waterfront dining, please feel free to leave your comments as to your experience and maybe we'll give it another try.
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I'm Scott, AKA TBC, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. Please feel free to have a look around the rest of the site and let us know how it might be improved. 