Adventures of Gus and Kim: 5 More Great Places to Eat in Destin, Florida!

Remember that post I did about the 10 11 best places to eat in Destin? Well, I have a few more to add to the list!


Every time Gus and I go to Destin, we always try to find a few new restaurants to sample. So when we were there in September 2013, we managed to squeeze in a few new ones along with our "old" favorites. We were impressed, and have now added "new" favorites to our list!


1) Fat Clemenza's Pizzeria Italiana

Oh. My. Goodness. And I do mean "goodness". This may be a tiny place in a strip mall, but it's a little slice of Italian heaven. The smells coming from the kitchen are incredible! And even though it's a "pizzeria", they also have a large selection of pastas. We had bread with dipping oil, which was absolutely fabulous - followed by house salads, which were very good - and then pepperoni pizza! The crust is to die for - and the toppings are delicious - perfection! Gus had cheesecake for dessert, while I opted for cannoli - also very good. Since this is such a small (yet popular) place, I definitely recommend reservations.

Our favorite: pizza, bread w/dipping oil

Location: 2273 US Hwy 98, Miramar Beach, FL 32550
Hours: Mon. - Fri., lunch 11am - 2pm, dinner 5pm - 9:30pm; Sat. (dinner only) 5pm - 9:30pm; closed Sun.
Phone: (850) 650-5980 - reservations recommended
Carryout available.


2) Pompano Joe's Seafood House

As many times as we've been to Destin, we had never eaten at Pompano Joe's - so we decided to give it a try. It's a huge place, and it gets very, very busy - which can translate into a lengthy wait. But at least it's on the beach, and there is an outside bar, so you can enjoy the view (pun intended, LOL) while sipping your favorite frozen concoction. It can get pretty noisy, but we were imbibing, so we didn't care (Gus had beer, I had PJ's Punch). For dinner, Gus had the grilled mahi-mahi and I had PJ's platter, which comes with scallops, shrimp, mahi-mahi & oysters. I don't care for oysters, so I got extra shrimp instead. The meals included yummy mixed vegetables and baked potatoes. We were too stuffed for dessert, LOL! Kicking myself for not stopping to buy a t-shirt!!

A little FYI - Pompano Joe's is owned by the Southern Restaurant Group, which also owns The Back Porch, Fisherman's Wharf, Cafe Grazie, and Louisiana Lagniappe. Honestly, I liked this place a lot more than The Back Porch. (We've had hit-or-miss service and food at The Back Porch.)

Gus' favorite: grilled mahi-mahi
My favorite: fried shrimp, PJ's Punch

Location: 2237 Scenic Gulf Hwy., Destin, FL 32550
Hours: 11am - 10pm daily
Phone: (850) 837-2224
Carryout available.


3) Dewey Destin's Seafood & Restaurant

Dewey Destin's has two locations, but we ate at the one located on Destin Harbor. They offer a daily "Catch of the Day" special - and the day we were there, the lunch special was amberjack. Gus had his fried, with fries and cole slaw, while I opted for a grilled amberjack sandwich, also with fries (I skipped the cole slaw). Wow! What a ton of food for under $10/person! Seriously, nothing beats the taste of fresh seafood. The waitress said "Five hours ago, your lunch was still in the ocean". Awesome!

Gus' favorite: fried amberjack
My favorite: grilled amberjack

Location: Crab Island location - 9 Calhoun Ave., Destin, FL 32541; Destin Harbor location - 202 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL 32541
Hours: Crab Island: 11am - 8pm daily   Destin Harbor: 11am - 9pm daily
Phone: Crab Island: (850) 837-7575   Destin Harbor: (850) 837-7525
Not sure if they have carryout.


4) Cheeseburger in Paradise

I debated whether or not to add this to the list since I've tried to keep it strictly "local" restaurants. But I decided to go ahead and add it because these restaurants aren't "everywhere". While I think Gus could eat a burger and fries every day, I'm not a fan. But even I love the burgers and fries here. Soooo good! And it's just a really fun place to hang out - even if you're not Parrotheads like us.

Gus' favorite: burgers, burgers, and more burgers, Land Shark Lager
My favorite: Cheeseburger in Paradise, grilled salmon, frozen lime margarita

Location: 10562 US Hwy 98 W, Miramar Beach, FL 32550 (in Silver Sands Factory Mall)
Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 11am - 10pm, Fri. - Sat. 11am - 11pm, Sun. 11am - 9pm
Phone: (850) 837-0197
Not sure if they have carryout.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the last restaurant...

5) Grin-Go's Tex-Mex Cantina Margaritaville

Update 2017: Grin-Go's is no longer in business (or at least is no longer in Baytowne Wharf), so I'm adding in one of the newer restaurants to the Destin area. As I mentioned above, we usually prefer to not visit "chain" restaurants when we're vacationing- we like to eat where the locals hang. But in this case (and with Cheeseburger in Paradise), we will always make an exception. We LOVE Margaritaville! Awesome location, too - especially if you can score an outside table (we did).

Gus' favorite: burgers, burgers, and more burgers, fish and chips, Land Shark Lager
My favorite: Cheeseburger in Paradise, Volcano Nachos, fish tacos, frozen lime margarita

Location: In HarborWalk - 76 Harbor Blvd., Destin, FL 32541
Hours: Restaurant Mon. - Sun. 8am - 12am, Retail Mon. - Sun. 11am - 10pm (adjusted seasonally)
Phone: (850) 460-7700
Not sure if they have carryout.

If you missed my top 11 list of places to eat in Destin, you can check it out here. And I've created a printable list of the restaurants from both blog posts! Enjoy!!