Oceans Restaurant — Restaurant in Panama City Beach

9/24/25 update: The food here is still Excellent Period We ordered the same Food again and it mess our expectations And was one of the best meals we've had in Panama City Beach Period This is a place you have to stop if you have it before Period too bad I don't live here because I'd be eating here all the time.

Original Review 11/2024: At first, pulling into this restaurant is a fairly small and narrow building that shares a spot with Domino's pizza, but with plenty of parking. It looks to be newly renovated with stylish booths and matching tables and brightly lit. Dimming the lights in the evening might reduce a diner-like atmosphere and make it more of a dining experience. The food here is amazingly good!

There is also an outdoor beer garden which was closed today we came but it would be nice to eat out during the sunny days for which Panama City is so famous.

I picked this restaurant over many because I like grilled seafood over fried, and Oceans Restaurant had many options from which to choose on the menu.

We were seated very quickly, and I noticed the well-stocked bar, with plenty of TVs around the bar and restaurant. This would probably be a great place to watch a football game in the afternoon and have some wings and drinks.

We had the dinner entrees of mahi-mahi and grouper. Both of them are served with coconut rice and broccolini. The entries came out very quickly on heated warm plates.

The coconut rice is there a flavorful with a slight sweetness and a pronounced coconut flavor. The rice looks like not quite sushi grade, maybe a cal rose, but it is sticky rice, which adds to the texture.

I'm not sure what they did to the broccolini, but it was cooked to perfection. The texture was soft and al dente, not mushy at all. The flavor was a buttery sauce, maybe a hint of lemon. This is an excellent choice if a side!

The grilled mahi-mahi is a good-sized portion of this solid tasty fish. It was cooked to a well done, maybe a bit more firm than my usual, but the fish was flaky but solid. This was complimented by the Creole Remoulade sauce that was delicious!

The grilled snapper was cooked to a tender and flaky texture. The garlic butter sauce added the right amount of flavor to augment the buttery texture of the fish.

Both of these entries were so good, especially at the price point. What a great place to eat good tasty food. It's so good. I want to come back several times so I can try the different items on the menu. The fish we ate tonight were plate-licking good.

I probably driven by this place half a dozen times every time I visit Panama City without noticing it. It is truly a hidden gem of a restaurant. Take your time to find this one.

On a side note, the people at the table next to me hamburgers and steak, which looks absolutely delicious. The food was out fast for everything that was ordered for both of our tables.

While I did not order drinks, I noticed that the cocktails we're very reasonably priced. There were even pictures of them, so you can see how...

It was 7pm on a Tuesday

Was expecting a good experience but was unfortunately let down. Came in with my family to celebrate a birthday and the greeting was pleasant.

The occupancy was, our group (14), a group of 4, another group of 4 and lastly a group of 2. With some DoorDash/UberEats that showed up two to three times.

We sat down and it took 10 mins for us to have our server walk by and say “oh I’ll grab some waters”, without counting how many people mind you. How would I know this? Because there was 14 of us and the server brought 6 and said “oh we’re going to need more water aren’t we”. Then kept coming out with only 3-4 more asking if we need more water.

To order From when we walked in, it took around an hour for our server to ask if we’re ready to order. And we never told the server we needed more time to look at the menu or anything of the sort.

Time between receiving our orders From the time we got our waters to the time we paid. I didn’t get a refill on my water. The server did come by with two things of water to refill drinks, but ran out. So I said “excuse me sir we’ll need some down here too” the server said “for sure I’ll be back”. Never got that water

When we received our first plate It was a little more than an hour to get our first plate. My plate and my son’s plate were fine. But the other plates were not. Multiple fish and chips were ordered and the fried fish were cold throughout the fish. Almost like it was just left to thaw out and served. One plate that was served was $34 for 2 scallops, 2 shrimps, 4 asparagus and a little rice. Other plates were small portions. For example. Some of the Fish and chips, we got a 4 yr old & a 5 yr old. We order it from the main menu (not the kids menu), and the portion wasn’t even enough for them. When I got my order, the server asked if we needed anything, so I asked for more sauce, some ketchup and REMINDED that I was in need of more water still. The server said alright and that they’d go grab it. The server came back to drop off something else that was asked and a water and I asked for a THIRD time, excuse me sir could I please get that water & sauces.

Paying/The End Needless to say, for the 3 HOURS we were there, I never received a new water or a refill nor those sauces. When it came to paying, we were CLEARY ready to leave. We’ve asked for boxes and packed our food up. We sat 20 mins waiting for our check. At some point another waiter figured we already had paid and said have a great night. But of course we weren’t just gonna walk out without paying.

We finally paid and unfortunately we were not Impressed at all...

Oceans Restaurant is pretty new in PCB. Easy to find, parking available & it's a bit of a different experience than we're used to. We found d it via Google, looking for steak & lobster. The building appears as an older-style diner, square with a lot of windows all around but walking inside gives a different vibe. The restaurant looks brand new, furnished in modern farmhouse with a lot of tables & a small, neat bar along the back wall. We were greeted by a gentleman, he seated us, we talked a moment, our drink orders were taken & we waited. Eventually our drinks, then meals arrived. I was excited to try American Cuisine with Jamaican flair. I ordered the Rib Eye Steak, medium, as I intended to share with 2 that couldn't bear medium rare. They ordered 1, Lobster Tails & 2 Seafood Platter. The platter came with broiled or grilled (idk) Grouper, Scallops & Shrimp but was covered with Paradise Sauce, which made it mostly unedible for my Hubs. The Lobster Tails were good according to my BIL. The steak was very tasty but overcooked the lean which made it tough & dry. *I know there's no guarantee for a steak cooked over medium rare, I'm just describing the meal. One issue we all 3 had was the sides offered & available. 2 came with Mashed Potatoes which weren't available & asparagus which IMO, isn't palatable. I ordered a double salad made with arugula & loved it. My BIL ordered the Smashed Potatoes, delicious & broccoli. My Hubs wound up with double salad instead of coconut rice & was not happy. So all around mixed reviews. Atmosphere was lacking, it's just a diner @ high fine dining prices. We won't...