Specialty Seafood Dishes to Try in Pensacola - and Snap a Pic Of
There is seafood, then there is seafood. Everybody knows that half the fun of a beach vacation is getting a great seafood meal. A platter of fried jumbo shrimp with crispy hushpuppies, or maybe a thick, grilled grouper sandwich with buttery new potatoes, is as much a part of the Pensacola Beach experience as sand in your sandals and a little too much sun on tops of your ears.
But in Pensacola, there are lots of culinary opportunities that will allow you to look beyond the tried and true toward the more special and adventurous – meals that both satisfy the most ravenous appetites and create delicious memories to take back home with you.
Grayson Bay Oysters
Exotic Lionfish
For a more exotic table experience, you may want to look for a frequent star of local seafood special menus – lionfish.
Yes, we are talking about that fancy-looking stripped fish with the spiny fins that people used to keep in their home aquariums. Over the years, folks have released those “pets” into Florida waters, where they grow larger and cause significant ecological problems.
The good news, though, is that they’re delicious!
Pearl & Horn’s Signature Dish
In some cases, it’s not the fish but the preparation that makes a seafood dish exciting.
At Pearl & Horn in Downtown Pensacola, Chef George Lazi combines the flavors of his home country of Georgia, with the bounty of the Gulf Coast, to create dishes like Fried Red Snapper Collar with Georgian Adjika Sauce. A fish “collar” is the tender meat around the collarbone that’s connected to the pectoral fin. Adjika is a paste made of hot chilies, sweet peppers, garlic, herbs and spices.
Sounds like a gastro adventure waiting to happen!
Local Seafood Markets for Take‑Home Flavor
Of course, if you’re planning to cook while you are in town, or maybe get some of the taste of the coast to take back inland with you, Pensacola’s seafood markets offer wide varieties of local and imported saltwater fare, both common and exotic.
The mongers at Joe Patti’s Seafood, Patti’s Gulf Coast Seafood, Maria’s Fresh Seafood Market and Perdido Bay Seafood will make your Pensacola vacation seafood dreams come true.
Wherever you may end up in Pensacola, you're sure to snag a specialty seafood dish that brings fresh flavor and laid-back vibes to every bite.
