Destin, Florida is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. I’ve been visiting these beaches since I was 14 years old, and continue to love to spend time here every year. It helps that my best friend from college lives in Destin, so I always have an excellent excuse to spend some extra time at the beach! In all my years visiting, I have developed my top favorite places to eat and would love to share those with y’all. Here are my top food recommendations for Destin!
Dewey Destin’s
Dewey’s is my number 1 top pick of all my favorites in Destin! There is literally nothing you order off of this menu that you won’t love. My favorite meal for dinner is the Grouper Parmesan, and it is to die for! They also have just about every other seafood option you can image from a beach restaurant. If you have someone in your group that doesn’t love seafood, they also have a really good burger and steak option! Warning: as most beach restaurants do Dewey’s can have a long line in peak season during the summer. If you don’t want to wait too long, try to get their for an earlier dinner and enjoy!
The Back Porch
This is another restaurant I’ve been visiting for over 15 years now, and it keeps getting better. When I first started visiting Destin for vacation, The Back Porch was a smaller restaurant that had incredible food. Now, it has expanded to have awesome outdoor and indoor seating while still maintaining the incredible food. I love the Mahi tacos here, and Aubrey recently introduced me to the Angry Amberjack Sandwich. The Back Porch also has some good non-seafood options and is definitely kid friendly right on the beach!
Sunset Bowls and Coffee Ave
I have to give Heather 100% credit for putting these two food trucks on my radar! They have the same owners, and are across the bridge in the downtown Fort Walton Beach area. You cannot beat the acai bowls from Sunset Bowls or any of the coffee options from Coffee Ave! One of mine and Heather’s favorite things to do when I visit is to go get a bowl and a coffee in the morning and just sit and enjoy. They have a third food truck that serves more brunch/lunch options that I’ve not tried before, but I’m sure it’s just as good as these two!
Shake’s
Again, all credit goes to Heather for Shake’s! I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth and would eat ice cream every day for the rest of my life if given the option. Shake’s serves frozen custard with all of the toppings you can imagine, and is absolutely delicious. My go-to order is the Junior Concrete made with chocolate custard, add sprinkles, M&M’s, and cookie dough. In the evening there is usually a pretty long line but I promise it’s worth it! My suggestion is if the line is long for the drive-thru, go ahead and park and get out. The in-person window tends to move faster than the drive-thru.
Parlor Doughnuts
Another good breakfast option that isn’t super mainstream is Parlor Doughnuts in Fort Walton Beach. They used to be a food truck built in an old school Airstream which was really cool! They’ve recently moved into their brick and mortar store right across the street from where Sunset Bowls and Coffee Ave are parked. They do big, delicious cake doughnuts of all different variety and also do coffee. I highly suggest trying this place if the line at Donut Hole in Destin is as insanely long as it usually is!
The Gulf
I first discovered The Gulf when visiting Orange Beach a few years ago and loved that experience! Then I found out they also have a location in Destin, and we have made it a point to visit here every year since. The Gulf is built out of shipping containers and is a great casual and family friendly option. It’s majority open air seating in the harbor where you can watch the boats come in and out. They also have a sand beach built up which is a lot of fun for kids & adults too! I like the burgers and seafood tacos, but have never had anything off of their menu that I didn’t enjoy.
Honorable Mentions
Because there are a million different places to eat, I wanted to mention a few others that we really enjoy!
- Pompano Joes – can be a little far out depending on where you’re staying, but they have the BEST key lime pie in Destin!
- Boshamps– if you google restaurants in Destin this is going to come up top 3. It is very good, also very pricey.
- Harbor Docks – this is an excellent option if you’re looking for traditional seafood and really yummy sushi options!
- Louisiana Lagniappe – this is a more upscale option for date night with an awesome menu. I would say this is more of an adults only option versus bringing the whole family.
Final Thoughts
Those are my top recommendations for your next visit to Destin! When this post goes live, I’ll be in Destin enjoying a week in paradise and indulging in all of these awesome choices.
If you’ve been to Destin and have a favorite that you don’t see on this list, please leave it down below in the comments! I always love to try and add new options to our lists 🙂