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From alien tacos to submarine eating rooms, these 17 Florida eating places are bizarre, wild — and completely well worth the drive.
What are the most effective eating places in Florida? Here’s 15 of our favorites.
Discover the most effective eating places in Florida as advisable by the USA TODAY Florida Network’s meals journalists for 2024.
Forget the chains throughout your subsequent street journey. Florida is dwelling to some of the finest restaurants in the country — and likewise a number of the funkiest, funniest, and flat-out most unforgettable.
We’re speaking alien-themed taco joints, Christmas-forever seafood shacks, and burger spots the place the décor (and the parts) are bigger than life.
These aren’t simply locations to eat — they’re hidden gems beloved by locals, typically tucked off the crushed path and simply ready to be found.
Whether you’re craving a large grilled cheese, swamp-side frog legs, or only a good chuckle along with your lunch, these 17 splendidly wacky eating places are completely well worth the street journey.
Fuel up, hit the freeway — and put together to eat your means by the weirdest corners of the Sunshine State.
Alien Taco & Tequila Bar | Jacksonville
Details: 7643 Gate Parkway #105, Jacksonville; 904-650-6509; alientaco.net
A father and son have launched a first-of-its-kind Jacksonville restaurant promising “out of this world” Mexicali delicacies and a galactic-class tequila bar amid interstellar ambiance. Alien Taco gives impressed tacos and entrees plus no less than 50 manufacturers of tequila served amid fanciful decor depicting big-eyed extraterrestrials in all shapes, sizes and walks of life.
Brightly coloured portraits of an area alien working for a landing at a Jaguars soccer sport, taking part in at TPC Sawgrass, or fishing with one of many metropolis’s bridges within the background cling on the partitions and look down from the ceiling. Celebrities comparable to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet of their “Titanic” film roles are also featured. Handcrafted and rising from flooring to ceiling, the eating room centerpiece is a hieroglyphic wall with intricate carvings of extraterrestrials and spaceships paying homage to historical Mayan and Aztec mysteries specializing in guests from outer house. — Teresa Stepzinski, The Florida Times-Union
Bird’s Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack | Tallahassee
Details: 325 N Bronough St., Tallahassee; 850-222-1075; birdsoystershack.com
On Bronough Street, you’ll discover the “classiest oyster shack” Tallahassee has to supply. Under one roof, it’s packed like some other shack you’d discover crammed to the brim and whereas issues can get fairly cozy as crowds fill in, that doesn’t cease anyone from filling the eating room and outside decks. From film posters, to flags lining the ceilings and an almost three toes tall Star Wars Stormtrooper dangling above, this no-frills institution decor is stuffed with character.
The wacky spot’s decor is simply as enjoyable as their weekly lineup of occasions. While slurping on salty sea delicacies you possibly can take pleasure in watching patrons compete at trivia evening on Tuesday or karaoke evening on Thursdays. If you’re not right here for all of the vibes, then maybe you’re there for the meals. This native joint is understood to throw down a thick, juicy burger personalized to your liking in addition to seafood baskets, sandwiches and sizzling canine. — Kyla Sanford, Tallahassee Democrat
The Bubble Room | Captiva
Details: 15001 Captiva Drive, Captiva; 239-472-5558; discover The Bubble Room Restaurant on Facebook
Where to start when describing this weirdly great Captiva traditional? We may begin with the year-round Christmas decorations and lights that adorn room after room of the three-story constructing. Then there’s the outdated Hollywood memorabilia — dozens and dozens of black and white pictures, film posters, mannequins and extra. And let’s not overlook the three,000-plus vintage toys right here, there, and in every single place. Throw in a tunnel of affection, Nemo room and a picture-perfect gorilla cage, and also you get the image.
This 46-year-old lunch and dinner gem, beloved for its towering and colourful signature layer muffins, was closed almost three years after being hit laborious by Hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton. It reopened July 14, simply in time so that you can test it out for the primary or 100th time. — Robyn George, The News-Press
Cocoa Beach Fish Camp Grill | Cocoa Beach
Details: 5602 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach; 321-613-4020; cbfishcampgrill.com
A brief stroll from the long-lasting Cocoa Beach pier, one can find an airboat poised by the doorway of Cocoa Beach Fish Camp Grill, setting the tone for what’s to return. The quirky inside showcases mounted wildlife, nautical sails and an assortment of boat relics scattered all through. Even the bar appears like a ship, including a playful contact to the offbeat ambiance.
