Always glad you came, Cheers Seafood Bar & Grill offers a unique mix of sports, quality bar food and fresh fish.
by Jack Roth
The concept of combining sports, bar food and an at-home atmosphere is not a new one, but at Cheers Sports Bar & Grill, owner Neil Shastri has proven that a sports bar and grill can also serve fresh, delicious seafood, as well as a number of other tasty items.
With two locations in the region – Cocoa and Rockledge – Cheers Seafood Bar & Grill welcomes patrons with the same kind of hospitality people became familiar with on the classic TV series, Cheers. “Where everybody knows your name” is not too far from the reality for those Space Coast residents who frequent Shastri’s establishments. And that is just how he prefers it.
“With any restaurant, you want to create a welcoming atmosphere and combine that with great food,” said Shastri. “Being that we’re on the Space Coast, we wanted to give people the additional option of getting high-quality fresh seafood, which has been a really big win for us.”
When you walk in, you immediately notice the plethora of TVs showing a variety of sporting events and sports talk shows. If you come on a Saturday during college football season, you can pretty much catch the game you want to see on one of the screens, and if you come on a Sunday, the same goes for watching your favorite NFL team. In fact, regardless of your preferred team or sport, or when you come in, if a game is being televised, odds are the staff will find it and put it on for you.
REDEFINING BAR FOOD
Perhaps the most unique aspect is the extensive menu that redefines “bar food.” You can enjoy the usual bar fare, including nachos, potato skins, chicken wings, salads, burgers, sandwiches and french fries, but you can also turn it up a notch by ordering bacon-wrapped scallops, crab cakes, fried gator tail, fried calamari or Caribbean conch fritters.
And here is where it gets really interesting for those with more refined palettes. Fresh seafood – including mahi mahi, grouper, yellowfin tuna, catfish, salmon, shrimp and scallops – is available daily, cooked to your preference (blackened, broiled, char-grilled or fried) and served with soup, salad and your choice of baked potato, rice, coleslaw or french fries. Not in the mood for fish? Try a pasta dish, or some steak and chicken from the butcher’s block. And if all of that does not fill you up, finish off your meal with some New York-style cheesecake, two-layer chocolate cake, key lime pie or apple cobbler.
“A lot of our patrons are repeat customers, many times over,” explained Shastri. “That’s important, because it tells us people are enjoying their experience. We couldn’t have asked for more, being in such a great community with such loyal customers.”
Imagine sitting at a table or comfortable bar, watching your favorite team play in the big game, enjoying any number of delectable dishes, and in a warm, friendly atmosphere.
This is what you get when you go to Cheers Seafood Bar & Grill, a place where, using a description of another much-enjoyed establishment, “You’re always glad you came.”
