I'm not going to lie - one of our favorite parts of vacation is eating out. Especially at the beach because we LOVE seafood and I don't eat seafood often unless I'm near an ocean. There are so many good places to eat on the gulf coast. These are just the few we could go to but they are our very favorites!
Shrimp basket is always a staple. It's not fancy or "foodie" - it's just good southern seafood.
I had grilled shrimp with a side of grits and it was really good. Scott almost always got fried shrimp every night. They also have good gumbo.
This year we tried out two new places and the first one was the Gulf.
This place has a great atmosphere. It's all outside dining. Which I think I might die in July but it was semi cool the night we were there. The tables do have shade so it would probably be okay.
There is all kind of different forms of seating from big couches to tables and it's by the water and has sand so kids can play. It's just a very fun place to go and you can watch boats out on the water while you eat.
They have a semi limited menu and you stand in line to order and then they bring you your food.
I got a shrimp taco bowl. It was so good! This is not your place for fried seafood platters - it's more healthy fare which I enjoyed.
Scott got a huge fish sandwich that he loved.
Another of our favorites that never lets me down is Cobalt. It's ALWAYS good. We had to wait an hour and it was packed but worth it. The views of the bay are so pretty and they have a great menu. I got pecan crusted catfish and it was delicious but HUGE. It was my lunch the next day also.
Cobalt is one I always recommend to everyone!
Probably my very favorite restaurant is Lousiana Lagniappe. We have been going since Harper was a baby and have so many pictures on these steps. It's a nicer restaurant - white tablecloths and great service. And the food is the VERY BEST!
The decor is so pretty. They have this light blue grasscloth on the walls that I love.
I always get stuffed shrimp because it is AMAZING! And gumbo! I also had this for lunch the next day. ha! It's not cheap but it's amazing food!
Last time we went to the beach we tried out GT's on the Bay and we really liked it. We went back and liked it even more. The food is great but if you have kids - it's a really great place. They have a huge play area with a pirate ship that kids can play in while you wait or f you eat outside - they could play there while you eat. We had to wait an hour here but it wasn't bad because WH and girls hung out the whole time and we sat in chairs. They also had live music outside and it was so good!
Will Holden made a bunch of friends and didn't want to go in to eat.
I had shrimp and grits and the grits were in parmesan "cakes". It was DELICIOUS! This was the only restaurant we got dessert but they had fried coconut pies with coconut ice cream that was to die for.
Our last night we tried out Playa. This is owned by Fishers. Scott and I went to Fishers on a date about 6 years ago and LOVED it. It's a nice restaurant with amazing food but to me it's more of a date place. So we decided to try Playa instead. And it was a huge hit.
You need to know that we get to restaurants before 5 if possible to beat crowds. Some places we still have to wait but we had it pretty empty. It was rocking by the time we left.
We sat outside upstairs and its was perfect. There was a cool breeze and the view of the bay was so pretty. The atmosphere at Playa is 10/10.
This is a new favorite we will be going back to every trip!
The food was great too. I had mahi mahi. We also had coconut shrimp as an appetizer and it was amazing!
We also made a stop at Hershey's Ice Cream on the beach and it was so good and so fun to sit outside under the lights.
These were just a few of our favorite places! I hope you enjoy!
