Best Restaurants with Healthy Menus in Space Coast

Forget all of that battered and fried nonsense! If it's fresh fish and seafood you seek, look to this restaurant at Sunrise Marina. Sure, aesthetically, it looks like little more than your standard waterside shack (complete with its own party deck and tiki bar, of course), but then it's that intentional shabbiness that helps give the place its character. Of course, the kitchen crew does its part, too, a fact made clear once you've tried the grilled fish of the day (mahi mahi or cobia one day, maybe dolphin the next) or the steamed deep-water crab legs. Hold the butter; they're tasty enough without it.

Juice N Java is a great place to get fresh-roasted coffee wine, craft beers and healthy, fresh, farm-to-table menu options inspired from around the world. This shop is a local fave and has been voted the No. 1 coffee house in Central Florida. For healthy options check out the fruit smoothies, salads and artisan cheese trays. For a healthy snack, try the chocolate-covered strawberries. Sandwiches come with a variety of bread options to meet your dietary needs or culinary cravings. Juice N Java also offers vegetarian options, like the roma sandwich. Come and plan to stay; wifi is free and service is excellent. Grab a table outside on a nice day.

Zushi Asian offers healthy and fresh sushi and Thai food in downtown Melbourne, with another branch in the Indialantic. The menu here is incredible, with more than 100 different Thai options and unique sushi rolls you've probably never tried before. Many ingredients come straight from the owner's garden. Zushi Asian walks the healthy walk, too; it promotes local fitness centers and offers health tips on its social media pages. Want to try something new? Order the Tropical Roll, the Lobster Lovers Roll or the Vicky Roll Tuna, with tuna, scallions, cream cheese and cucumbers. If sushi's not your thing, Zushi Asian also serves up some delicious salads, such as the Thai Ocean Salad, with mixed seafood, tomatoes, cilantro, lime, celery, onions and hot sauce.

Alexandria Mediterranean Grill is a delicious place for some inexpensive and healthy Mediterranean food, but you can also find Greek, Italian and Middle Eastern offerings here. Almost everything on the menu is less than $10 — and it's all made with fresh, high-quality ingredients. We recommend the soup and salad combo, which comes with the soup of the day and your choice of four different types of salads, including our favorite, the Greek. The $7 wraps are also delicious and filling. The Alexandria Mediterranean Grill is one of the few family-owned restaurants of this type on the Space Coast, and it's authentic, too. In fact, the founder was born and raised in Egypt, where he learned how to prepare traditional Middle Eastern meal. The menu items today stem from his family's generation's-old recipes.

Thai Thai III is a bit of a hidden gem, a local favorite and reliably delicious. Fresh seafood on the Space Coast means some of the best sushi you can imagine, so your visit to the port wouldn't be complete without a sushi stop. The menu here is brimming with exciting options. Try the spicy tuna rolls or the sushi boat. If you are looking for something cooked, you will love the curry. As the name implies, Thai Thai has Thai food down to an art. This is one of a handful of Thai Thai restaurants in the area, all which boast a reputation for quality and authenticity.

Sunrise opens at 6 a.m. and stays open until 6 p.m. This family-fun business is a hot gathering place to work, relax and meet. In fact, a local running club and knitting club meet here regularly. There's plenty of space to meet and wifi is free. Sunrise doesn't only offer (delicious) whole-grain breads. It also bakes muffins, cookies, scones and cinnamon rolls — most from scratch. Bread here is made from 100 percent whole wheat with no additives, and flavored using pure Florida honey. Most bread doesn't contain preservatives, fats or oils. Gluten-free eaters will be happy to see a small selection for them, too. Curl up with a book, a coffee and a light breakfast upstairs, and prepare for your fun day on the beach. Craving something to cool off? Order a smoothie or iced blended coffee drink.

Sun Shoppe and Cafe, located in the heart of downtown Melbourne for more than a decade, features good selection of coffee, dessert, muffins and bagels. This popular, quirky coffeehouse serves breakfast all day. Coffee here comes from custom-roasted beans, and the blended "frappe" selection includes some unique concoctions, such as the PB + Mocha. Pastries are made fresh daily. You can also choose from vegetarian and vegan offerings. Looking for a cool, lighter option? The long list of smoothies at the Sun Shoppe are refreshing and inexpensive. If you're more of a tea-drinker than coffee-addict, the Sun Shoppe's selection of teas will warm your belly and start your morning right. Enjoy free wifi by day, and live music at night.

Visit Happy Healthy Human for the best "real food" on the Space Coast. This organic, raw, vegan cafe is also a "community life center" that is all about healing the body, as well as nourishing it with delicious food. Everything here is delicious, high quality, organic and free of pesticides. Even if you're not on a vegan or gluten-free diet, you will enjoy the food here. Get a shot of energy in the delicious green smoothie with wheatgrass. Munch on some kale chips instead of potato chips. Also enjoy green juice, salads, the acai bowl, nut cheese and "mylk shakes." The onion bread sandwich is the most popular item on the menu. This restaurant is small and casual, but friendly with great service. It also organizes various healthy events, such as group cleanses and raw food samplings and demonstrations.