The former Pizza Palace, a culinary staple on the Square for 27 years, is now Seafood Island Bar & Grille. This third outlet of owner Charley Akel’s Seafood Express & More brand, which has locations on the Southside and Northside, opened Dec. 15 with a decidedly more island flavor and paint job. The red-and-yellow façade and thatched-umbrella patio tables stand out among its San Marco Boulevard neighbors.

The expansive menu, available daily for lunch and dinner, offers no shortage of exotic appetizers, including frog legs and gator tail nuggets. You’ll also find a variety of fish and shellfish brought in every three days — most available fried, grilled, blackened or broiled — along with combination platters, soups, sandwiches, pastas and steak and chicken plates. Entrees come in lunch, dinner and “lite” portions, the last resembling a lunch-sized dinner, as well as daily lunch specials. Gluten-free patrons can ask for their fish to be grilled on a separate cooking surface.

Currently Seafood Island is a beer-and-wine establishment in the process of obtaining a full liquor license. Happy hour, 4-7 p.m. daily, features dollar-off deals on beer (five on draft and 10 bottles) and house wine, with French, Italian and local vintages available. When the full bar opens, live music and DJ sessions will follow, according to General Manager Lee Samaha.