Looking for the perfect place to celebrate sunset over the Gulf of Mexico with a Cosmo or a margarita? We’ve got it.

A fashionable Sunday brunch where your latest chic little something will draw the admiration it deserves? It’s on our list.

A super-casual, shorts-and-flip-flops lunch with local color to spare and the snap of salt in the air? No problem.

Following is a round-up of nine of our favorite waterfront eating and drinking establishments. Think of this eclectic collection as a starter list for visitors in search of briny nirvana.

In style and setting, our faves are as different from one another as can be, encompassing spots to go luxe, to rough it Old Florida style, or to maximize your water time by arriving by boat. Geographically, they range from southernmost famous-for-shark’s-teeth Caspersen Beach in Venice to the northern tip of Anna Maria Island, where Tampa Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico. The only thing they really have in common is their intimate connection to saltwater.

We’ve lined them up for you two ways. An annotated quick reference list orders our waterfront nine from south to north and includes shorthand tips on what to expect of each one. We begin, however, with a narrated tour ordered by level of sophistication, working our way from extremely casual to putting on the Ritz.

The Old Salty Dog, Sarasota’s City Island. This fine joint, tucked into a working boatyard and overlooking New Pass where it opens into Sarasota Bay, boasts the highest funk factor on our list. I recommend a seat at the roofed but wall-free bar, where you can rub elbows with everybody from the guy who runs the adjacent fuel dock to volunteers and staff from Mote Marine Laboratories and Aquarium across the street.

There’s often a good breeze here, thanks to the spot’s close proximity to the Gulf, but if nature fails, misting fans all around will keep you cool. At lunch we recommend the turkey club, a fine tall sandwich backed up by crisp fries. At sunset, we’d go for the iced peel-and-eat shrimp. The beer is as cold as it should be, too.

Sharky’s On The Pier, Venice. This popular hangout anchors a fishing pier that juts into the Gulf, with gorgeous beach stretching on and on to either side. Outdoors on the deck is the place to be.

The beach bum ambience may owe a good deal to concept design, but the giant hand-cut and battered onion rings are the real thing. If you like those alcoholic concoctions dispensed from what appear to be Slurpee machines, you’ve found your place in the sun.

Mar Vista, Long Beach Village, Longboat Key. This boater’s favorite hides out on one of the prettiest little coves along Sarasota Bay at the north end of Longboat Key. From the water, watch for a rusty tin roof, tree-shaded picnic tables, and a long dock with head-in slips on both sides. Tables inside and out have their charms, but we recommend the deck, shaded by umbrellas, or the picnic tables.

The grouper sandwich is a reliable staple on a varied menu, and my brother is a big fan of the spicy wings. It’s a good place for stone crab claws in season, too, and the wine list isn’t bad.

The Sandbar, smack dab on the beach, Anna Maria. This restaurant and bar, a sibling of Mar Vista, is the northernmost stop on our tour. It’s perfectly named. The only thing separating deck-dwelling sun and sunset worshipers from the blue-green waters of the Gulf is a strip of white sand.

The food is OK here, but the potables, potent or otherwise, always hit the spot. There often is music outside in the evening, but a fabulous sea breeze and the spectacle of Old Sol slipping flamboyantly below the horizon are all you really need. Cheers!

Marina Jack, Sarasota’s downtown yacht harbor. This seafarer’s splashy watering hole also has served as countless visitors’ first taste of Sarasota. And why not? The bay views have always been first-rate, and now the place has grown into its setting.

There’s a sophisticated dining room upstairs and an air-conditioned piano bar below, but here we’re recommending the open-air Portside Patio, with tables both under roof and scattered about an extensive over-water deck. Come for sandwiches, appetizers, raw bar staples or drinks anytime. But be warned: After as little as half an hour of soaking up the Marina Jack scene, you may suddenly feel yourself in urgent need of a yacht captain’s gold-braided ball cap.