Azul Mexican Fusion — Restaurant in Destin

This was our first visit to Azul Mexican Fusion, an eclectic restaurant, which pulled out all the stops perfectly. The patrons across the open-air dining space wore happy faces, celebrating anniversaries, engagement parties, family gatherings, romantic couples, and us...hungry fishing guys aged 17 to 74, from Atlanta, Georgia.

So, with this reviewer's travels to 42 countries across many decades and cultures hooking up with the best cuisines, most inviting settings and the finest food service staffs from around the Globe...here is how Destin's Azul Mexican Fusion stacked up...

This is not your typical Mexican cafe. The basic foundation of every dish in Chef Yaron's kitchen begins with a typical Mexican Cantina lineup, but this eclectic journey throws in a dash of Moroccan seasonings, a pinch of Middle Eastern spices and flavors topped with exotic international cheeses. Bang!

Our pre-show epicurean debut was delicious Azul Street Corn Ribs, though there is no meat to these ribs, this is a reference to how each ear of corn-on-the-cob was delicately sliced LONG-WAYS into 1/4 segments of rib-length pieces to create slightly curved "ribs." These corn-ribs were massaged with Otija Cheese, house spices, fresh cilantro, and cilantro Lime Crema Sauce. Yummy taste and a creative twist of more typical street corn (see the photo below).

Following the opening curtain, an unordinary hummus dish consisting of tahini garlic, lemon juice, virgin olive oil, feta cheese and blended roasted chickpeas ~ was brought out by Chef Yaron himself, with a smile and a challenge, "Try this version of OUR tasty hummus!" Standard hummus can be boring, but Chef Yaron's creation was received by our table of Gulf fishermen with raving cheers. Others near us turned to see what was causing all the approving raucous.

And the main course? Each of us selected our own combination of triple tacos, served flat on the plate, with common elements of Monterey Jack cheese, Azul house pico, cabbage cilantro slaw, and a choice of protien: slow cooked Barbacoa Beef, Sauteed Mahi Mah, Mediterranean Seasoned Chicken Shawarma , Grilled Chicken, Grilled Gulf Shrimp, House Seasoned Ground Beef...each of the above flat tacos drizzled with delectable Boom Boom sauce. Also delicious and as we can vouch for is the Fried Falafel + Tahini Sauce. Perfecto!

Azul Mexican Fusion opened in the fall of 2024, and has been the rave in the lively HarborWalk Village at Destin on the bay near the Mid-Bay Bridge. HarborWalk is a bayside carnival-like collection of performers, live music, zip-lines, rock wall climbing, engaging bars, a wide variety of restaurants, and performers twirling fire batons reminiscent of Key West's Mallory Dock. But the area is loaded with daytime/nightly activities for adults, younger kids, teenagers and college students. And of course Chef Yaron's Azul Mexican Fusion, where he is more than the head chef...he owns the place. Five Stars, for sure.

(Photos of our extraordinary meal and Chef/owner will be posted here on this review Sunday, June 8, 2024)

2 Harbor Blvd, Destin, FL 32541 (850) 376-9199 Price: moderate Dick Stafford,...

Been coming to Destin every summer since 2018 and have seen 2-3 restaurants go out of business in this specific location on the Harbor Walk. Looked at our option online for that area and discovered Azul on Google Maps. Well, we hope after eating here last night (3 August 2024) that we can come back year after year…

We shared their complimentary chips and dips, one salasa verde and another tomato based dip..both had some kick and very good. Also ordered their queso with roasted jalapeños which are finely diced. By far the best queso we’ve ever had and we eat out Mexican weekly.

Husband had their tacos (street style but with slightly grilled flour shells so were semi crispy) with Mediterranean chicken, he only order street tacos when we get Mexican and he loved these.

I had their taquitos appetizer, not too filling and meat seemed slow cooked, not watery chicken but also not burnt. Really good.

One “kid” had shrimp street tacos and even my husband who doesn’t like shrimp liked these. The other “kid” had a bacon cheese burger with fries. The burger was cut in half with the exposed inner sides faced down in melted cheese and bacon pieces…our niece utterly loved it.

Adam was our waiter. He was SUPER friendly, checked on us many times and seemed to be loving life. We told him we’ll be back later this month and again in September when we’re back in town. Adam said they opened around March / April which makes sense why we didn’t know about it from our last summer trips.

As far as the atmosphere…they had a DJ off to the side on their big patio area playing cool Latin music but it wasn’t too loud. We sat on couches (like outdoor patio furniture) right on the harbor and watched all the boats go through. I’m sure you could see dolphins (as we have in the past in this area) since the water was only about 50-60 feet away but we didn’t on our particular visit.

Price, la cuenta (the check) was just under $90 for four adults. Adam was awesome so gave him a like a 35% tip.

Looking forward to going back and, taking our friends in Sept. You should...

Azul has incredible potential, nestled in a prime location with an enchanting outdoor setting and breathtaking views. However, it breaks my heart to say that the food simply did not live up to the promise that those surroundings offer. On a Saturday evening, the place was eerily quiet, leaving us unable to fully appreciate the atmosphere it could bring to life. I mean honestly.. who needs a buzzing Saturday evening vibe when you can enjoy the ambience of total silence?

We kicked things off with the four dip appetizer, and naturally, we picked two Parmesan Shrimp Crab dips, expecting an unforgettable culinary explosion. Spoiler alert: They were a major letdown. The Mexican corn was undoubtedly the cream of the crop, which isn't exactly saying much since it was merely... okay. The crab dip had an oddly inconsistent texture that threw us off, and the queso was nothing more than a gooey blob, lacking any memorable flavor whatsoever. Overall, I would rate the dips a 3/10.

Next up were the avocado fritters. The menu called them "avocado slices," but they were more like cubes of guacamole that were battered and fried. The sauce they came with added a nice touch of freshness. I’d give these a 5/10.

Then we got our hands on some Margaritas—1 Fuego and 1 Fresh (strawberry flavored). These were acceptable! I really appreciated the spice in the Fuego, even if the rim was pitiful; a heavier tajin rim would have been a game-changer! The Fresh was undeniably sweet, but it was good. I’d rate these a 6/10.

For our entree, we went with the Azul Bowl, picking the chicken shawarma option thinking that was a safe bet. The portion size was disappointing and the flavors must have been out on vacation because they were nowhere to be found. It was as dry as a desert, and the only saving grace was the leftover sauce from the avocado fritters. For $21, I honestly expected more; I've had better bowls at places like Cava or Chipotle. Overall, 4/10 nothing to...