By L. G. GORDON, lggordon@naplesnews.com

February 11, 2005

Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2005. In a town where restaurants come and go — sometimes opening and closing in the same year — this popular Venetian dining/drinking spot deserves grande dame status.

A few other old-timers may be more trendy and glitzy, but, outside of neighboring Venetian Village restaurants, only a handful of local establishments offer such enticing views. From our window seats on the second floor, vistas were limited to sparkling azure blue water plus a few upscale houses hugging the shoreline.

One guest said she felt like she was on a cruise ship ... one with tastier food than a lot of today's ocean liners serve.

In fact, I found the food to be better than ever. On previous visits, I ran across one or two items that didn't quite live up to their price tags. But not so this time around. (Of course, seafood dishes elegantly served in waterfront dining rooms aren't cheap. Our tab for one appetizer, three lunch entrees and two desserts came to $72 before tax and tip. But it proved to be a special occasion meal and would have cost as much at similar establishments.)

What's good? First, consider the ambiance.

The light and airy dining room is a vision in Technicolor: Walls are a beautiful sky blue and coral — an authentic Venetian color scheme; furniture is rattan and thick, white columns and shell-shaped light fixtures add touches of elegance.

Moments after being seated, we were served a basket of piping hot, crusty rolls with butter pats which we enjoyed while perusing the menu. So much appealed that we ended up ordering an appetizer to share while deciding on main courses.

We gave three thumbs up to the plump, crispy lobster spring rolls ($11), which came with two interesting Thai dipping sauces. I blended them together for an intriguing sweet-spicy taste. An order with a bowl of soup would make a lovely lunch.

In the past, I've sampled the black bean soup and New England clam chowder, both stellar soups with long-simmered, homemade flavor. Gazpacho with or without shrimp is another option.

Serious salads — the kind with protein add-ons ranging from shrimp to tenderloin to salmon — make up a large section of the menu. We ordered two, the robust Bayside Salad ($11) and another house specialty, a salad of coconut shrimp, mixed greens, toasted almonds and Mandarin orange segments tossed in a zippy vinaigrette ($15). It came with two sauces, one with a mustard base, the other a sweet-and-sour blend that tasted as good as it sounds.

The Bayside mix started with fresh mixed greens. Next came tomato, red onion, walnuts and rich, creamy Gorgonzola cheese topped with a generous amount of grilled chicken and an above-average balsamic vinaigrette.

That same good vinaigrette came on the greens accompanying my pick, the crab cake platter ($15). The large crab cake was fine, but would have benefited from a few minutes under the broiler to crisp up the exterior. I can only rave about the creamy coleslaw, though. It was terrific.

My little cup of fresh fruit salad, a medley of strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, blueberries and grapes, was a winner, too.

In addition to our selections, the Bayside bill of fare includes numerous sandwiches, three personal pizzas and specialties that include a jerk chicken quesadilla, tempura fried shrimp and sauteed grouper.

Ordinarily neither my guests nor I order dessert at lunch, but we were happy we broke the rule. In fact, we started arguing about which dessert was best.

The creme brulee topped with fresh berries ($7) was positively hedonistic, but we eventually declared the warm banana bread pudding ($7.50) the winner. Dressed up with cream anglaise and caramel sauce, it's one of the most tantalizing sweet finishes in Naples.