Where to eat

Eat

The pub, the seafood, the buffet, and the family bayfront spot. Tap a card for what to order.

On the prices: Destin restaurants mostly don't post full priced menus, so a ~ marks an estimated per-dish range to set expectations. McGuire's 18-cent bean soup is the one real, gloriously exact price on this page. Confirm when you go; menus and prices move. All figures in US dollars, before tax and tip.

Fish and chips, representative of the pub fare

McGuire's Irish Pub

Destin Harbor · Irish pub · $$

A turn-of-the-century New York Irish saloon on the harbor, 500 seats downstairs plus The Deck upstairs with a harbor view, live Irish music, and a ceiling papered in dollar bills. Open late, with its own microbrewery. Big, loud, fun, and very good with a group and kids.

What to order
The famous and the signature
  • Senate Bean SoupThe legendary, gloriously exact price$0.18
  • Fish & ChipsPanko-crisp, the most-ordered plate~$18–24
  • Shepherd's Pie~$18–22
  • Corned Beef & Cabbage~$20–26
  • Steak & Mushroom Pie~$20–26
Starters & steaks
  • Jumbo soft pretzel, Reuben egg rolls, potato skins~$10–16
  • Prime rib, ribeye, filet mignon~$30–48
  • Peanut butter burgerThe pub's odd, beloved house burger~$16–20
To finish
  • Irish coffee, hot or frozenMade with Irish whiskey~$9–12
  • Cheesecake, house root beer~$5–8

Every entrée comes with Irish honey black bread. Open until 2am daily. 33 E Hwy 98, on Destin Harbor. (850) 650-0000.

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Fried Gulf shrimp, representative of the seafood

Dewey Destin's Seafood

On the harbor · Local seafood · $$

The Destin seafood institution: fresh off the boat, served on paper plates at picnic tables over the water. Not fancy, just the realest local seafood in town. The harborside spot is the classic; there's a bayside location too.

What to order
From the Gulf
  • Fresh catch, fried or grilledGrouper, snapper, amberjack, ask the board~$18–30
  • Royal red shrimpThe local deep-water sweet shrimp~$18–26
  • Snow crab & crab clawsmarket
To start
  • Smoked tuna dipA Destin staple~$10–14
  • Raw & chargrilled oysters~$14–20
  • Seafood gumbo~$8–12

Cash-easy, casual, often a wait at peak. Over-the-water picnic tables are the move. No reservations.

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Seafood boil, representative of the buffet

Fuji Sushi & Seafood Buffet

Destin · All-you-can-eat · $$

The seafood buffet of the trip: all-you-can-eat snow crab legs, a full sushi bar, hibachi, and a long hot line. Not refined, but for a hungry group of nine it's the easy, everyone-gets-what-they-want answer. (Ocean Buffet in Fort Walton Beach is the bigger backup if you'd rather.)

What's on the line
  • All-you-can-eat snow crab legsThe reason to comebuffet
  • Sushi & rolls, made to orderbuffet
  • Hibachi grill stationbuffet
  • Fried shrimp, fish, hot seafood linebuffet
  • Adult dinner, per person~$28–36
  • Kids, by age~$10–16

Dinner runs higher than lunch, and crab legs are the dinner draw. 985 Hwy 98 E, Destin. (850) 424-5665. Confirm crab-leg nights and current pricing when you call.

Map
Gulf seafood gumbo, representative of the menu

LuLu's Destin

On the bay · Family waterfront · $$

Lucy Buffett's big, easygoing bayfront spot, built for exactly this group, and the locked-in dinner for Tuesday the 4th after the aquarium. Sand play area and arcade for the kids, live music and a full bar for the adults, and a wide menu of Gulf seafood and the famous Cheeseburger in Paradise.

What to order
  • Cheeseburger in ParadiseThe signature~$15–18
  • Fried or grilled seafood platters~$18–28
  • West Indies salad, crab claws, gumbo~$12–20
  • Fish tacos, shrimp baskets, po'boys~$14–20
  • Kids' menu~$7–10
  • Key lime pie, the L.A. (Lower Alabama) cocktail~$8–13

Beach play area and arcade keep the kids busy. Live music many nights. Reserve or expect a wait at peak summer dinner.

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Chargrilled oysters, representative of the seafood

The Back Porch

On the Gulf · Beachfront seafood · $$

Destin's original beachside seafood deck, open since 1974, with tables right over the sand and the Gulf as the view. A sunset-dinner kind of place: char-grilled amberjack, fried baskets, and the water right there.

What to order
  • Char-grilled amberjackThe house signature~$24–32
  • Fresh catch, blackened or fried~$20–30
  • Fried shrimp & seafood platters~$20–28
  • Oysters, raw or chargrilled~$14–20
  • Burgers & kids' plates~$10–16

Beachfront tables go fast at sunset, so go early or expect a wait. The view is the point.

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