Squidlips Riverfront Grill — Sebastian, Florida

Squid Lips Overwater Grill is a seafood restaurant situated on the western shore of the Indian River Lagoon at 1660 N. Indian River Drive in Sebastian, Florida. According to the Squid Lips company website, the Sebastian location opened in January 2004 as the founding establishment of what has grown into a four-restaurant chain operating along Florida's east-central coast. The overwater format — positioning the dining area directly above the lagoon — is the defining physical characteristic of the original venue and the element that gave the chain its identity.

The Sebastian complex has since expanded to include a second distinct venue, the River Deck at Squid Lips, located at 1670 N. Indian River Drive on the same stretch of waterfront. Together, the two establishments represent the only multi-venue Squid Lips presence among the chain's four Florida locations, both documented by the company as operating in Sebastian. The restaurants occupy a section of N. Indian River Drive that functions as Sebastian's primary waterfront corridor, a stretch also associated with commercial fishing operations, the city's Fisherman's Landing project, and recurring public events organized by the Sebastian Community Redevelopment Agency.

The original Squid Lips Overwater Grill is addressed at 1660 N. Indian River Drive, Sebastian, FL 32958. The overwater structure positions diners above the surface of the Indian River Lagoon, the 156-mile-long estuary that defines Sebastian's eastern boundary. This location opened in January 2004 and is identified on the Squid Lips corporate website as the first in the chain.

The River Deck at Squid Lips operates at the adjacent address of 1670 N. Indian River Drive. Sebastian Daily documents the River Deck as a waterfront dining venue featuring both indoor seating and deck seating, with views oriented toward the Intracoastal Waterway and the Indian River Lagoon. The Squid Lips contact page lists the River Deck address, hours, and a happy hour schedule for the Sebastian location.

Across the four-restaurant chain, Sebastian is the only city that hosts two Squid Lips venues. The other two restaurants in the chain are located elsewhere on Florida's east-central coast, as noted by the company website, though the brief does not specify those locations by name. The two Sebastian addresses are separated by approximately ten feet of street frontage, effectively functioning as a combined waterfront dining complex on the same section of N. Indian River Drive.

The Squid Lips Overwater Grill at 1660 N. Indian River Drive closed in October 2024 for renovation. According to The Huddle, part of the USA Today Florida network, the overwater grill reopened on February 7, 2025, following the four-month closure. The March 2025 Huddle report covered both the reopened overwater grill and the River Deck at Squid Lips as part of a broader feature on Sebastian's waterfront restaurant landscape.

The River Deck at Squid Lips is described by Sebastian Daily as a newer addition to the N. Indian River Drive corridor, bringing a second distinct format — combining enclosed indoor dining with open deck seating — to the same waterfront address cluster. Sebastian Daily characterized the River Deck as offering views of the Intracoastal Waterway from both the indoor and outdoor portions of the venue.

The N. Indian River Drive corridor where Squid Lips operates sits along the western bank of the Indian River Lagoon, a federally recognized estuary that runs the length of Sebastian's eastern boundary. The lagoon is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a series of barrier islands; Sebastian lies approximately two miles inland from the ocean, with the Intracoastal Waterway occupying the channel between the city's waterfront and those islands, as documented by the Sebastian Police Department's government information page.

Pelican Island — a five-acre island in the lagoon adjacent to Sebastian — is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first federally designated wildlife refuge in the United States, established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, according to the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce. The island is visible from the lagoon-facing portions of the N. Indian River Drive waterfront, providing the geographic context within which both Squid Lips venues operate.

The same stretch of Indian River Drive is also home to Fisherman's Landing Sebastian, the city's working waterfront project developed with a Stan Mayfield Working Waterfront grant exceeding $3 million, as documented on the City of Sebastian's CRA projects page. Fisherman's Landing hosts commercial fishing operations and the fish market and food service eatery operated by Crab E Bills under a lease with the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Riverview Park, which contains a statue of Paul Kroegel — Sebastian's first wildlife warden — is also located along the riverfront corridor.

The N. Indian River Drive waterfront district is formally supported by Sebastian's Community Redevelopment Agency, which funds recurring public events including the Sebastian Clambake, Shrimpfest, Concerts in the Park, and the Fine Art Festival, all documented on the City of Sebastian's CRA projects page. These events are organized in part to generate economic activity for the riverfront business district in which Squid Lips operates.

Sebastian's broader economy, as described by Vero Beach Magazine, is anchored by the service sector, public employment, tourism, and the working waterfront, with commercial fishing, clamming, and oystering documented as ongoing economic activities along the Indian River Drive corridor. The city's population of 25,759, with a median age of 57.6 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023, reflects a substantial retiree demographic — a population profile that has historically supported year-round patronage of waterfront dining and recreational venues along the lagoon.

Sebastian is situated approximately midway between Melbourne, to the north in Brevard County, and Vero Beach, to the south, as noted by VeroBeach.com. Melbourne International Airport lies approximately 30 minutes north, providing regional access. The city's identity as, in the words of the City of Sebastian's official website, the Home of Pelican Island, draws nature-oriented visitors to the lagoon corridor — a visitor base that overlaps geographically with the waterfront restaurant district anchored by Squid Lips.