Restaurants in Florida

Florida is a place to enjoy seafood in all its glory: oysters along the Gulf coast, crab and flounder and grouper and redfish throughout the state. Shrimp are divine on the eastern coast, especially around St. Augustine, which also is known for its unique Minorcan chowder, infused with the punch of locally-grown datil peppers. Orlando is a beacon of good soul food restaurants; and in Tampa and Miami and out in the Keys, genuine Cuban restaurants are nothing short of spectacular. Need we mention that true Key lime pie is an essential? So much of Florida is new, but throughout the panhandle are charming old-Florida eateries – reminders that the farther north you go in this state, the deeper South you are.

Florida’s Most Famous Dishes

A slice of key lime pie from The Wyld restaurant

Key Lime Pie: Find this dish near you

A dozen raw oysters on the half-shell

Oysters

Pink, butter-sauced shrimp surround a mound of thin spaghetti noodles

Shrimp

Seafood platter is loaded with fried shrimp, scallops, oysters, flounder, plus deviled crab and hushpuppies

Seafood

Florida’s Best Restaurants

McDuffy’s - Shaved Ice
McDuffy’s

KEY WEST, FL

Louie’s Back Yard - Shrimp
Louie’s Back Yard

KEY WEST, FL

Bob Roth’s New River Groves

DAVIE, FL

Peg Leg Pete’s Oyster Bar

PENSACOLA BEACH, FL

Bunnery

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Schooner’s Seafood House

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Dixie Crossroads

TITUSVILLE, FL

Jenkins Quality Barbecue

JACKSONVILLE, FL

Angel’s Diner

PALATKA, FL

Mario’s Family Restaurant

HOMESTEAD, FL

Yellow Dog Eats

WINDERMERE, FL

Hunt’s Oyster Bar

PANAMA CITY, FL

Chef Eddie’s

ORLANDO, FL

Lynn’s Quality Oysters

EASTPOINT, FL

Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant

PENSACOLA, FL

Smiley’s Chicken

PORT ST. JOE, FL

Pie with sunny yellow citrus filling is topped with a tall, toasty-top white meringue
Dolly’s Produce Patch and Eatery

BONITA SPRINGS, FL

J.R.’s Ribshack

PANAMA CITY, FL

Barnacle Bill’s

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL

Wakulla Springs Lodge

WAKULLA SPRINGS, FL

A plate of silk-smooth broiled scallops in a puddle of lemon-caper butter
Winter Park Fish Co.

WINTER PARK, FL

Florida Articles & Guides

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Datil Be Fine

Minorcan clam chowder looks like Manhattan clam chowder, and a first taste reinforces the resemblance. But soon a glow starts at the back of the throat, and after a...

House Rules

by Jane and Michael Stern FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS, the Hopkins boarding house in the North Hill district of Pensacola, Florida, offered the best deal in town. The price...

Louie’s Back Yard - Key Lime pie

Key West, Florida

In April 1982 citizens of Key West seceded from the Union. Their insurrection was provoked by the U.S. Border Patrol, which had started searching everyone who traveled between mainland...

Gimme Shelter

Originally Published 1997 Gourmet Magazine After a good day of boldly eating where no food writers have eaten before—truck stops, diners, smoke shacks, even the occasional scurrilous road-house that anchors...

Dixie Crossroads

Rock shrimp Once upon a time, rock shrimp were thought of as trash. If a Florida fisherman went trawling in the deep waters of the Atlantic for easy-to-peel white shrimp...

A full plate of fresh oysters on the halfshell a must order at any seafood restaurant

The Essential 22 Seafood Restaurants in the US

Seafood is a delicacy that has been enjoyed since the beginning of time. Its flavors are unique and diverse, and it can be cooked in many ways. That is...

Florida's North Coast

Florida's north coast is an eater's paradise, with fare both exotic and familiar. The menu includes fish camp cooking at its finest, pour-your-own pancakes at the Fountain of Youth,...

Roadfood Adventures: Gulf Coast Treasures from Florida to Alabama

ul { display: block; list-style-type: decimal; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0; margin-right: 0; padding-left: 40px;} Road trip: Apalachicola, Florida to Mobile, Alabama Roadfood...

Hidden Gems: Key West

The top 12 hidden gems in Key West: Key West likes to call itself The Conch Republic, meaning its culture is unique, like a nation unto itself. Foodwise, that means...

