Harborwalk Village Restaurants

Fresh Fish & More on the Destin Harbor

Posted on 1/31/2013

Ocean Reef Resorts is always happy to let our friends and visiting guests know about fine Destin vacation rental properties, dining destinations, upcoming events, entertainment, recreation and shopping. Of course one of the "must see" destinations including the beautiful Destin harbor which is home to the largest, private charter fishing fleet in the entire Gulf of Mexico. It became established back in the mid 1800s when Destin's founding families realized how much abundant seafood flourished in both the gulf and the bay. The harbor has always served as the heart and soul of the community, a major life line that has defined Destin as "the luckiest fishing village in the world."

Paddle Boards at HarborWalk

Just a few years ago Harborwalk Village was developed right along the docks to offers fine dining, retail venues and musical entertainment. The location is especially tantalizing to the taste buds for seafood since you can watch the private charter fishing boats unload their catch of fish down on the docks daily. There are a number of waterfront restaurants here with vivid views of the gorgeous gulf, greener than green harbor as well as the beautiful Choctawhatchee bay. Most of these restaurants specialize in seafood but there are some tasty "turf type" offerings as well.

One of the oldest original restaurants along this stretch is AJ's Seafood and Oyster Bar which sits on a dune overlooking the harbor and marina. The views are awesome, especially during the winter months when the fiery sun sets down directly into the luminescent waters of the gulf. During the spring through the fall, the docks below are busy with boats coming and going in their avid pursuit of plenty of fish. AJ's has indoor and outdoor dining, usually with free live music entertainment. Specialties include oysters, fish sandwiches, shrimp and gumbo. There are lots of appetizers to choose from as well as regular drink specials. It is a popular rendezvous point for locals and visitors alike. AJ's giant, thatched roof outdoor Tiki Hut which encompasses Club Bimini rocks into the wee and even not so wee hours of the morning.

Grande Vista Bar and Grill

For elegant dining, the Grande Vista Bar and Grill has a wide assortment of great gourmet offerings as well as sandwiches and burgers. It is located on the Grande Vista level above Harborwalk Village. This is aptly named because the views here are indeed vistas with 180 degree views from the pool deck of the Emerald Grande, the base of which is sixty feet above sea level. You will be impressed with the architectural interiors of the Grande Vista Bar and Grill. It is country club comfortable with a massively beamed, multiple crown molded ceiling and a mermaid fireplace inlayed with oyster shell. An adjoining living room provides comfy furnishings in case you wanted to lounge around before or after dining. While here, be sure to check out the collection of old photographs that line the walls. They show happy scenes of Destin fishing adventures that go back through the decades over 100 years. The menu here consists of appetizers that include choices of fresh fried fish, crispy calamari, crab cakes, shrimp, cheddar cheese hush puppies and even fried dill pickles. Soups and salads are available as well A la Cart. There are also fresh fish sandwiches that come blackened, grilled or fried, big burgers and a kid's menu which provides a great value. Gourmet entrees include Shrimp, Grouper, Yellow Fin Tuna and other fresh catches of the day.

Harry T's is an iconic waterfront restaurant at Harborwalk Village that sits directly under the decorative light house. It has an interesting themed, legendary story about Destin's history and the circus man known as Harry T. You may dine inside or out here but it doesn't really matter since the open views of the docks and the boats that pass by are everywhere. It is open for lunch, dinner and late night dining entertainment but also opens for a morning brunch on weekends. Regular live music entertainment is featured almost nightly during the summer season and on weekend or special holidays at other times of the year. Besides having the fun interesting history of the amazing Harry T, the extensive twelve page menu covers just about any kind of food you may desire. Seafood of course provides a myriad of choice. Their Saturday and Sunday four hour Brunch starts at 10:00 am featuring a wide assortment of different Omelets and various versions of Eggs Benedict. They all come with fresh fruit, a bakery basket and your choice of fried hash brown potatoes or cheese grits. On Harry T's regular menu appetizers include oysters, shrimp, crab claws, smoked tuna dip, sesame tune, calamari, Buffalo wings, nachos, chicken fingers and dips. There are also six different types of burgers to choose from. If you like Gumbo, be sure to try theirs because it one a People's Choice Award at the Sandestin Gumbo Contest. The food list goes on and on. There are multiple sandwiches, seafood baskets, pasta dishes, special fish or shrimp entrees, steamers, platters, steak, chops and various desserts.

