CUISINE
A SAFETY HARBOR FIND
Water Oak Seafood
and Steak Bar
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Photography by Gram
This evening special of chicken in a coconut green curry sauce at
Water Oak Seafood and Steak Bar is an example of the creativity
of Chef Walt Wickman.
MAY/JUNE 2020 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 147
F or years, Chef Walt Wickman
has been delighting diners
with his creative offerings,
beginning in Dunedin with
Walt’s Seasonal Cuisine and then
at the Olde Bay Café and the Hog
Island Fish Camp. He has now
expanded to Safety Harbor by
opening Water Oak Seafood
and Steak Bar on Main Street.
The casual atmosphere, great
food and full bar have made it
a popular gathering spot for the
town. Both the décor and service
are comfortable and pleasant,
and diners are enchanted with
the menu. It seems that Chef Walt
is prepared to satisfy whatever
cravings you may have.
Among raw bar offerings are oysters;
pink shrimp and scallop ceviche; shrimp
cocktail and tuna poke. Inspired salads
include one with strawberry and spinach,
a Caesar, a Safety Harbor Grapefruit with
watercress, a baby lettuce green salad and
a cucumber salad with kalamata and feta.
The salads can be protein enhanced with
grouper, hogfish, tuna, steak or shrimp.
Most of Chef Walt’s starters are large
enough for a meal, and each has his special
touch. The blackened steak bites have a
blue cheese fondue sauce; the blue crab
and pink shrimp dip is served over herbed
goat cheese; the carpaccio has capers and
lemon vinaigrette; the broiled jalapeños
come with roasted garlic goat cheese; and
the Mahogany Chicken is served in lettuce
and even an elk burger. And if
you’re still debating, there is a
short rib mac ‘n’ cheese, filet
tips and fish camp shrimp and
scallops with grit cake.
The six steaks are an 8-ounce
Coulotte, a 14-ounce rib-eye, a
6-ounce or 8-ounce filet mignon,
a 12-ounce New York Strip,
a 6-ounce Wagyu skirt steak
and a venison leg filet. You can
enhance these with everything
from a lobster tail to a blue cheese
crust. In the Water Oak Favorites
category are beef short ribs, grilled
grouper, a seafood trio of octopus,
shrimp, scallops; crab crusted
grouper, onion crusted hogfish
and cashew crusted salmon.
While the food comes out of the kitchen
quickly and servers silently refill your
drinks, you can’t leave yet because you
must have one of Walt’s made-in-house
desserts. For us, it was the peanut butter
pie, but you cannot go wrong with
whatever you order.
This is the type of dining for which
everyone has been looking. With seating
inside and out and ample parking, this
new restaurant is definitely one to enjoy. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Chef Walt Wickman’s
Water Oak Steak and Seafood Bar is located
at 201 Main St. in downtown Safety Harbor,
(727) 286-6919.
cups. Chicken tenderloins are offered in
fried hot honey or buffalo styles, while ahi
tuna is served with Asian noodle salad,
and the braised octopus with shishito
peppers. Chef Walt’s crab cake with Key
lime Dijonaise is as famous as his Coconut
Green Curry Mussels. The fried grouper
bites, our favorites, are served with both
Dijonaise and cocktail sauces.
At Water Oak, they also serve shrimp
and lobster bisque, French fries with
toppings, plus steam buns with your
choice of short rib, BBQ pork, chicken or
wild mushroom. You can get sliders or
sandwiches made with hogfish, chicken,
BBQ pulled pork, or steak and truffle
cheddar. There is a soft shell crab dish,
as well as four burgers – a black bean, a
plant-based, a Chuck and Wagyu blend