Roosevelts

Absolutely fabulous. Nestled in the back of the Historic Tarpon Inn, Roosevelts is a small but romantic setting in what was once the caretakers cabin. The old horse stables has been turned into a small convention space for smaller groups.
The Roosevelt Restaurant and Tarpon Inn have a very interesting historical reference and I highly recommend that you read up on the history of the hotel and the islands history. Also, take a few minutes to look at the various pictures of the place going back in time. If you have not been a guest at the Tarpon Inn and looking for a place to stay in Port Aransas I suggest you check them out.
The Roosevelt has limited table space so I highly recommend that you make your reservations ahead. If you’re a larger family you might ask about seating in the conference room. You’re in the heart of one of the Gulfs best access to deep sea fishing. The island still has that quiet undiscovered feelings. Unlike some of the other Port cities, Mustang Island hasn’t been commercialized. This gives you and the local fishing vessels some great opportunities for some great fishing. If you’re not looking for seafood then I highly recommend the various cuts of beef. My favorite entrée is the 6oz beef Fillet with the Brazilian Lobster stuffed with crab. Truly, I have never had a poor grade of beef.
Save room for dessert? Trust me when I tell you that you will want dessert. I am personally torn between the Cream Brulee and the Key Lime Pie. All made in house fresh each morning.
Definitely, hands down one of the finer restaurants in Port Aransas and full of history.

As the 1^st guest to arrive shortly after 5, the waitress didn’t make us feel very welcome but overall the service was fine during the rest of the meal. Everything we ordered was cooked perfectly and delicious, ribeye steak and snapper with shrimp & ricotta ravioli, and the portions were generous as well. Not sure why its hard to find a restaurant in Port A that doesn’t overcook and ruin seafood but thankfully we found this place on our last night. It is pricy but I don’t mind paying for quality; we paid a lot of money at other places in Port A for a lot worse food!

Love this place!!! The restaurant was adorable and our waitress was wonderful. The warm spinach salad and the key lime pie were amazing! So happy my husband and I decided to eat here.

This used to be our favorite place to go for a great dinner when in Port A. Not after tonight. Not only did we arrive to find out the staff we grew to know over the years was no longer working there, the food was no where close to what we were accustomed to. The place was way overcrowded with 35 people in a very small room. I might add there was a table of 11 people that was extremely loud. A table of 6 were crowded into a table set for 4 right next to us. It was so loud and they were not getting attention so they just got up and left! My husband and I were so disappointed. When we go to a restaurant for a «fine dining «experience, that is what we expect. This restaurant has gone way below its past standards and is not worth going to anymore.

We make Roosevelt’s a priority every time we come to Port A. The firecracker appetizer is great. The chef knows how to cook up a soft shell crab (when they have them) as well. The pasta dishes are always top notch and they usually have a seven wine selection although if you bring a bottle they’ll usually open it up for you. For fine dining at the beach it cannot be beat.

Make sure you make a reservation. Very snobby attitude. We walked in at 6:15 to a totally empty restaurant but they refused to seat us stating people were due around 6:30. Waitstaff just standing around not dong anything. We were very disappointed and felt totally dismissed. We won’t be back

This place is exquisite! I had the Rockefeller oysters and may I say, they were absolutely delicious. From the wine to the main course, I kept falling in love with this beauty. Chef Zimmerman cooked everything to perfection.

Chef Jeff Zimmerman is a fascinating and talented one man show. A veritable blur in the open kitchen. There is no sous chef, pastry chef or kitchen buddy. He does it all. There are eight tables that turn over several times a night. The service is wonderfully attentive in a small cozy space behind The Tarpon Inn.
Four of us dined on beautifully presented and delicious food such as steak and shrimp, moist fish with a cheesy risotto, fancy lobster (yes!) and a rustic but tasty quail dish. There was lovely wine, beer and even a strong Margarita during our meal. Dessert was wonderful as well; a crème brûlée and key lime pie – both chef inspired and house made. I wanted to hug the chef!
This is the best restaurant in Port A. Hands down. Make a reservation. When I called the day before, they had only one slot open. Better hurry as I envision the chef in NYC some day.

As good as it gets. I absolutely love this restaurant. Friendliest staff on the planet. Chef Jeff is a genius! All of the seafood entrees are fantastic, but the appetizers steal the show, in my opinion. Oysters Roosevelt are the best version of Oysters Rockefeller I’ve had in my life. Great cozy room, but dine outside if it’s not too hot and humid.

Hands down best restaurant on the island! The stuffed flounder is to die for along with the shrimp and tenderloin tower! Make reservations because this place fills up quick! Can’t wait to come back and visit the gem place:) perfect for an anniversary or romantic getaway!!!

This restaurant surpassed our expectations for sure! We had the oysters Rockefeller, warm spinach salad, spicy seafood vegetable medley pasta, black drum and key lime pie. All were delicious and the service was wonderful! Will definitely return!

Food was tasty/​well prepared but nothing special/​creative about the menu. Service was excellent. Wine/​cocktail menu was not great.

