Pictured: Shrimp Fettuccine is one of the new entrees created by Chef Justin Kurtz at Mar Vista. Photo courtesy of Mar Vista.

For decades, diners have flocked to Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub to take in the scenic waterfront views, soak up the rustic Old Florida vibes, and (of course) feast on delicious dishes. Chef Justin Kurtz joined the outstanding culinary team at Mar Vista in October of 2023 and has spent the last several months familiarizing himself with the sustainable ingredients the restaurant utilizes and creating specials to see what resonated with diners. Now, Kurtz has debuted several new menu items of his own alongside classic Mar Vista favorites.

Located on the north end of Longboat Key, Mar Vista is known for its locally-sourced Southern-inspired seafood-forward cuisine, and the new menu items reflect that sensibility. Sustainable ingredients abound, starting with the new grouper dishes which all use aquaculture grouper from a sustainable company. One is the Mar Vista Hot Fish Sandwich. The grouper is lightly breaded in seasoned flour and fried, tossed in Nashville hot oil and drizzled in Florida honey, and served on a toasted bun with housemade bread and butter pickles. Another is the Jalapeno Grouper which is a particular favorite of Kurtz. Fresh grouper is seared then roasted in the oven with a sweet-and-spicy jalapeno glaze and served on a bed of sauteed shaved Brussels sprouts, shallots, garlic, toasted almonds, dried cranberries and roasted sweet potatoes in a beurre blanc sauce.

“It’s a busy dish,” Kurtz admits. “But people love it. It’s not too spicy, it’s got a good balance of everything. It’s going over really well.”

Mar Vista designates one of its dishes as a WCK dish which stands for World Central Kitchen, an organization that provides meals on the front lines in times of humanitarian, climate, and community crises, The current WCK dish, Shrimp Fettuccine, is another Kurtz creation. That dish features sauteed shrimp and locally-sourced Petrichor mushrooms in a white wine parmesan cream sauce tossed with fettuccine.

“I recently started making the pasta in-house which I think takes the dish to the next level,” Kurtz says.

If you’re not in the mood for seafood, you’ll want to try the new Southern Fried Chicken entree. A brined buttermilk-fried chicken breast is served on a bed of cheesy Bradley Country Store grits from Tallahassee. Mar Vista often utilizes wild boar from Shogun Farms. In this dish, it’s used as a smoked ham hock in the braised collard greens and to make the sausage in the gravy.

“The fried chicken is a simple dish, but when we can use boar from Shogun or ingredients from Gamble Creek Farms, it really elevates it,” Kurtz says. “There’s a story behind it, there’s a meaning behind it.”

This is just a taste of the new menu items at Mar Vista. There are plenty of other new dishes to explore, like the tantalizingly tropical Mango Creme Brulee garnished with fresh fruit and edible flowers. Kurtz will also continue rolling out new specials. There has always been a lot to love about Mar Vista. Now there’s even more.

Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, 760 Broadway Street, Longboat Key, (941) 383-2391, marvistadining.com.

Pictured: Shrimp Fettuccine is one of the new entrees created by Chef Justin Kurtz at Mar Vista. Photo courtesy of Mar Vista.