The menu leans into its swampy roots with dishes like fried crawfish, gumbo, gator bites and swamp hoppers – er, frog legs. One standout is the beer can rooster: an entire hen roasted upright on a can of PBR. Dig into the hearty fare, wash it down with a moonshine cocktail and tip your hat to the legendary Florida Man.— Amber Olesen, FLORIDA TODAY
The Crooked Bass Grill & Tavern | Babson Park
Details: 1010 N. Scenic Highway, Babson Park, 863-589-5887; crookedbass.com
Take a drive alongside Polk’s Ridge Scenic Highway to find the wealthy, Florida character of The Crooked Bass Grill & Tavern. Visitors are greeted by a life-size cow statue, named “Cow-loosa,” once made for a Gasparilla float that’s since gotten a pair of skis, “to better blend in.” The cow shares a name with a tipsy mermaid fishing on the wall. She didn’t catch the fish on the “Wall of Bass,”each one gifted to owners Tim and Tammy Bracewell by patrons – along with a taxidermized gator, with tags still attached.
What keeps diners coming back to this seafood restaurant is the from scratch home-cooked, Southern-style food. It’s been highlighted for its seafood pizza, featuring tender meat from fresh crab legs, shrimp and a creamy Alfredo sauce. Don’t miss its .50 Cal-iber double cheeseburger, stacking two half-pound beef patties and named after the late Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson. — Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
Elbow Room | Pensacola
Details: 2213 W. Cervantes St., Pensacola; 850-434-0300; Facebook.com/ElbowRoomPensacola
Elbow Room’s founder, Navy veteran Jim Flynn, discovered a bar in Paris, France, that captivated him with its dark walls and neon red lights — a look that largely inspired what Pensacola’s Elbow Room is today. Red spray paint remains under the lampshades, a sign that the lightbulbs were the intended target. Over 60 years later, the spot has remained a locals’ hotspot for pizza, soups, and sandwiches.
The Elbow Room’s “house rules,” printed on the menu, were inspired mainly by Flynn, with “rules” ranging from using a coaster to “watch your mouth.” The Elbow Room is still considered “old-school,” from the vintage “Star Trek” and Schlitz Beer signage to the since-retired no-TV rule — but the biggest thing the new owners never wanted to change was the old-school manners and respect. — Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal
El Segundo | West Palm Beach
Details: 3950 Georgia Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-469-8597, discover elsegundowpb on Facebook
This new Mexicanesque restaurant with a vintage West Coast vibe is nestled into The Peach, an artists’ collective which possibly explains its eclectic décor that mixes graffiti a la New York City’s late 1970s subway cars, surf boards and odd tableaux in the ceiling corners. This table-service eatery features “cowboy cooking” that’s prepared in its food truck behind the bar.
Tacos are the star, including brisket burnt ends, Cali-style fish, King Trumpet mushrooms and a playful “El Big Mac” taco that swaps the tortilla for a crisped and smashed hamburger bun. Pair it all with a $5 “Classico” margarita made with fresh lime, Cointreau, agave and Hornitos blanco tequila. The open-air patio is peppered with Magritte-like colorful umbrellas strewn above as if they were floating. — Diana Biederman, The Palm Beach Post
El Weirdo | Panama City
Details: 24 Oak Ave., Panama City; 850-842-7685; elweirdodowntown.com
Any restaurant that calls itself “El Weirdo” is a lock to make a list like this one. Panama City’s new mayor co-owns this dining spot, which prides itself on serving “good tacos for bizarre folks.” Local artists provide an eclectic and colorful mix of work to satisfy the eye. Meanwhile, the kitchen pushes out street tacos and “magical Wizard Fries,” and the bar provides its own beer, plus IPAs and margaritas and cocktails. Good eats and good drinks? If that’s weird, then weird is the way to go. — Panama City News Herald
Harry and the Natives | Hobe Sound
Details: 11910 S.E. Federal Highway, Hobe Sound; 772-546-3061; harryandthenatives.com
Harry and the Natives, an open-air Old Florida restaurant on the corner of U.S. 1 and Bridge Road in Hobe Sound, originally began as The Cypress Cabins and Restaurant in 1941. It became a popular spot with locals and soldiers training at nearby Camp Murphy in what today is Jonathan Dickinson State Park. After several changes in ownership and at least one name change, Harry MacArthur, son of one of the longtime owners, returned in 1989.
