Restaurants in Fort Walton Beach

For more than 60 years, the Original Waterfront Crab Shack has peppered its patrons’ palates with steamed, grilled, and fried seafood, as well as juicy burgers and crisp salads. As chefs bustle in the kitchen, libation wizards behind two full-service bars dole out wine, beer, and liquor. Overlooking the Santa Rosa Sound, the eatery’s expansive outdoor deck boasts picnic-table-style eating and ample views of a trolling boats and the occasional waterskiing muskie.

When biting into the dishes at Old Hag's Cafe, it can take you straight back to childhood. The chefs focus on family favorites best known from Grandmas' recipes, creating staples such as fried pork tenderloin, creamy macaroni and cheese, and chicken pot pie in a flaky, buttery crust. The serve a special fish dish every day, or serve up cuts of chicken served grilled, blackened, fried, or under a coating of buffalo sauce. The desserts are just as traditional as the entrees, with bakers creating New Orleans–style bread pudding in bourbon sauce and brownies topped with a creamy scoop of ice cream and hot fudge.

Certified "green" by the Green Restaurant Association, Caffe Bella Italia uses fresh local produce and hormone-free meats to create a menu of traditional Northern Italian cuisine. Tantalize taste buds with an appetizer such as the bruschetta Bella Italia, a sampler offering four different toppings—garlic and fresh chopped tomatoes, roasted bell pepper, parma prosciutto, and smoked salmon and butter ($10). Main courses include the vitello alla parmigiana, incorrectly translated as "delicious plate of meat" and featuring savory veal medallions layered with eggplant, fresh tomato sauce, and provolone cheese, and satisfyingly sautéed in white wine ($21). Seafood lovers and landlocked mermaidens can sup on the zuppa di cozze e vongole, a spicy chopped tomato broth teeming with tasty islands of fresh clams and mussels ($16), while omnivores can delight in the menu's many handmade pasta offerings, including traditional favorite farfalle al pesto Genovese ($15), dressing fashionably flavorful bow ties in a fresh pesto robe. An array of wood-fired pizzas ($14–$17) is also available.

Core Nutrition designs personalized wellness programs that can help customers reach their fitness goals, whether they’re looking to lose weight, build and tone muscle, or simply sleep better at night. Customers can take advantage of free fit camps, wellness coaching, weight-loss challenges, and high-octane smoothies packed with proteins and vitamins.

Mama Clemenza’s brunch menu calms morning and midday appetites with a mélange of classic European breakfast items. Pairs of patrons can let their palates marinate in eggy entrees including homemade eggs benedict––featuring prosciutto and hollandaise sauce draped over a yorkshire-pudding muffin––and a Mediterranean omelet, with a colorful medley of fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, and spinach, lounging alongside an authentic Grecian croissant. Dieting diners can opt for a lighter entree with a chilled mascarpone-custard cup filled with fresh seasonal fruit, and larger appetites will discover sweet satisfaction in the oven-baked basin of Baby Huey’s Dutch Boy––an airy, bowl-shaped pancake filled with the fruit of the day. Chewing or chattering whistles can be kept wet by letting tongues bathe in orange juice or mimosas made with self-supplied champagne or wine. Two cups of custom-roasted coffee cap off the morning meal, providing the necessary energy needed to visit one of Florida’s largest flagpoles in Uptown Station and wow the masses with sultry dance moves picked up during your firefighting days.

Within the cheerful yellow walls of Citrus Organic Cafe, chefs slice locally grown vegetables and organic ingredients into modern interpretations of café-fare classics. Pumpkin seeds sprinkle a meatloaf made with grass-fed beef and chicken, and a blueberry-balsamic glaze coats a roasted cornish hen. Vegetables sprouted on the café’s small patch of farmland make their way into sides such as kale salad or to the café’s booth at the Seaside Farmers Market. Staffers also mix health-conscious smoothies from almond milk, flax meal, GS Gelato, and protein powder and craft homemade protein bars.