Old Florida Fish House — Restaurant in Alys Beach

Visited as our first dinner on our family trip to destin for the first time. This restaurant was recommended by our friends who live locally.

There is complimentary valet on site, so that's a plus as it's impossible to park at most places. The little walk to the restaurant has a couple little store for souvenir shopping and a local glass artist making little aquatic glass trinkets. The price was actually really good.

Onto the restaurant, I highly recommend you make a reservation unless you don't mind sitting inside. The outdoor is huge but that's where most people are. We arrived early and chose to sit first available, which was inside. Then we decided to sit outside bc it was so nice out. Little did we know, it was a 10 to 15 minutes wait after our reservation, so it was going to be a half hour wait. We were starving so we chose to sit inside and we were sat right away.

We had the charboiled kumamoto oysters and the tuna dip. The oysters were pretty good. It was a special of the day so IDK how long that will be on the menu. The tuna dip was nothing to write home about. It tasted like it was tuna from a can. It wasn't bad by any means but you'd expect it to have a little more culinary creativity than this.

We also had the wedge salad as well as the seafood chowder. I didn't have the wedge salad but a wedge salad is a wedge salad is a wedge salad. I was quite excited to try the seafood chowder. The flavor was good and it was chunky. But I have no idea what kind of seafood it was. The chunks resembles diced up leftover seafood, which very much could be.

As for entree, we had the grouper, crab cake, diver scallops (chef's special) and the medallion with bacon wrapped shrimps (also chef's special).

The grouper was pan seared and it was very good. The crab cakes were just mediocre; it was wet and mushy. Flavor was lackluster. Medallion looked good. The scallops were also good but the risotto that came with it was saltier than it needs to be.

Had the deep dish key lime pie and the creme Brulee. The key lime pie was just mediocre, which is very disappointing. My friend finished the creme Brulee so I presume it's good. We also had the frying shrimp basket to go. It was fine. We had to drive it home so we can't really critique it with it being soggy by the time we went home. Our teenage son wanted that so it is what it is.

When the check came around, we paid cash as they charge a 3.5% service fee, which is actually against most credit card terms but no one enforces it and I digress. As we split the bill with our friends, our portion was $260 and I handed our server $300. Without batting an eye, she wished us a good night and walked away. I was stunned! I hadn't told her to keep the change and had planned to add more to the change to make it a 20% tips as that's my minimum for restaurant service.

As she walked by a couple minutes later, I asked for her attention and asked if I am getting my change back. Her response "did you want your change back?" Not "oh I am sorry let me go get it now." As she got back with my $37 change, she said "here it is."

I was livid by this point. As a consumer, I have the right to decide how much to tip. And I always tip 20%, so I was going to tip her more. I ended up just leaving my change of $37 to prove a point, but I highly doubt she will understand it.

Honestly, maybe this is a local stable, but I am sure there are better choices to spend $100 per person. This place seriously needs to train their staff for better...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Old Florida Fish House in Santa Rosa Beach, and I was absolutely blown away—chiefly thanks to our server, Steve. From start to finish, he turned an already great evening into something truly memorable.

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🌟 First Impressions

We arrived to a warm greeting at the valet stand and immediate seating. The restaurant, beautifully nestled by Eastern Lake, boasts a charming Old‑Florida coastal ambiance that instantly sets a relaxed yet elegant tone . Steve welcomed us with a friendly smile and genuine enthusiasm, offering to guide us through the menu and highlight his personal favorites.

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Menu Guidance & Drink Pairing

Steve’s knowledge of the menu was spot‑on. When we mentioned we were in the mood for something fresh and Gulf‑to‑table, he recommended a beautifully plated grouper entree that turned out to be a show‑stopper. His suggestions didn’t stop there—Steve paired our meals with just the right drinks: a crisp white wine for the seafood and a signature handcrafted cocktail for my spouse. The balance he struck between familiarity and novelty was impressive.

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Timing & Attention

What struck me most was Steve’s perfect timing. He approached each course with intuitive precision—never hovering, yet always present when needed. He asked about the pace at each stage, ensuring we never felt rushed or forgotten. That’s an art few servers master.

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Personal Touches

Steve offered an anecdote about the local fishermen who supply their catch—a small gesture that brought the restaurant’s “Gulf to Table” philosophy to life . He even surprised us with house‑made dessert—his recommendation—which was absolutely divine, a rich, creamy slice of key lime pie that balanced sweet and tangy in the best way.

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Why Steve Stands Out Expertise – He guided us confidently through the menu, making a night of decision-making absolutely easy. Personality – Friendly, energetic, and genuine, he elevated the entire experience without ever becoming overbearing. Efficiency – Perfectly timed, considerate service that felt intuitive. Local Knowledge – Personal stories and insight added flavor to the evening. Warmth – A heartfelt thank-you at the end of the evening left us with a happy glow.

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Final Thoughts

Old Florida Fish House is already a standout on 30A—with its lakeside setting, live music, and fresh Gulf seafood . But servers like Steve bring those qualities to life. He didn’t just serve our food—he curated an experience. His blend of professionalism, local flair, and warmth transformed dinner into a memory I’ll be recalling for a long time.

Steve is a shining example of hospitality done right. For anyone planning an evening at OFFH, be sure to ask for him—he’ll take an excellent restaurant experience and make it...

Had a reservation and was given complimentary valet parking and was seated very quickly. Most guests leaving were frowning, but every staff member was pleasant and smiling and reciprocated a joyful composure while we were friendly with them.

After staying in the area for 5 nights and trying various restaurants, this was the only meal that I was truly thoroughly enjoying without complaints.

I had a special from the menu and my wife had the sushi. All of the sushi was high quality and was very good. Rice on the sushi was made correctly and the perfect texture.

Grilled oysters were great, they were very tasty and were quite good. I think the smallest amount of bacon crumbled on top would've been a good plus also maybe a bit of chive?

The second appetizer we had was the gumbo which had a good sasaphras and thyme file. The flavor was very good. The shrimp were very cooked, but that's typical to a gumbo.

Next up was am extra order of sashimi. This was very pleasant and the Wasabi was really good. I couldn't tell if it was authentic Wasabi or the typical horseradish Wasabi, but I was happy that it wasn't neon green and fake looking. It was a pleasant pale green. The sashimi didn't come with any ginger but we managed.

Last up was my dish which was a special of snapper topped with crab. The fish was a nice generous portion and didn't have any off flavors of sweetness (which other resteraunts in the area kept having) the fish was great and hearty. The topped crab was large lumps and I believe was shucked fresh and not from a can. I could be wrong, but since I had a few pieces of semi hard shell, this led me to believe it was fresh and not a can.

The shell didn't detract from the meal just like sand in oyster doesn't upset me.

I was just happy to finally have a solid meal when other restaurants had hit and mis.

In closing, the worst part of this establishment is the rich stuck up people that show up, but it has nothing to do with the staff. All of the staff were truly awesome!

If you have been going to the other "fancy" restaurants in the area, I recommend this one because the food is pretty solid.

I will be back if I'm ever in the area.

Side note to the guests: please do not have your children run up to my table and...