As a child, MacArthur helped his family by running glasses of water to customers’ tables, sometimes after taking sips of water to ensure there would be less spillage. He later became a skilled chef, working in restaurants in Switzerland, Hawaii and Los Angeles before returning home. With its thatched roof, decrepit gas pumps, ornamental figurines and sign warning against snowmobiling, Harry and the Natives is hard to miss when passing through Hobe Sound. — Laurie K. Blandford, TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers
Jaws Jumbo Burgers | Ocala
Details: 3131 SW College Road (State Road 200), Ocala; 352-304-5080; money solely; jawsjumboburgers.net
There’s no shark risk in inland Marion County. But if you happen to just like the film “Jaws” you will love Jaws Jumbo Burgers in Ocala. This quirky restaurant is full of shark-related items and memorabilia from the famous summer of 1975 movie. Also, “you have to have jaws like a shark” to eat the enormous sandwiches that emerge from the kitchen, co-owner Yolanda Gaddis told the Ocala Star-Banner final yr. The Megalodon burger, for instance, options three 5-ounce patties, double bacon and cheese. Be warned: You’re gonna want a much bigger bib.— Andy Fillmore and Jim Ross, Ocala Star-Banner
Lenny’s Restaurant | Clearwater
Details: 21220 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater,727-799-0402, eatatlennys.com
A Clearwater breakfast and lunch establishment, Lenny’s has maintained the identical enjoyable and bustling ambiance for 30 years. It’s half traditional diner, half New York-style deli (if run by a Borscht Belt comic) with soupçons of cheesy Florida roadside attraction.
You have to go to greater than as soon as to note all of the stuff inside. Philadelphia Phillies memorabilia reminds us that Clearwater is the staff’s spring coaching dwelling. Tchotchkes and cheesy Florida souvenirs are flooring to ceiling. Look up, and you may learn indicators on the ceiling providing sage recommendation, chock-full of sassy humor. On one among our final visits, a large, strung spider rigged to the restroom door popped up every time somebody walked in, calling public consideration to a non-public second.
Lenny’s expansive menu is a blissful mixture of New York deli-style fare, from blintzes to knishes to bagels and lox and breakfast gadgets. Specialty plates include a basket stuffed with mini-Danishes. Servers, a number of who’ve labored there for many years, are fast, pleasant and to the purpose. “A balanced diet is a Lenny’s Danish in each hand,” one of many ceiling tiles reminds us. — Julie Garisto, Daily Commercial
Linger Lodge | Bradenton
Details: 7205 eighty fifth St. Court E., Bradenton; 941-755-2757; lingerlodge.com/restaurant-home
Established in 1945 alongside the Braden River in east Bradenton, Linger Lodge is greatest recognized for its wild partitions of taxidermy — snakes, fish, deer — you title it. Outside, two lined and screened decks overlook the pristine river, the place you would possibly spot a dwell critter or two between bites — together with, sure, gators!
You’ll additionally discover them on the menu, alongside different deep Southern delights like frog legs, smoked meats, fried rooster, burgers, and Gulf seafood comparable to grouper and shrimp. And don’t miss the towering Bloody Marys — garnished with every part from fruit and veggies to meat and seafood. It’s principally a buffet in a glass, with a kick — that will help you courageous the awesomely eccentric environment. — Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarbez! | St. Augustine
Details: 115 Anastasia Blvd. St. Augustine; 904-342-0632; https://www.sarbezstaug.com/food
Sarbez! St. Augustine gives an eclectic array of grilled cheese sandwiches, sizzling canine, fried pickles, hummus, Mozzarella and pesto bread sticks, avocado toast and 11 slices of bacon with caramel sauce together with craft beers, wines, sodas, espresso and juices. Greasy, gooey, chin dribbling scrumptious grilled cheese sandwiches tout snappy names like “This Is Why I’m Hot,” “Isaac Broccoli,” “Tommy Pickles” and the “Minorcan Melt.”
