Finding a restaurant where teenagers will accompany parents without being coerced by bribery or threats is not an easy task, even in Weston. That's why families must have cheered when fun, youthful Tarpon Bend Food & Tackle opened on Bell Tower Lane at the Weston Town Center.

It's not as rambunctious as its older sister on Southwest Second Street in Fort Lauderdale's Riverwalk area, but Weston's Tarpon Bend also offers live music, theme nights, blackboard charts of local fishing records and a casual menu dominated by seafood.

While both are owned by the team of Tim Petrillo, William Ivan, Peter Boulukos and Alan Hooper, also owners of sophisticated Himmarshee Bar & Grill and River House, the restaurants have their differences, staffers say. Fort Lauderdale's Tarpon Bend draws a large number of singles and patrons in their 20s. Stop by during after-work happy hours and you'll encounter elbow-to-elbow crowds angling for a drink and a good pickup line.

In Weston, you're more likely to see parents picking up their kids from soccer then heading over for a dolphin sandwich or smoked fish dip. Kids ask the staff for some fish food to feed the creatures of the deep in the lake. At both restaurants, you can bring well-behaved pets to join you outside.

Friends had suggested Tarpon Bend, so my teenage son and a friend were actually happy to have dinner with us there. We noticed some young girls snapping up souvenir T-shirts and hats.

The place exudes a laid-back, casual ''gone fishing'' atmosphere. Check out the small aluminum boats hoisted above the bar and fish nets hanging from the ceiling. Huge mounted fish and tackle gear are the decorations.

The dining room and the bar are in separate areas, so families can feel comfortable bringing kids of any age. Families usually exit early, leaving suburban singles mingling till 3 a.m. on the weekends.

The staff is young and friendly, but the place gets frenetic on weekends and we occasionally had to hunt for someone to refresh our drinks. On a recent Saturday, the servers also endured several power outages affecting the area. Twice while we were there the lights dimmed, startling the crowd, but our dishes still arrived hot, though with some delays.

Tarpon Bend offers a large grazing menu with raw bar choices and ''appeteasers.'' Calamari ($6.95) is tender, lightly breaded, served with a somewhat tangy tomato sauce and a roasted garlic dipping sauce.

Conch chowder ($2.50 cup, $3.50) offers plenty of vegetables and ground conch, flavored with a hint of bacon, but the tomatoey stock could use a bit more heat. If you want something spicier, try a side of Tarpon Scales. Nothing too exotic here, but a killer basket of chips dusted with chili powder ($1.95).

The fresh catch is a good bet here. We had a special of Caribbean dolphin ($12.95), and while the fish was fresh, the coconut-conch sauce was too sweet and overpowered the mild fish, which sits upon an also sweet mound of plantain mash. Better to keep it simple.

The sizzling seafood stew ($16.50) is an impressive mound of fish and seafood -- calamari, mussels, clams, dolphin (or other fresh fish of the day) -- and roasted potatoes and veggies cooked in a cast-iron pot. A waiter (we had a few servers) dished out portions on what was supposed to be a sizzling plate but it barely popped. Regardless, this is a good, hearty dish. The potatoes were a little hard and undercooked, but overall, it was a feast that will please most patrons.

Tarpon Bend's varied menu includes a very good spinach shrimp salad ($8.50), accented with sliced mushrooms, chopped egg and bacon and tossed with a tangy honey mustard dressing.

Burgers, sandwiches, pasta and meat round out the menu. Grilled chicken served on penne pasta ($10.95) was tossed with a flavorful, creamy pesto sauce, though it's pretty rich.

We shared a delicious serving of apple pie ($4.50) topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. For those who like their treats with a splash of lime, consider the Jellyfish Martini ($6.50) with Bacardi Limon, sour apple liqueur and sour mix or the Tarpon Bend original Fishbone Brew that mixes island juices with Bacardi O.