A Minted Location day guide
Dock & Dine in Palm Beach
The Palm Beach run is the most complete dock-and-dine stretch north of Miami: ten miles of protected lagoon and river where the stops range from South Florida's biggest tiki bar to white-tablecloth dining under a lighthouse, and where the best venues publish their dock policies down to the bridge clearance. Every stop below states its own arrival-by-boat welcome — and where one doesn't, we say so.
The lagoon run
Start south at the Old Key Lime House in Lantana, the historic waterfront house whose dock takes, in its words, all types of watercraft. Work north past downtown West Palm — E.R. Bradley's anchors the waterfront there, though its site states no dockage of its own; Palm Harbor Marina's transient slips sit next door.
The inlet
Sailfish Marina's seawall restaurant is where the charter fleet lands the catch you're about to order, with day slips on its three docks and the Thursday Sunset Celebration as the local ritual. Peanut Island sits across the channel for the swim-and-picnic hour — day-use slips only, and no food on the island, so eat first.
North through the Gardens
Frigate's in North Palm Beach welcomes boats to its open-air bars, and the Waterway Cafe at PGA Boulevard runs the most boater-literate dock on the coast: 150-plus feet of first-come space, Florida's only floating bar, and a menu you can order from the helm for pickup on arrival.
The Jupiter finish
The inlet basin is a destination in itself. Guanabanas hides up the oxbow behind two fixed 12.5-foot bridges — its own FAQ publishes the clearances and the 6-to-8-foot depths, so check your air draft before you commit. 1000 North brings the polish, with lighthouse views and arrive-by-boat service. And the inlet mouth clusters three classics: U-Tiki Beach and Jetty's sharing the 60-slip Jupiter Inlet Marina across from the lighthouse, and the Square Grouper's Castaways Marina with public slips and a fuel dock — the last tie-up before open water.
Before you go
Everything on this run is first-come, and weekend rafting is standard — hail ahead. Mind the two fixed bridges into Guanabanas' oxbow, and treat the Jupiter Inlet itself with local respect: the Jupiter Inlet District has posted temporary buoys where the throat shoals and says plainly that conditions change. If the mission is bigger than lunch, the form on this page reaches the brokers who run this stretch every week.
The stops, as their own docks describe them
| Spot | Where | Arriving by boat |
|---|---|---|
| Old Key Lime HouseThe historic waterfront house at the south end of the run — home, by its own claim, to the largest tiki bar in South Florida. | Lantana — ICW at Ocean Ave | Dock space for all types of watercraft, per its own site |
| E.R. Bradley's SaloonThe downtown landmark, open 365 days a year, on the waterfront facing Palm Beach Island. | Downtown West Palm Beach waterfront | Check local dockage options — Palm Harbor Marina is adjacent |
| Sailfish Marina Resort RestaurantFresh local catch on the seawall where the charter fleet lands it, with the Thursday Sunset Celebration as the weekly ritual. | Palm Beach Shores — at the inlet | Day slips on the marina's three docks (94 slips, 25–110 ft) |
| Frigate's Waterfront Bar & GrillOpen-air bars over the north lagoon — the easy first stop heading up-waterway. | North Palm Beach — ICW at US 1 | “Arriving by boat or by land,” per its own site |
| Waterway CafeOne of the county's most popular destination restaurants, with what its site calls Florida's only floating bar. | Palm Beach Gardens — ICW at PGA Blvd | 150+ ft of dock, first-come — and you can order ahead from the boat |
| GuanabanasJupiter's open-air jungle of a restaurant — its FAQ publishes the exact bridge clearances and depths, which tells you who it was built for. | Jupiter — the oxbow by Burt Reynolds Park | 13 slips; two fixed 12.5 ft (high tide) bridges guard the oxbow, 6–8 ft depth |
| 1000 NorthThe white-tablecloth end of the run — modern American waterfront dining under the Jupiter Lighthouse. | Jupiter — ICW with lighthouse views | “Arrive by boat or car”; docking privileges with its Club Lounge |
| U-Tiki BeachToes-in-the-sand dining right on the inlet, sharing Jupiter Inlet Marina with Jetty's. | Jupiter Inlet — across from the lighthouse | Transient slips at the 60-slip Jupiter Inlet Marina, vessels over 100 ft |
| Jetty's Waterfront RestaurantThirty-plus years of seafood, steaks and the best inlet view in town. | Jupiter Inlet — at Jupiter Inlet Marina | Transient slips for diners via the marina it shares with U-Tiki |
| Square Grouper Tiki BarThe self-described world-famous tiki bar with its own marina and fuel dock — the last stop before the inlet. | Jupiter Inlet — Castaways Marina, Love St | Public first-come slips (daily to annual) plus diesel & rec-90 fuel |
Dockage notes are what each restaurant publishes on its own site — space is first-come and dinner-hour rafting is real, so hail ahead. Where a venue states nothing about docking, we say so rather than guess.
Planning more than lunch?
This run is our backyard — the same docks where we shortlist, survey and sea-trial boats for buyers. Tell us the mission and we'll tell you which boat, and which slip, it calls for.