Stewby's Steamer & Market — Restaurant in Florida

If you are staying in Destin, this place is well worth a short drive through the scenic Gulf Islands National Seashore. If you are staying on Okaloosa island, walk or bike on down. Read on...

This place is great! Extremely friendly employees and a clean and spacious area for browsing. You will be impressed with what you see upon entering. Here are some details:

Fresh seafood on ice and in refrigerator. A variety of local fish and shrimp, along with some seafood I assume is shipped in (e.g., snow crab). Local fish varieties today included mullet, white squid, and mutton snapper ( fresh caught) and shipped in Mahi Mahi ( previously frozen). Fresh shrimp of at least three sizes, including colossal! Everything is clearly labeled with price per pound and indicates fresh or frozen. There is a hanging scale right there for honest measuring.

You can purchase styrofoam coolers here, along with all the cooking ingredients you would need for a proper fish fry. Additionally, you can purchase all the side items you get with a meal at Stewby's Shanty: baked beans, slaw, potato salad, etc.

The store has a huge variety of T-shirts and other apparel in many colors and designs. Prices range from $15.99 and up. I can see this catching on as the cool shirt that replaces the "fudpuckers" shirts that were so popular in the late 80s and 90s. The store is actually near that old building. Something about the Stewby's look and name is catchy. Even the trucker hats are cool.

For those who are local art lovers, you will not be left out! The walls have local wooden fish cutouts that are designed and painted by a local artist (I missed his name). Prices for these were above $100 and looked worth the money. Each of these are replicas of the popular game fish.

For those snowbirds looking for a go-to restaurant and market, Stewby's is a no-brainer. No more driving across the bridge, a great dinner or "samwich" is here, and fresh food if you like cooking your own. Every grandkid that lives inland would love a Stewby's shirt for a birthday or...

We found Stewby’s on TikTok and decided to check it out—and we’re so glad we did. There are two buildings here, each with a different menu. One focuses on fried, grilled, and blackened seafood, while the other offers steamed seafood and boils. We ordered from both spots to get the full experience.

When we arrived, there was a line out the door at the fried building, but it moved surprisingly fast. The staff was friendly and quick to explain how everything worked, which made it easy to order. Even with the crowd, we got our food fairly quickly, and there was plenty of seating available—both indoors and outside.

We went with the Family Steamed Platter. The steamed platter was a serious crowd-pleaser: 5 pounds of seafood, including crab legs, mussels, head-on and head-off shrimp, crawfish, corn, potatoes, and four mini tubs of melted butter. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and cooked just right. Our party of 9 shared it as a snack, and there was more than enough to go around.

Bonus points for the dog-friendly outdoor patio—such a great vibe and a perfect spot to enjoy fresh seafood without feeling rushed. If you’re in the Ft. Walton area, Stewby’s is a must. We’ll definitely be back next time...

Badly in need of a better system. This is mostly a take out place. There are only a handful of tables.

You can order via Doordash or the like for delivery. But, if you are foolish enough to show up in person, expect the line to be endless and to inch along at a glacial pace. Only one person is authorized to touch the one register. They will mess around endlessly before taking the next person's order.

Decent seafood. BUT, the ONLY reason they are still in business is their location, right in a stretch of vacation condo rentals. Any reasonably competent competition would put them out of business.

I stood in line for 30 minutes to get up to the counter to order, then another 15 minutes standing there trying to order while all the employees ignored me. All the while the line of customers kept getting longer and longer.

I don't get it. With reasonable organization, they could sell 3x as much.

The website does not show the menu options for the Steamer & Market side.

Not worth the wait. ...