Suggestions for Florida Panhandle

 

Heading down to Fort Walton Beach on Friday, and looking for some suggestions for places to visit, eat, drink, etc.

My wife has family in the area, and we've been down to visity them a few times, but they aren't very adventurous and always seem to take us to the same places.

I checked out the "offbeat tourist attractions" POI and got a few ideas for stops along the way, but not much in that file within an hour of FWB that looked worth the drive. If you know of any hidden gems, let me know.

I'd be especially interested in any recommendations for bar/restaurants with live music & a laid back atmosphere. This is the beach afterall, it can't be all dance clubs (unts'ing isn't my thing).

And as far as restaurants go, I know there are a lot of places for fresh seafood, but which are the best, and which are to be avoided.

Places to Go

Just a couple of suggestions:

McQuires Irish Pub - Great food, homemade beer, Irish sing-a-longs (Destin)

Air Force Armament Museum - Free (Eglin AFB)

Bands on the Beach - 6-8pm Thursday (Navarre), 7-9pm Tuesday (Pensacola Beach)

Seaside - Architecture, small town, tourist shops, art - Site where the "Truman Show" was filmed

Pompano Joe's - On the gulf, good food, volleyball tournaments (Destin)

Pegleg Petes - Inside/Outside seating, Baked oysters done 12 different ways, live music, play area for the kids (Pensacola Beach)

Sunquest Dinner Cruise - 4 hour cruise on the bay, good food, romantic atmosphere

As for restuarants in Destin - All on the water are generally local and great. All on the land side are chains and to be avoided. Exception above is McQuires.

Also lots of small bars with layed back attitudes on Destin Harbor or on Pensacola Beach.

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Thanks

Thanks Holydoc.

I didn't actually see this post until I got back home from the trip, but we're heading down to Fort Walton again in about 3 weeks, this time for a wedding. So I'll try to hit some of your suggestions next time for sure.

Checked out McGuire's, which was excellent, as well as a couple of places on the Harbor Walk in Destin. We also went on a sunset cruise on the gulf one night, where I learned I don't have 'sea legs'.

Sure was glad to see that the beaches were clean, despite all the doom & gloom on the news. I knew things were slow down there with people cancelling out of fear of the oil, but it was still kind of a shock to see everyplace so empty.

You can't help but feel for the businesses that are hurting, but it was nice not to have to fight through crowds everywhere. The cruise we took had room for 30 people, but they only had 10 customers that night.

Anyway, thanks again.