America's Byways: Road trip through the Florida Keys

Road trip through the Florida Keys Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico stretching out as far as the eye can see, this drive winds through vistas of...

Roadfood Adventures: Winter Park to Miami, Florida

Road Trip in Florida From Orlando and Winter Park down the east coast of Florida to Miami is a journey of never-ending adventure. Here you encounter brilliant sunshine, exotic wildlife,...

Basket of fried oysters ... seafood & drink

America's Byways: Florida's Big Bend Coastal Trail

Big Bend Coastal Trail Florida's Big Bend Coastal trail is a "rich heritage [of] barrier islands, sand dunes, beaches, bays, coastal marshes, and springs," as described by the U.S. Secretary...

Florida's Panhandle

Route 98 east of Panama City and south of Tallahassee borders what is known as Florida's Big Bend because it is shaped like the one in Texas. But unlike...

The Best Affordable Restaurants in Miami, FL

The Best Affordable Restaurants in Miami that Won't Break the Bank Miami is a city that's known for its vibrant culture, stunning beaches, and amazing dining scene. However, finding affordable...

The One Must-Eat Food in Each State, and Where To Get It

Unique Regional Dishes After 40 years and 5 million miles spent on the road looking for America's best regional food, we've assembled a list of the quintessential, must-eat food in...

16 Best Restaurants In Key West | Roadfood Bests

Dayboat fish, pink shrimp, stone crab claws, and conch are just the nautical highlights of a Key West eating expedition. With Cuba 90 miles away, strong coffee and plancha-pressed...

Meat & Three, A Dixie Delight | Roadfood Bests

What Is Meat & Three? A term used through much of the South, “meat and three” quite simply refers to a menu template that lists two to five entrees and...

Affordable and Authentic Eats in Orlando

Road Trip Overview Driving just two hours total, this road trip will take you in and around Orlando before heading to the coast, visiting 9 memorable restaurants along the way....

Great Po Boys in and Around New Orleans | Roadfood Bests

What Makes a Po Boy a Po Boy? How does a po boy differ from a sub, hero, hoagie, grinder, wedge, or zep? First, there’s the bread, which is lighter...

Randy's donuts exterior view

First Stop: 25 Great Roadfood Eateries Near Airports

Airport Food Food in airports is better than it used to be, but when we arrive by plane, we can't get out of the terminal fast enough. By rental car,...

Beautiful Vintage Diners

The term diner has come to mean almost any inexpensive cafe that serves breakfast. But true diners are an elite class of eatery. They are mid 20th century design...

Florida's Forgotten Coast

Traveling along Florida's Forgotten Coast is a reminder of what the Sunshine State was like several million inhabitants ago. The drive is unspoiled two-lane magic -- blue Gulf waters...

America's Great Pancakes | Roadfood Bests

Pancakes are especially appreciated by travelers in search of significant breakfast. While fair to middling ones are on the menu virtually everywhere, restaurants that serve four-star flapjacks are rare....

A plate of creamy grits, topped with shrimp and sided by butter beans

Greatest Grits

Grits can be a watery white side dish to fill out a plate of eggs, or they can be the creamiest, earthiest, most delicious corn cereal imaginable. The addition...

Cochon Butcher - Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie is the official state pie of Florida. Once unique to the coral islands at the southernmost end of Route One, the sweet-tart, pale yellow dessert is...

Granola is loaded with nuts, berries, raisins, coconut, etc., etc.

Granola Greats, Coast to Coast

Granola first was invented in the 1860s (not the 1960s) and eaten by health nuts of the day. It was a severe dish made from nothing but double-baked sheets...

Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stew is a fundamental side dish for barbecue in Georgia and beyond. Originally made as a hunter's gallimaufry using whatever critters had been bagged and whatever vegetables were...

Cuban Sandwiches

There are many Cuban sandwiches in Florida, and many opinions about exactly which ingredients one should contain, the primary point of contention being Genoa salami. Most Cubans in Tampa,...

Orlando Soul

Orlando connotes corporate-fabricated fun, but hungry visitors can explore another kind of magic kingdom: a realm of miraculously good soul food. Here is a cache of personality-plus restaurants where...

Exterior of Singleton's Seafood Shack in Jacksonville, FL

St. Augustine Minorcan Clam Chowder

There is no Minorcan chowder on the island of Minorca, nor anywhere else we know other than Florida's northeast coast, where almost all of the world's datil peppers are...

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