Right next door on the waterfront in HarborWalk Village is Poppy's Crazy Lobster.  As you might have guessed, lobster is big here and is served stuffed, fried, blackened or steamed. It is even offered as Lobster Ravioli and Lobster Mac n Cheese which is a particularly decadent "comfort food." Their most popular appetizers include Chef Tyler's Tuna Poke which is Ahi Tuna with sesame soy oil, homemade guacamole and fried won tons; Crab Island Cakes with coastal slaw, cilantro and sweet chili lime sauce as well as a wide assortment of grilled, barbequed or baked oysters on the half shell.  PoBoy Sandwiches, fried seafood baskets and Cajun fish specialties are available. Poppy's is famously known however for their Steamed Seafood Buckets. These feasts of food do indeed come in big galvanized steel buckets accompanied with vibrant yellow corn on the cob as well as red new potatoes. What you want to add to this is your choice. They can feature lobster, succulent shrimp, Dungeness crab, Alaskan King Crab legs or crab clusters and combos of each.  The largest feast is called the "Royal Bucket for Two" and contains two whole Lobsters, a pound of shrimp, a pound of Dungeness Crab, a pound of Snow Crab and a pound of Alaskan King Crab along with the new potatoes as well as the corn on the cob. Besides seafood, there are also tasty steak, chicken and chop dishes for landlubbers. Live music entertainment is often available at Poppy's. If you are feeling adventurous, you may want to check out their bar which serves New Orleans inspired Hurricane drinks. However, here at Poppy's their Hurricanes come in "Category One" through "Category Five" strength.  These have larger and larger quantities of different rums depending upon which category you choose to endure. They also come in a thirty-two ounce glass so beware!

La Famiglia Italian Restaurant

The most recent restaurant to open at Harborwalk Village is called La Famiglia Italian Restaurant on the Harbor and it has been getting rave reviews. La Famiglia is located near the Destin Bridge side of Harborwalk Village with views of the East Pass entrance to the gulf and its connection to the bay.  Their popular original restaurant is at 300 Harbor Boulevard just a short distance away. This new harbor location provides sunset views that are stunningly beautiful. In fact, due to a sunset photo submitted as a nomination from this particular locale, Destin was recently voted among "The Most Beautiful Places in America" in a national survey that was televised on the Good Morning America news program. La Famiglia serves delicious and reasonably priced luncheons Monday through Saturday from 11:00am to 3:00 pm. The entrees which include a wide assortment of pasta dishes range from $6.95 to $8.95 with a menu for kids under 12 at $4.99 each.  Reviews on Yelp, Urban Spoon, Zagat, and the Beachcomber Magazine give glowing reports. Patrons describe their dining experience with remarks such as "the food is delicious and the ambiance makes you feel like a guest in someone's home", "Best Italian ever. We all had something different and it was all fab!", "Some of the best Italian food in the South", "By far the best Italian food on the gulf", and "a pleasant homey evening of delicious and thoughtfully prepared Italian cooking." Besides the Luncheon menu a more extensive dinner menu is also available Monday through Saturdays from 11:00 am till 10:00 pm. Portions on the dinner menu are larger and there is an even more variety of food offerings. Most range in price from $12.95 to $18.95. These include eighteen different pasta dishes with the likes of various raviolis, fettuccine, spaghetti, cannelloni, lasagna, gnocchi and manicotti. Separate meat dish entrees include veal or chicken, classically cooked in various Italian recipes.  Seafood dishes feature six different entrees which include Red Snapper, Grouper, Salmon and a medley of other local seafood in various sensational sauces. All entrees come with a salad, side vegetable and side pasta so you will never leave hungry! Culinary satisfaction will be complete even for the most experienced gourmand.

These are just a few of the amazing restaurants in Destin but dining at the Harborwalk Village location is particularly special. This locale captures the essence of Destin's history, the heart of the community's entrepreneurial fishing spirit and the unique ambiance of great natural beauty created by Mother Nature herself.  Here at Ocean Reef Resorts we have a number of fine, distinctive Destin vacation rentals available where your family and friends can feel at home. Enjoy reviewing some photographs and videos of properties available on our user friendly web site. You'll find a feast for the eyes of wonderful properties to choose from as you plan your trip down. Now you can decide where you want to plan a feast for your taste buds as well!

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