These are matched solely by the menu’s construct your personal providing that features selecting between 4 sorts of bread, eight sauces, six cheeses, seven proteins and 13 toppings. The household pleasant (though children should depart by 8 p.m.) restaurant and bar ― open for lunch and dinner ― gives free arcade video games and dwell music occasions. Sarbez!’s internet hosting instructions are express: no impolite or creepy folks, no snakes, no robots and do not even take into consideration writing on the partitions. — Lucia Viti, The St. Augustine Record
Satchel’s Pizza | Gainesville
Details: 1800 NE twenty third Ave., Gainesville; 352-335-7272; satchelpizza.com
Would you want some pizza? Would you prefer it in a van? How about in a greenhouse? Perhaps on the playground and get a tan? You can eat it in all these locations and extra at Satchel’s Pizza – the place the ambiance is as memorable because the meals. A Gainesville landmark since 2003, this pizzeria additionally contains a toy retailer, bar and dwell music venue.
Those who cease by to eat can choose from greater than 30 pizza toppings, together with such oddities as carrots, zucchini and broccoli. The menu additionally consists of calzones, its famed “Satch Salad,” desserts and home made sodas. Still questioning a go to? Taste of Home, a nationwide food-focused journal, named Satchel’s the No. 1 pizza joint in Florida in November 2023. — Alan Festo, The Gainesville Sun
Swamp House Riverfront Grill
Details: 488 W. High Banks Road, DeBary; 386-668-8891, swamphousegrill.com
Florida kitsch at its best, the Swamp House is an Everglades-meets-riverfront wonderland the place gator jaws double as décor, ceiling beams cradle fake reptiles and tiki textures meet taxidermy in the very best means. Nestled alongside the St. Johns River with pontoon parking and sunset-soaked views, this DeBary gem is a component gator gauntlet, half down-home seafood joint — a spot everybody, native or customer, ought to attempt no less than as soon as for that full-on Florida expertise.
Sip on a Swamp Water cocktail down on the outside tiki bar, the place you would possibly even catch a glimpse of dwell gators poking by the water, or dive right into a basket of steak tacos below the watchful eye of mounted lizards, coiled snakes and a ceiling-hung gator. Needless to say, if you happen to’re on the lookout for a meal with a splash of swampy spectacle, that is your house. — Helena Perray, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Twisted Sheep | Naples
Details: 3802 Tamiami Trail E, Naples; 239-919-3287; twistedsheepfl.com
Where else in Naples are you able to get complete rooster tenders, waffles fries, and even a complete burger on high of your pizza?
Nestled right into a strip mall in East Naples, Twisted Sheep gives wacky-yet-wonderful specialty menu gadgets comparable to a buffalo rooster pie topped with complete tenders and a very Chick-Fil-A-inspired pizza drizzled in “counterfeit chicken sauce.” Though the restaurant is understood for pizza, do not forget to attempt its candied bacon bruschetta appetizer. You cannot go improper with Twisted Sheep burgers both. If you are on the lookout for a twist, attempt the pizza burger which is made up of a hand-patted Kobe burger, mozzarella, pepperoni, marinara, garlic aioli, and arugula.
The ambiance of the pizza joint matches its deliciously bizarre menu, with colourful graffiti-inspired artwork you should buy straight off the wall. ― Kendall Little, Naples Daily News
Yalaha Bakery
Details: 8210 County Road 48, Yalaha, 352-324-3366, yalahabakery.com
A wunderbar bakery-deli-restaurant-gourmet store, Yalaha Bakery is situated just a few miles from Leesburg and Tavares. Whether you are ordering on the bakery or eating on the patio, you will really feel such as you stepped off a rural Florida byway right into a quaint German hillside village, the place brightly colourful accents, crests and art work seize medieval nation dwelling and Bavarian royalty.
The European eatery has flourished below the possession of Anne Marie Klumb. Not solely can you discover home made, hearty, fresh-baked breads and pastries at Yalaha Bakery, however you may as well order genuine bauernwurst with German potato salad or hunter schnitzel with spaetzle and crimson cabbage. Born in Colombia with German heritage, Klumb’s worldly consciousness has infused a world sensibility, broadening the choices and attraction of the institution. Some have even helicoptered in for her genuine goodies.
Warning: Yalaha Bakery is situated alongside a curve, and you might miss it if you happen to do not decelerate, however fortunately, the brilliant yellow festhaus will shout at you to make a U-turn if you happen to do. Nestled amid the undulating hills of Lake County, Yalaha Bakery’s villagers, picnicking within the pastoral scene depicted on their patio mural, mix proper in with the idyllic ambiance of the realm. — Julie Garisto, Daily Commercial
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He could be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. Support native journalism by subscribing.
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