Restaurant and Dining Information at THE Forgotten Coast

Visitors savor a mix of down-home eats and high-end cuisine at THE Beach

When you think of THE Beach and Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast, seafood obviously comes to mind, and rightly so. You haven’t really tasted seafood until you’ve had it on the coast; fish so fresh it was most likely swimming in the Gulf just that morning. Dozens of varieties are available on any given day: grouper, snapper, triggerfish, amberjack, shrimp and blue crab form the staple of most restaurant menus. Pay a visit to Joe Patti’s Seafood Market in Pensacola or Destin Ice Seafood Market in Destin to get an idea of the incredible variety available. Six or seven sizes of shrimp with heads on or off, live crabs and pre-cleaned lump crabmeat, bay and sea scallops, live lobsters and crawfish.

While the area is world-renowned for its abundance of seafood delicacies, THE Beach boasts quite a variety of dining options. From our AAA Four-Diamond restaurants, to down-home, pass-the-gravy cooking, we've got something for everyone. Each Beach Town features its own top-notch eateries. Pensacola is home to McGuires, a lively Irish pub with thousands of dollar bills stapled to the ceiling. The pub takes it's beef seriously, though, evident by its "Golden Spoon Award" from Florida Trend Magazine. In Panama City you'll find Captain Anderson's Restaurant, recipient of the "Best Seafood Restaurant" award from Southern Living.

Beginning in the West, Pensacola and Perdido Key offer favorites such as Jackson's, Skopelos on the Bay and Hopkins House. Navarre is home to Barracuda's, while Ft. Walton Beach proudly features Pandora's Steakhouse and Angler's Beachside Bar and Grill. Locals and tourists alike flock to AJs Seafood and Oyster Bar in Destin, located on the beautiful harbor. The Beaches of South Walton are the perfect setting for Criolla's, Cafe Thirty-A and Bud & Alley's. Saltwater Grill, Pineapple Willy's and Liza's Kitchen are all dotted along Panama City Beach. And as you finally make your way East to Port St. Joe, you'll find Indian Pass Raw Bar and Clark and Blake Brennan's School of Fish.

With such an influx of new residents and visitors to this part of Florida, we are indeed fortunate to be able to lure top-quality chefs from all over the globe. We can't wait to see you on THE Beach, and you'd better come hungry!

THE Beach Resources