Indian Rocks Beach sits on a narrow barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast, a short drive from Clearwater and St. Pete, and Keegan’s Seafood Grille has been the locals’ go-to for fresh Gulf seafood since 1985. It appeared in Season 2, Episode 3 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives — “Seaside Eats,” aired October 15, 2007 — and Guy Fieri came for the coastal specialties and left talking about the charbroiled octopus and the blackened grouper sandwich. Owner Cesar Labrador’s world travels shaped a menu that goes well beyond the standard Florida seafood shack, and it shows.
Keegan’s has been a fixture on Gulf Boulevard for 40 years. It was one of the first restaurants in the Tampa Bay area to serve chargrilled octopus and blackened grouper, dishes that are now on menus all over the Gulf Coast. They got there first.
Quick Facts
Restaurant: Keegan’s Seafood Grille
City: Indian Rocks Beach, Florida
Cuisine: Seafood
DDD Season: 2
DDD Episode: 3
Episode Title: Seaside Eats
Original Air Date: October 15, 2007
Address: 1519 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
Phone: 727-596-2477
Website: https://keegansseafood.com/
Status: Open
About Keegan’s Seafood Grille
Cesar Labrador built Keegan’s menu around his own extensive travels through the U.S. and the Caribbean, which explains why a Gulf Coast seafood restaurant has a Mediterranean twist running through it. The octopus is cooked in garlic, wine, and herbs then finished on a lava rock flame. The gumbo is hearty and house-made. The she crab soup is rich and smooth. These are not the dishes of a kitchen coasting on its location.
Keegan’s has been named a Top 100 Restaurant in the Tampa Bay area and won People’s Choice for Best Lunch on Indian Rocks Beach. The motto is “Eat Fresh and Eat Wild” and the kitchen backs it up with daily fish specials built around whatever came in that morning. The restaurant is a casual, family-friendly operation across the street from the beach and it has earned every bit of its local institution status over four decades.
What to Eat at Keegan’s Seafood Grille
The Blackened Grouper Sandwich is the signature — the dish Guy called the “money” move during filming. Fresh Gulf grouper, blackened with a mango chutney, the kind of sandwich that is impossible to improve. The Charbroiled Octopus is the other must-order, the dish that took Guy by surprise on camera and has been taking people by surprise ever since.
The She Crab Soup and the Seafood Gumbo were both highlighted during the episode and remain two of the most consistent menu items. The Homemade Key Lime Pie is made fresh daily with real key limes and is the correct way to finish a meal here. Daily fish specials are worth asking about when you walk in — the kitchen builds around what is freshest that day.
Open seven days a week, 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
Plan Your Visit
Address: 1519 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
Phone: 727-596-2477
Website: https://keegansseafood.com/
Status: Open
Keegan’s Seafood Grille appeared in Season 2, Episode 3 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Seaside Eats,” originally aired October 15, 2007.
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