For years, Bobby's on the beach has been the place to go for the best burgers in Vero (maybe even in Florida), a great steak sandwich, delicious steak tips, or a tasty piece of fish.

So when word began to spread that Bobby had taken over the old Ellie's on Royal Palm Pointe, many wondered how he was going to upstage the old act with his new Dockside Grille?

The answer is with a quite different (and a bit more pricey) menu that continues to offer some of the long-standing favorites, but also introduces an assortment of new entrees that based on a first visit make the Dockside an excellent addition to Bobby's World.

Like the original Bobby's, the Dockside Grille does not take reservations (at least for most diners) -- so if you arrived there after 6:30 p.m. during its just-concluded first week, you had a short wait, and if you got there after 7:30, you had a longer wait.

But the food is worth it. For starters, my two companions each had a cup of a tomato-based chowder ($4) which they pronounced excellent. I began with a plate of lightly breaded fried calamari ($11), which was served with a marinara sauce.

The house salads (which each included a couple of large chunks of prime tomato) were first-rate.

For the main course, one of my companions had the "catch of the day" which on this night were large parmesan encrusted sea scallops served in a reduction sauce ($27). Superb! My other companion had one of the four flat breads on the menu -- this one a chicken flat bread with goat cheese, onions and broccoli ($11) -- which was very tasty.

I had a piece of perfectly seared soy-and-sesame encrusted tuna ($27) served rare, exactly as ordered. Both the tuna and the scallops were accompanied by delicious baked sweet potatoes.

For desert, we topped off our meals with a piece of tart key lime pie ($5.95).

The Dockside Grille is split into two rooms -- the bar area, where booths surround the large central bar, and a dining room, where tables look out on the canal to the south side of the restaurant.

The bar area, it should be noted, is pretty noisy when crowded (which means most evenings), and if you dine in one of the booths in the bar, you may not find it particularly easy to hear your companions. The dining room is considerably quieter.

For a restaurant that has only been open a week, service at the Dockside Grille was most impressive.

For a total bill with a modest bottle of wine that came to $128 before tip for a party of three, we would say if you like Bobby's, you should love the Dockside.