Harbourside's friendly atmosphere, waterfront view draw following

Clustered in a little complex just off Hancock Bridge Parkway and a stone's throw from the Caloosahatchee, multiple al fresco dining options have long been the norm for Marinatown.

At its peak, there were four restaurants offering customers the chance to dine and drink with a view of the marina, its collection of comely boats and a broad canal that attracts lots of wildlife. Unfortunately, food and service have ranged wildly and, as a result, so have the fortunes of the restaurants.

These days, there are two doing business — Coconuts, with its Caribbean theme, and Harbourside Grill & Tiki Bar, with a wide-ranging menu and an emphasis on hospitality.

"Come as a guest, leave as a friend, return as family" is the restaurant's motto, which is prominently displayed on the menu and other printed matter. There appear to be a lot of friends judging from the convivial crowd assembled around the bar in the large chickee hut on what's considered a traditionally slow weeknight in the restaurant trade. They were watching football on several televisions, talking, drinking and applauding the efforts of a lone guitarist/singer performing works by the likes of the Moody Blues and the Eagles.

The fisherman's platter featured fried grouper, shrimp and a crab cake. While the shrimp and grouper were fine, the crab cake fell short of the mark. Diners have various choices — the indoor dining room, a screened porch or the broad deck that overlooks the marina. It was a balmy evening, so we hit the deck. Although the view of the water was lovely, reading the menu was next to impossible, necessitating a move to a different chair and holding the menu up high enough to catch a few watts from the bar.

Harbourside has a full bar, and I'd advise steering clear of the rather minimalist wine selection. Beer and booze are the preferred beverages here. I'd like to say I followed that advice myself, but I didn't, ordering a glass of house cabernet, which was forgettable (and, in fact, I have forgotten the brand) as well as tepid.

House specialties are marked with starfish, making them easy to find. I tried one — the clam chowder — while my companion thought the shrimp quesadilla looked promising. The New England-style clam chowder was well seasoned and creamy but not overly so, containing big chunks of potato and clams. The quesadilla's thin, crunchy wrapper held tasty cheese and shrimp. Salsa, which came in a small plastic cup, added some moisture and zest.

COURTESY PHOTO A shrimp quesadilla was nicely browned with salsa that rounded out a satisfying appetizer. Our entrees arrived just as we were finishing the appetizers. I had planned to order the coconut shrimp, another house specialty, but the kitchen had run out of coconut earlier that day so they weren't available, our server informed us. So it was the chicken Marsala, which the menu called "a Harbourside favorite." My companion opted for the fisherman's platter.

The chicken was tender, topped with big mushrooms. The Marsala sauce, however, was disappointingly bland. Cole slaw (one of nine sides available) was cold, crisp and flavorful, studded with lots of celery seeds. The mashed potatoes were also bland, blanketed in a salty brown gravy.

The fisherman's platter contained a triple play from the sea — grouper, shrimp and a crab cake, all fried. Both the grouper and shrimp were fine, the breading well seasoned and in just the right proportion to what lay beneath. But the crab cake (which the menu stated is "our Chef's top choice") was overcooked to an unappetizing dark brown and contained so much breading the crab was barely discernible. I can't count the number of places that claim their crab cakes are to die for, only to find that I'd rather die than eat them. This one fell into the latter category.

Although the menu lists at least four desserts, only the cheesecake was available. It didn't tempt either of us.

Our server was friendly but erratic. It appeared she had tables in various parts of the sprawling restaurant, making for some lengthy absences, particularly when we wanted our check.

On the plus side, it was a great night to listen to some live music (which was performed at a level that was audible but didn't drown out conversation) and watch the boats bob on the water beneath a star-studded sky.

Harbourside's menu is extensive, perhaps overly so. It does well on casual, bar-type staples, but falls short on more ambitious fare. There's Mississippi gumbo, chicken Marsala, oyster Rockefeller, escargot, pizza, fettucine Alfredo and Jagerschnitzel on the menu, a veritable United Nations. What's needed here is a more finely honed concept, rather than an attempt to be all things to all people.