The amount of amazing places to eat seafood on the Emerald Coast is one of the main reasons I loved the area so much. I’ve researched the best restaurants on the Emerald Coast, especially for you!

Seafood is my absolute favourite, and the best restaurants in Destin and on Okaloosa Island gave me the opportunity to indulge in a few fishy dishes I hadn’t tried before.

If you’re looking for the best restaurants on the Emerald Coast, this is the post for you. If you’re in the Emerald Coast, then here are the best seafood restaurants near me right now.

I’ve travelled quite a bit of the USA now and to be honest, on my recent trip in California, I got sick of the same chain after chain when it came to food. On the Emerald Coast it’s not like that.

There are chains, of course, but they’re a little more inconspicuous than in other parts of America. The likes of Maccy D’s, KFC and Subway don’t reappear every few blocks. On the Emerald Coast there’s a chance for the more unique places to eat to come through. I did a road trip on the Emerald Coast and loved the diversity and flexibility when it came to meal times.

I’ve chosen the following as the 7 best places to eat seafood on the Emerald Coast, because, well… they’re the only places I ate. I didn’t have a bad meal at one of them, not even a bad part of a meal. Every dish was absolutely delicious.

And if you don’t like seafood all day and night, like me, there were plenty of meaty options at all of the restaurants below. I went all out Gulf to table though, seeing as most of the time I could see the sea from the restaurant windows.

There are many reasons to visit the Emerald Coast, and food is a BIG ONE!

9 Best Seafood Restaurants on the Emerald Coast

Here are all the best restaurants in Destin and on the Emerald Coast according to my expert research!

1. Crab Trap, Destin

The Crab Trap absolutely cannot be beaten for location. As soon as I turned into the car park and saw the beach I pulled in and excitedly jumped out of the car. I walked along the beach to the back entrance of the restaurant and was seriously losing it at how picture perfect the place was.

I was there in December so unfortunately the restaurant walls were down, but come summer and it opens out onto the beach from open to close.

And don’t just take my word for it. If you go on their website, Crab Trap has live beach cams. You can see exactly what’s going down outside the Destin and Fort Walton Beach and see just how beautiful the location is for yourself. This is one of the best restaurants on the Emerald Coast thanks to its location.

It’s not just the location. The food was epic. Clint Rogers, the General Manager, was telling me that sometimes in the summer there’s a two-hour wait on the food, but it’s all part of the adventure. People come to the Crab Trap for an experience, not just the meal.

They’ll order a few appetisers from the bar outside – popular year round with sunset lovers – and hang out on the sand. Kids play on the slides, while the beach is there for all.

So, I tried a few things here. There were three of us, promise. Crab dip with deep fried pita, yep yep to the dip, I got scared of the bread when he said it was deep-fried. There’s no way to get out of the US lighter than when you came in, I’m sure of it, especially the Emerald Coast. Might as well just go for it.

The crab cake was epic. Big chunks of real crab with bread and served surrounded with Andouille sausage and sweetcorn sauce. Absolutely delicious. Probably need one to myself next time.

We tried the crab from its shell – after a masterclass in cracking the legs – and I can honestly say, I’ve never had crab like it before, or since. So smooth, so soft and so flavoursome, I didn’t even want to dip it in the butter they served it with.

Introduction to the Emerald Coast

2. Shunk Gully Oyster Bar, 30A

“Live Music, Great Food, Gulf View” – what more do you need from a restaurant?

Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar is definitely one of the most impressive Emerald Coast restaurants on the list. It’s open for lunch, dinner and drinks, and also has special events too. Also, the sugar sand beach is just steps away.

“The team at Shunk Gulley loves to make your experience great. Our culinary team creates outstanding and unique entrees, while our servers provide warm smiles and a fun environment.”
– SHUNK GULLEY

With an emphasis on fresh local ingredients, beach sounds, and the local community, this is a great place to visit on your trip to the Emerald Coast.

Also, the Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar 30A was recently voted as the ‘Best Bar/Tavern’ and the ‘Best Oysters’ in the Best of Destin 2021 Awards. Pretty impressive with all this competition!

3. Black Pearl, Fort Walton Beach

Mmmm ceviche. And the ceviche here definitely didn’t disappoint.

The warm homemade bread was way too tempting though. I was trying not to eat it as I awaited the aforementioned ceviche, but no such luck when they served it with such a moreish oil, herb and balsamic vinegar mix.

I tried the grouper cheeks, yep, fish cheeks, which were recommended to me but decided they weren’t my favourite. Or maybe I was just full of the bread, and the delicious salty plantain chips they served with the ceviche.

Always room for dessert though. Second dessert stomach, right? I had the Samoa biscuit bread pudding option, promising myself I wouldn’t eat it all, it was just to try it.

Absolutely scrumptious, I scoffed the lot and would’ve licked the bowl too. All warm, and sweet and coconutty and bready – I can never learn how to make this. Too dangerous.

So, top recommendations for the Black Pearl – ceviche and bread pudding.

I sat and ate all of this by myself – loved it!

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4. Lulu’s Restaurant, Destin

Lulu’s was a fun restaurant. Well I went by myself on a Thursday lunchtime but I can definitely see how it would be fun – if I had a friend, or two, and wasn’t restricted by driving.

The restaurant has its own private beach, with games and a view of the Spence Parkway Bridge too. I drove over that bridge, thinking it would make for a great timelapse, and then realised it was a toll bridge and there and back cost me $8. Oops.

Anyway, it was worth it, and I digress. Back to food.

I’m sounding like a broken record but the food here was deeee-licious too.

This was one of my favourite restaurants on the Emerald Coast as they take part in the Fish Trax scheme, which I think is brilliant. Basically your fish is served with a QR code, so you can track:

Who caught it
Where they caught it
When they caught it
How it was processed
Who cooked it

DON’T YOU THINK THAT’S AMAZING?!

I do. Absolutely fascinated.

I chose the Snapper Basket especially so that I could see the FishTrax in action, turned out to be a great choice. Came with fries and hush puppies (balls of deep fried cornflour) with some coleslaw on the side too.

Stuffed.

Plus, there’s not one but two Lulu’s. There’s one on the Gulf Shores and one by Destin so your chances of trying this amazing place just doubled.