Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House open in Waterside Place

Walking through the front doors of Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House in Waterside Place, Grant Phelan wants people to feel like they’re on a cruise ship. 

The restaurant has shades of blue incorporated into the walls and seating to bring an aquatic atmosphere, especially with the fish mounted on the walls. When patrons step outside, they get a view of Kingfisher Lake. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

Phelan, who is the CEO of Phelan Family Brands which owns Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House, said it’s impossible to find restaurants offering tables right on the water like it is at Waterside Place. Even by an ocean, restaurants have to be a certain distance away, he said. 

Deep Lagoon’s “coastal casual” design comes from Phelan’s father, Tony Phelan, who personally designs each restaurant to ensure they are all unique. Phelan said his father has traveled to the Bahamas, the Caribbean and from the east coast to west coast of Florida in his attempt to bring the “Florida flair” into every restaurant. 

Deep Lagoon, which opened its doors Aug. 6, is the latest addition to Waterside Place and provides upscale casual, indoor and outdoor dining, along with a bar. 

Phelan said he had been watching Waterside develop from the moment it broke ground. He said he considered taking every restaurant available in the complex but decided to stick with its largest restaurant. 

The 13,000-square-foot space became home to Phelan Family Brands’ fifth Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House. 

With the numerous shops and activities around Waterside Place, Phelan said Waterside has everything he could want in a location. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

He said the waterfront dining option was something he couldn’t pass on as there are few places to go in Sarasota and Manatee counties to dine right on the water. With Waterside Place, he’s able to provide waterfront dining without Lakewood Ranch residents having to drive 30 to 45 minutes to a beach. 

“When you look out those windows, do you feel like you’re on a cruise ship?” Phelan said pointing from the lobby to the doors that bring patrons directly to the shore of Kingfisher Lake. “The ability to escape for an hour or two, relax and throw your troubles away, and have somebody bring you the freshest seafood possible is a wonderful opportunity.”

Phelan Family Brands’ fish company, Island Crab Company, on Pine Island provides the seafood. 

“We like to serve what the Gulf of Mexico produces on a daily basis,” Phelan said. “Our motto is, ‘you can’t fake fresh,’ so we use the quality ingredients from our fish house.”

The menu includes grouper, tuna, shrimp, oysters, lobster, hogfish, salmon and mahi mahi. Phelan’s personal favorite dish is the chili rub tripletail while the crowd favorites are the tuna poke bowl and the miso glazed chilean sea bass. 

Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House also has a fresh fish market with seasonal seafood including swordfish, black grouper, mussels, clams, shrimp, salmon and lobster. Phelan said the fresh crab meat might have shells inside the container because it’s all hand picked on Pine Island. 

Photo by Liz Ramos

Phelan said Phelan Family Brands is the second largest stone crab purveyor in Florida, and with stone crab season starting Oct. 15, he’s counting down the days to be able to bring stone crabs into Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House. 

Phelan is no stranger to waiting. The restaurant was scheduled to open in late 2023, but construction delays and supply chain issues caused him to wait until August to open. 

“This was one of the longest buildouts I’ve ever had for a restaurant,” he said. “We had to wait on electrical components that were almost 6 months behind schedule.”

To open Deep Lagoon brings a sense of relief but also elation as the restaurant works to train staff and serve guests in Waterside Place, Phelan said. He said although the restaurant is Phelan Family Brands’ 26th restaurant, its opening still brought him adrenaline and butterflies. 

“The restaurant has tremendous potential, but it starts with every guest and making sure each guest that comes in has a phenomenal dining experience,” Phelan said. “You can’t ever lose focus on that individual guest coming in each and every day.”