Florida restaurant guide: Feast your way through the Sunshine State

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Jen Lyons
August 1, 2024
Platter of raw oysters with lemon and ice
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Florida’s culinary scene is as diverse as its landscape. From Gulf Coast seafood to authentic Cuban fare in Little Havana, Florida is a must-visit destination for food lovers of all kinds. Read on for our guide to some of the very best dining in the Sunshine State. Hungry yet? 

Top-rated restaurants

While you can find incredible meals worth savoring across the state, there are a few highly lauded restaurants that foodies won’t want to miss.

Brother Fox — Pensacola

Located in the historic Old East Hill neighborhood, Brother Fox is housed in a former church and serves up food that celebrates the city’s Spanish influence. Sip sangria while tasting dishes like sous vide coal-fired chicken, seafood paella and grilled octopus from award-winning chef Darian Hernandez. Perhaps the most famous dish on the menu is the Lowcountry shrimp boil “a la España,” which pairs Florida Gulf shrimp with Spanish chorizo, charred corn and potatoes. After dinner, head next door to Sister Hen, a stylish bar with major speakeasy vibes. 

Indigenous — Sarasota

Tucked away in a quaint cottage downtown, Indigenous is the brainchild of chef and owner Steve Phelps, a two-time James Beard Award semi-finalist. The restaurant serves seasonal American cuisine with a focus on sustainable seafood. Menu offerings change monthly, weekly and sometimes daily, depending on what’s fresh and in season. No matter what’s on the menu, you’ll enjoy a charming ambience with year-round outdoor dining on the covered patio.

Stage — Palm Beach Gardens

One visit to this lively and inventive restaurant and you’ll see why it was a James Beard Award semi-finalist in 2023 and named to USA Today’s Restaurants of the Year 2024 list. Chef Pushkar Maranthe’s Stage serves up modern Indian cuisine in a small-plate format, so you can try a little of everything. Plantain chaat, bang bang cauliflower, truffle patatas and duck confit rolls with peanut chutney take inspiration from culinary traditions around the world. 

Seafood specialities

Florida is known for its seafood, thanks to bounties caught in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. When it comes to fresh seafood restaurants, only one rule applies: the closer to the water, the better.

Star Fish Company — Cortez

Tucked away along Sarasota Bay, Star Fish Company is a casual restaurant started by Karen Bell, a third-generation local who wanted to honor her family’s commercial fishing heritage. Sidle up to the counter and order fresh seafood, served grilled, fried, blackened or sauteed. Pair it with hush puppies, cole slaw or cheese grits, then grab a cold beer and take a seat on one of the dockside picnic tables. Stop in Star Fish’s seafood market next door for fresh catches and local gifts.

Rustic Inn — Fort Lauderdale

Dinner at Rustic Inn is a hands-on experience — literally. It’s a traditional Florida crab house, which means you’ll sit at long, paper-covered tables, grab a wooden mallet, tie on a plastic bib and go to town on the world-famous garlic crabs. Other popular items include you-peel-’em spiced shrimp, fresh oysters and fried calamari.

Key Largo Conch House — Florida Keys

If you find yourself in Key Largo, stop in at the family-owned and operated Key Largo Conch Shack — you might recognize it from the Travel Channel and Food Network. Why all the attention? It’s famous for fresh-caught conch, which is prepared in a number of ways: fried in a fritter, in a spicy chowder or mixed with lobster in a ceviche. You’ll find plenty of other local seafood on the menu, including mahi, hogfish, yellowfin tuna and shrimp.

Local cuisine 

Get off the beaten track by sampling local fare all over the Sunshine State. There are so many flavors to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  

Doce Provisions — Miami 

With over a million Cuban-American residents, Miami is the perfect place to sample the flavorful cuisine of Cuba. While you’ll find Cuban restaurants across the greater Miami area, you’ll want to visit the Little Havana neighborhood for a truly authentic experience. At Doce Provisions, you can  sample croquetas, tostones and cubano sandwiches, washed down with a handcrafted mojito. Be sure to grab a table on the lush and colorful back patio.

Up the Creek Raw Bar — Apalachicola

Located where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Apalachicola River, the small town of Apalachicola is where 90% of Florida’s oysters come from. You’ll order at the counter at Up the Creek Raw Bar. The stars of the show are oysters on the half shell, prepared in a variety of ways, but you’ll also want to check the list of ever-changing chef’s specials. Choose a seat on the open-air patio and enjoy waterfront views while you slurp.

Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory — Tavernier

No trip to the Florida Keys is complete without sampling their most famous fare — key lime pie. Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory is the perfect place to try it. Not only have their pies been featured on multiple shows on the Food Network and the Travel Channel, but they’ve also been awarded by both the Best of Florida and the Key Lime Festival. Grab a slice and a cup of coffee and sit in their relaxing garden or buy a whole pie to go.

Dine in the comfort of your luxury second home

Why dine out when you can be the chef in your expertly designed, fully stocked kitchen of your Florida vacation home? Every Pacaso home is equipped with products from leading brands like Cuisinart, Le Creuset, KitchenAid and Ninja. Many homes feature chef essentials like professional-grade appliances, open-air dining spaces, outdoor kitchens and temperature-controlled wine storage, ensuring that even the most discerning chefs have everything they need to prepare the perfect meal. Find your dream kitchen in a Pacaso second home, and savor the Sunshine State.
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