Seaside / 30-A Dining Report

Just got back from an awesome trip to Watercolor/Seaside. We stayed at the Watercolor Inn, and I can’t recommend the place highly enough. Fantastic, friendly service. Amazing location. Perfect rooms for the beach.

But being the Food Board, I thought you guys would be most interested in our dining experiences down there. I’ve visited the area a few times (though not for a number of years), but all of the places we ate were new to me, save one (Fish Out of Water). My (long-ish) thoughts below:

Dinner

Fish Out of Water:

This was the restaurant at the hotel, so we tried it first. Awesome meal start to finish. When we arrived the had a bottle of champagne waiting on us, complements of a partner at my firm who had been in Seaside the previous week and knew that we were going there. Great surprise!

The wine list was fantastic and the sommelier helped us pick a flawless Burgundy for our meal. We split the shellfish platter for an appetizer. The snapper ceviche (don’t ask me how that’s “shellfish”) was awesome. Entrees were the snapper and the Florida Hopper Shrimp. Both were very good. Desserts were excellent as well, with the soufflé being the real stand-out. Service was perfect.

Bud & Alley’s:

Our one miss of the trip on dining (though we loved the Tarpon Club upstairs and spent a great deal of time there). I knew this would be our most casual meal, and it was. Atmosphere and service was fine, and the food was solid. The wine list was a joke. My biggest problem was that the meal was just as expensive as Fish Out of Water, which is an entirely different class of restaurant. Had Bud & Alley’s cost 50% less, then I would’ve thought it was a good meal. But at its present price-point, it falls flat among its peers.

Caliza Restaurant (at Alys Beach):

I can’t speak highly enough about the atmosphere at this new restaurant (only open about 4 months, according to our server). The entire restaurant is open-air and set around a pool. There’s also a rooftop area where you can have pre or post dinner drinks. But for the accents of our fellow diners, this place easily could have been in South Beach or Vegas (just look at the pictures on the website). It was literally one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever seen anywhere.

Apps here were a bit off-kilter. We had the foie gras and the charcuterie plate, and both were okay but it seems like the kitchen is still working out these dishes. Entrees were simple, but fantastic. We had the grilled flounder and the snapper. The mac & cheese side was solid as well. For dessert we had a nutella-filled crepe that was excellent. My favorite dessert of the trip.

The wine list was a little lacking in mid-range bottles. Lots of under-$75 selections (and not very creative), and several $150+ bottles, but really not much in the $75 to $150 range. Not that price is determinative, but I just use that to give you a sense of the type of wines that dominate the list. Either very pedestrian or just too much.

Café Tango:

Café Tango was pretty much exactly what I expected. A tiny little house with only eight tables. Very intimate and romantic, and an interesting contrast to the overt sexiness of Caliza. Service was great, and the wine list was solid.

For appetizers we went with the foie gras (more traditional than Caliza’s) and lobster tail. Both were great and the lobster tail in particular was the best app of the trip. Entrees were typical for the area. We had grilled triggerfish and grouper. Both were very good. Desserts were a bit lacking here (although huge). Bread pudding and pecan pie were good, but nothing to write home about.

Overall:

Fish Out of Water, Caliza, and Café Tango are must-do’s for anyone staying in this region. Fish Out of Water was probably the best top-to-bottom on food, but the unique atmosphere at Caliza and the intimacy at Café Tango were great as well. Service was excellent at all. If I had to do it over again I’d skip Bud & Alley’s for dinner and hit Café Thirty A instead. Next trip I’m definitely going to have to try Basmati as well.

Lunch

Bud & Alley’s Pizzaria:

To me, this was the most surprising meal of the trip. Being right on the beach, I was expecting very little (perhaps just above delivery grade pizza); after all, this is effectively a place catering to kids. I was sorely mistaken about the food. The pizza here was very good and traditionally done (Italian, not American). Nary a pepperoni in sight on the menu. Highly recommend this place.

Stinky’s Fish Camp:

Most average lunch of the trip. Good atmosphere and typical food. Lots of fried seafood and somewhat creative po’ boys. The best we tried was the roast beef with debris gravy. Shrimp po’ boy was just okay. It’s a bit of trek from Seaside to here, so unless you’re staying close to this restaurant there’s no real reason to go out of your way, IMO. Instead, I suggest you try…

Seagrove Village Market Café:

This place has been around forever and is just east of Seaside on the left off 30-A. A true hole-in-the wall, super casual place. But the food was great. Again, typical fare for the region. The shrimp po’ boy was one of the best I’ve ever had (and I grew up on the Gulf Coast). Highly recommend. FYI – These are the same people who recently opened Georges in Alys Beach, so next time I want to try that place too.

Great Southern Café:

This is a bit of a nicer restaurant in Seaside, though it does have a casual outside porch. Food here was good, if expensive. We had a shrimp po’ boy and a fried grouper po’ boy. Both were good, as were the drinks. Solid coleslaw as well.