Old Bay Steamer — Restaurant in Florida

Our first visit we got the Blue Crab Claws ($21) and split the Jumbo Family Steamer ($160) between 3 of us with a slice of Key Lime Pie for dessert. Our second visit was a little disappointing, but mostly because the price vs quality just didn't line up given the surrounding restaurants and lack of view. ---FIRST VISIT---- The crab claws were decent, but I kept getting the crab shells in every bite I took, so I didn't eat many of them. The salad with homemade dressing was very good! We basically licked the bowl clean! I had a Bloody Mary with my meal that was nothing to write home about. I love Zing Zang, but the cocktail could've been dressed up a little more to give it that extra "umph" for a place with such an expensive menu. The Jumbo Family Steamer was large and in charge! We ate almost everything. I was impressed with the flavor of the crab and shrimp. The oysters also had a good flavor as well. We finished with a slice of Key Lime pie. It was decent, but I wouldn't waste money on it next time. Go to Publix and get a whole pie for the same price and it tastes better there anyway (in my opinion). We definitely left full, but I had a strange taste in my mouth for 2 days after this meal. I don't have any shellfish allergies (that I'm aware of) but maybe I just overdid it on the seafood?

---SECOND VISIT--- My parents were in town so we decided to give it another whirl. My mom had the Steamed Shrimp ($25), my husband and father had the Catch of the day (Grouper for $32), and I was sick of seafood so I tried the Half Rack of Ribs ($16). My mom LOVES shrimp so I was excited to get her to try the Jumbo shrimp I remembered loving from my previous visit. Unfortunately she only received 10. LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING. Not sure what happened in the steaming process this time but the shells were very hard to get off and once the body was removed she was left with a very small and very not jumbo shrimp. Her meal was probably smaller than an appetizer would've been. Needless to say we stopped to get her food after dinner. The grouper was good, but again, for that price you can find it better across the bridge in Fort Walton. The star of this meal was definitely the ribs! They steam their ribs, which I thought would suck out the flavor, but they did not! They were probably some of the better ribs I've had!! The meat fell right off the bone and melted in my mouth. Ironically, I felt this dish was under priced but it certainly balanced out the overpriced food we had on our ticket.

Overall, do not go to Old Bay Steamer if you are looking for phenomenal seafood at a good price. There are much better options if you leave the island. DO go to Old Bay Steamer for...

Our waitor seemed put off and we waited a good 15 minutes to place our appetizer order, instead of asking us when we ordered drinks. Another 25 minutes to get our entree order in. Mom couldn't help but notice the odd decor as well. 40 minutes later, our salads arrived, which were NOT a typical house salad, definitely would NOT recommend. Then another 15 for my baked oysters, which were the best part but thrown off by being covered in melted shredded cheese We were there at 7pm on a Sunday so they were a little busy, but not terribly. I ordered the snow crab dinner, mom had the New Orleans style shrimp. My crab was so dry I could barely open it, with scissors, which threw me off bc I was used to the typical nutcracker types. The butter sauce tasted old, not a garlic flavor at all. The corn and potatoes were obviously not cooked with the crab and were completely bland and flavorless. Mom's shrimp was so overly seasoned she couldn't eat it and her rice was so dry she was chokng on it. When asked about our experience the server offered her something else but she couldn't try anything else due to the terrible taste stuck in her mouth from the overly seasoned shrimp. The manager came over and took off her entrée while I was struggling to open the crab legs. We had to ask for the check when we were obviously displeased and ready to go. I paid for the worst seafood experience I've had in Destin, then went to the bathroom to wash my hands since no moist towelettes were provided. The stalls were covered in seemingly demonic artwork, and made me even more uncomfortable. We then made a quick exit to our vehicle, parked in an alley. Would never...

We ate here twice on our vacation. The food was excellent. The grouper was, honestly, the best grouper I have ever had. Crab legs were great. Oysters were good but the didn’t have Rockefeller which would be the only thing I would change.

Honestly, Bryce was our server both nights, and his service is the reason we chose to return to the restaurant. My dad is kind-of a pain in the @$$ because he doesn’t eat out much. He tips 20% so he’s fair there, but he can embarrass the whole table with his “old school” ways. I think Bryce understood this and he was actually a pretty good fit for my dad. He deserves a raise. Again, his service was the reason we chose to eat at the same restaurant again and they sat us at his table the 2nd time as well. (We did not request him, because I wouldn’t want to punish him, but he really was the best).

The restrooms were very clean, and the environment was perfect for the food choices. There was no loud, obnoxious music or anything like that. The decoration made me think “NOLA” and the food fit the decoration.

We will be returning next year on our vacation. My only “hope” is that oysters Rockefeller is on the menu. Other than that, I’m already looking forward to returning!

Additional edit: my son and I split the crab legs and NY Strip the first night. The steak was FANTASTIC as well. The seafood is what we were going after, but I want the chef to know how thankful I was to have a steak cooked rare when I ordered it rare. My son won’t eat it any other way. If you don’t like seafood, I recommend the steak.

And the salad dressing is the best we have ever had. My wife actually bought a jar so we can...