This riverside restaurant in Gulfport has tacos and deck seating for a sunny day

It’s hard to think of a better riverside restaurant on the Mississippi Coast than the newly opened Marina Cantina in Gulfport.

You know it’s a good sign when you can smell good things coming out of the kitchen from the parking lot. If it’s a pretty day, head straight to the deck on the south side of the building — there are plenty of tables and umbrellas, and even a ground level area where the kids can play.

Come by car, come by boat or jet ski, and if you want to know that you have found the right place, the restaurant has thoughtfully provided their longitude and latitude on the entrance sign outside (30˚ 24.461’ North, 89˚1.652 West). That’s pretty cool.

The vibe I got from the Marina Cantina is it’s a place to meet with friends and hang out for a while. I saw few people stopping by for a quick bite, although there is nothing preventing you from doing that, it’s just that kind of friendly place. And speaking of friendly, our server, Eric Stafford, was on top of everything, friendly and knowledgeable, even thought the place was jammed on my visit.

I visited the Marina Cantina with my friend, Kendra Reed, and we decided the thing to do what split a few menu selections. We started with a good smoked tuna dip, a Gulf Coast favorite from Florida to Texas. I do not know the origins of this wildly popular dip, but leave it to a Southerner to smoke almost anything, then add mayo.

The menu is small, but I think we are stuck with diminutive menus until the pandemic is finally over. Restaurants just can’t afford the huge inventory, and the throw-aways that come with that large investment.

There are seven appetizers to choose from, and I was delighted to see Mexican street corn on the menu. There are three specialty sandwiches, four seafood selections, five nachos, a few house nachos and six primo tacos.

Kendra and I choose the fried oyster sandwich and the pork belly tacos that came with a serving of street corn. The oyster sandwich was served on a round bun, dressed, with some pretty good fries. The pork belly tacos, two to a serving, came with a few sliced jalapenos, a good touch.

I love the novelty of thick slices of pork belly on a taco. We decided to shave the street corn and use it as a condiment for the tacos, and it turned out to be a good idea.

It was a lovely day; we enjoyed the sunshine after so much cold weather and gray skies. Kids were running and playing, everyone seemed deep in conversation and having a good time.

The next sunny day we have, head to the Marina Cantina for a fun day.

Marina Cantina

Location: 8813 Cowan Lorraine Road, Gulfport

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Contact: 228- 241-1450 or https://www.marinacantinagulfport.com/