Roosevelts is as good as it gets tucked away behind the Tarpon Inn in a quaint little house. It has a porch with outdoor seating that wraps around the house and room for about 20 – 30 people inside. This easily became our new favorite restaurant in Port A after our first visit.
We stopped by around 12 that afternoon to check the place out. The chef opened the doors for us and let us look around. We made reservations and were eager to return. Cooper browsed the menu and saw that they had a Shrimp and Tenderloin Tower and was sold on the spot.
When we arrived for dinner we were definitely hungry after spending the day golfing at Palmilla. Cooper wasted no time and we ordered wine by the glass at the same time as our entrees. He went for the Tower (of course) and I chose the Parmesean Crusted Flounder. Holy wow were we pleased with what came out.
HUGE amazing portions of delicious everything that will «make you prioritize what you are going to finish» (Cooper’s exact words while eating). The tower sat atop the creamiest risotto, with asparagus, and julienne vegetables. Cooper finished the tower itself but some of the sides survived… and the man can eat so trust me when I say it is a lot of food! This was his favorite meal of the trip hands down.
The flounder was done to perfection. Light and crispy on the outside on top of a bed of fettucini alfredo with fresh garlic cloves throughout. Crostinis and julienne veggies were also included. I can’t say enough about how freaking delicious this was! I had leftovers as well :)
We will be back for certain. Definitely come here. Do it.

That meal was AMAZING! And the setting was so romantic! We had the trio appetizer. I could have had ten crab cakes. The sauce was great and just the right amount. The salad and dressing was so good. It was sweet but light. My s.o. hates salad/​vegetables but ate half of this one! We ordered the snapper and grouper. They were both delicious and seasoned well. We both thought the snapper was just a little better than the grouper. For dessert we had the key lime pie. It was the perfect balance of tart and sweet. We drank French press coffee and watched a wedding reception after dinner. We left feeling full but not gross. It was pricey, but sooo good!

Hands down the best meal I’ve had in Port A. Bread appetizer and warm spinach salad are delicious and a great way to start your meal. Tenderloin and shrimp tower is wonderful. The last time we were there I had the flounder stuffed crab on risotto special. It was amazing… like every meal we’ve had there. Good wine list. Great service. I’ve yet to have a bad experience here.

Warm spinach salad was the best ever! Steak sand lobster and Seafood medley pasta was delicious. Nice atmosphere ! Will definitely come back!

Roosevelt’s is located on the rear of the Tarpon Inn property. It’s a very beautiful quaint historic restaurant that hubby & I have been going to for years now.
Usually when we are visiting Port A we have dinner here at least once. This past visit happen to be our Anniversary & we were very lucky to get a reservation on the patio.
It was quite lovely. We had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir & started with the oysters as we always do. I swear they were better this time than they ever have been. We even ordered a second order. They were simply divine.
We also ordered the same two entrees we always order. Hubby loves the crab stuffed flounder while I really enjoy the snapper with the shrimp & ricotta ravioli.
It’s always great that’s why we keep ordering it. However, this last time both entrees were not good at all. Hubby’s crab stuffed flounder came with a spicy sausage sauce instead of a lobster sauce (they cheapened it) & it was so spicy, not HOT, over seasoned, that he could not even eat it. It was like they knocked the bottle of seasoning over into it or something it was WAY over seasoned :(
My snapper came & it looked like half had already been eaten. They cheapened this dish as well. It was only half the size it was last year, as you can see in my posted pics from last year. I had one tiny filet & three ravioli. I don’t mind small portions but it should have had a couple more ravioli for around the $ 35 an entrée price point. It was more like a appetizer portion. To make matters worse the ravioli were not even done. The pasta was not cooked & they were cold inside.
The waitress brought us key lime pie for dessert bc it was our anniversary, which was a nice jesture, but it was soooo sweet we could not even eat it. We left it on the table. The waitress came by & agreed it was even too sweet for her, shrugged her shoulders & brought us the check.
We were both sad & disappointed when we left. I don’t think we will be back. Not even for the oysters.
Very disappointed :((

We found this little gem on Unilocal!It was small and quaint! The food was AWESOME! Three in our party had the Lamb, one had Grouper and I had the Firecracker Tenderloin which was served on a bed of mushroom risotto, yum! S’mores cheesecake for dessert, light and delicious! We will definitely be back next visit to the area!

A wonderful hidden gem in Port A! Chef Jeff is very imaginative. Food was simply wonderful. The bacon-​wrapped filet with Serrano peppers and risotto appetizer was unreal. As good as any meal I’ve had in a while!
Recommend the Panko-​Parmesan encrusted flounder too. And key lime pie is a very unique rendition. Absolutely delicious.

Overall: a refined retreat from the sandy bluster of surf and sun, with creative flavors for the local catch.
Ambience: tropically-​themed fans keep a current of unusually subarctic air continuously flowing through the single dining room helping guests forget the humid tropics outside and refocus on the zesty, inventive delights to be savored within.
Food: the appetizer trio merely delivered as promised; the special bread was well-​adorned with sauces to make it worth the gimmick; the real show came with the entrees. The panko encrusted Parmesan flounder on a bed of Alfredo sauce pasta was a marvelous combination with the julienne veggies and splashes of other sauces. Other table mates had the grouper, the drum, and the lamb – all were similarly pleased, but I felt the champion.
Service: we had a bit of a green waiter. If it happens to you, just don’t hesitate to ask for whatever you want or what you would typically expect in a restaurant of this caliber. It happens, he’ll get better.
Price: fish entrees ran ~$ 30