Beach Walk Cafe — Restaurant in Destin

By far, this was one of the most frustrating experiences I have ever had. The only reason I didn’t flat walk out was because of my wife. But, I’ll get to that in a second. Let me explain my 1 star review…

(Reservations was at 7:30pm)

7:20: Arrived! Had the NICEST Valet attendant ever. This guy was super friendly, very chill and immediately set me at ease. I think I gave the guy a $10 but I wish I had given him a $20.

7:25. Walked in and was immediately seated! Again, this was experience was starting out phenomenal. As we were sat, it’s impossible to not be welcomed by a beautiful view on the patio. (We asked to be seated outside.)

7:40: The waitress showed up 15 minutes later and took our drink order. Even if it was only 15 minutes, I was okay with this. My mood was still good.

7:55: Another 15 minutes pass and the waitress shows up with our drinks. At this point, my wood was starting to dwindle. But! My wife, still being in her good mood and wanting to avoid any “negatives vibes” said it was fine. Afraid we wouldn’t see her for another 15 minutes, we gave her our food order.

8:15: The waitress shows back up and gives his bread? This was crazy to me that we’d be here 45-50 minutes and now she was giving us bread? I didn’t even know they served bread! I mean, I saw the cute olive oil container sitting in the center of our table, but still, this redicoulsy. While there, I asked if she could refill out drinks because we hadn’t see her since 20 minutes.

8:30: Drinks are refilled! And the waitress assured us our food was on the way. She explained that the chicken is baked to order so that was what was talking so long. I guess hour wait times were normal here. At this point, I was ready to walk out. But! Again, my wife told me it was fiiiiiiiine, that we dressed up, (and my two daughters 13 & 16) and she’d read that the food was exceptional so the wait was worth it. Though, since it was 8:30 and I was starving, at this point, I should have asked for another slice of bread.

8:50: Food shows up! And check this out! So, another waitress shows up and only brings my daughters their food. But! She holds both plates in her hands because she cannot serve the plates until our waitress shows up and she apparently went a different way. All of us look at each other awkwardly.

8:55: Our waitress shows up with our food and my daughters get their plates as do we. And the food is? Just okay. To say I was super disappointed was an understatement. The risotto was so el dente to the point were I feel it was like undercooked rice. The steak was… eh. My daughter didn’t like her chicken and I had to switch plates with her. The lobster mac was okay, I guess. Not something I’d write home about.

9:15: Yeah, waiting on our check. At this point, I ignore my wife, go to the front desk and ask if I can just pay them because I’m ready to leave. They inform me they were find my waitress and send her to our table with our check.

9:20: Waitress shows up! Only, instead of handing an annoyed family our check, she instead cleans up our table. I almost snapped at her, but somehow found my inner strength, to give us our damn check. She did so, only I didn’t let her leave. Who knows when I would have seen her again. I gave her our card telling her to cash us out.

9:30: Finally, we were able to...

Let me start by saying I’ve had dinner at Beach Walk Cafe 3 times, and lunch there twice. The food has been consistently outstanding. The crab cakes, lobster tails, and grouper live rent free in my head! The views are unparalleled, and, up until my latest dining experience (8/23/25), the service has been absolutely impeccable. Sadly, my latest visit was beyond disappointing, as the customer service was not acceptable. I made a reservation (via telephone) for my party of 5. I specified we wanted to be seated outside, and I was assured that would not be a problem as parties of 5 or more are seated outside. There was a pop up shower right before we arrived, so the chairs/tables outside were wet when we got there. When I checked in with the host, he told me we could not be seated outside given the weather (which I understood). Here’s where it got sticky: the option he gave me for our party of 5 was to be seated indoors at 2 separate tables. I asked if he could put the tables together (for obvious reasons - a group of 5 women on vacay want to sit together), and was told no. I was taken aback, and let him know (in a very kind manner) we wanted to be seated together, and 2 tables wouldn’t work. He then said he could wipe the chairs and table off, but it may take a minute. Unfortunately, the kindness and patience I showed him was not reciprocated. He appeared inconvenienced and visibly unhappy. We were seated after a few minutes; the chairs and table were clean, dry, and I was encouraged the night would pick up (service-wise). I was mistaken. Our server (I believe his name was Dexter; however, I’m not certain) left much to be desired. He was less than friendly, and was inattentive. My dirty dinner plate sat long enough I had to push it toward the center of the table to get it out of my way, and the remaining dirty dishes weren’t cleared when I was served my dessert wine (pic attached). Throughout the meal, I never felt welcome by him. This dinner was a gift from me to my friends, on our last night in Destin. The night was impacted negatively by the lack of customer service, and that should never be the case - esp when you’re making a considerable purchase. I will more than likely give them another shot, given my other experiences were truly stellar. On the flip side, had this been my first time there, it most certainly would have also...

The Beach Walk Cafe is one of the best restaurants in the Destin area.

A reservation is a good idea, probably a necessity. Getting one can be more complicated than expected. I tried OpenTable without any luck. I called the restaurant and the message was about two days old so already out of date. I left a message with a phone number. I got a call back two days later, made the reservation for the date and time desired, and then very much enjoyed the meal here.

Having eaten here a number of times over the past few years, including when the chef was Tim Creehan, we have always enjoyed the meals here. Some of the entrees have not changed.

Grouper Vince is a favorite of mine. The dish was named in honor of the wedding of country singer Vince Gill and Christian music artist Amy Grant. The current iteration of this entree is just as good and now goes for about $52—a significant increase since the marriage in 2000.

One of the specials on this occasion was duck breast. It was cooked perfectly. It was moist and tender. I passed on the brussel sprout hash and instead went for the mashed potato side.

My dining companion opted for scallops and pasta. The menu described the dish as blackened. The chef prepared her dish as grilled instead, upon her request, and it was delicious. The scallops were very tender, the flavoring of the pasta sauce was excellent.

As an appetizer, we split the tomato soup. This has been a staple of the restaurant for a long time. It has a smokey flavor that is unique and well worth trying. There are also shrimp in the soup that are whole shrimp and not cut up. One of my favorites to order when dining at Beach Walk Cafe.

The atmosphere is elegant and romantic. There is outdoor dining (watch out for the wind and rain when making a reservation) and the view of the Gulf is spectacular.

There is also a very good wine list.

This is not an everyday dining event for those who live on a budget. The food is outstanding and worth it. Our meal, with a bottle of wine, dessert, an appetizer and gratuity came to about $250. That is not a complaint; just an observation and setting realistic...