Sharky's Beachfront Restaurant — Restaurant in Panama City Beach

Sharky’s ain’t just a beach restaurant—it’s a damn Panama City legend. Started back in ’86 by a lifeguard named “The Shark” (because of course), it grew from a little oyster shack into a full-blown tiki-palace with the biggest open-air palapa in the U.S.—made from 100,000 palm fronds, because Florida.

They’ve got cold drinks, hot crab legs, a pirate ship playground for the kids, and live music most nights. Lynyrd Skynyrd even played there once. You want Gulf Coast vibes with a side of fried shrimp and a Shark Attack cocktail? This is your spot.

Oyster Combo

Alright, so here’s the rundown: Sharky’s Oyster Combo gives you a dozen baked boys, split three ways—four with garlic butter and Parmesan (fancy garlic bread of the sea), four Monterey-style with Cheddar Jack and bacon (because of course), and four with jalapeños tossed in for that “Florida spice.”

Now, I’m from New Orleans, so I know what a good oyster’s supposed to taste like. These ain’t bad, but they ain’t knock-your-socks-off either. Next time, I’ll probably just wave at ‘em on the way to the crab legs.

Key West Garlic Shrimp

This right here’s where the Shark made its damn comeback. I’m talkin’ twelve big ol’ shrimp, peeled and swimmin’ in a pool of Key West garlic butter like they were on vacation. Came with two breadsticks, but let’s be honest—they were just butter shovels. Shrimp were fresh, fat, and fine, but that sauce? That sauce was the main event. I mopped it up with the breadsticks, then went huntin’ for stray oysters just to keep the party goin’. Lord have mercy, it was stupid good.

Key Lime Pie

The Key Lime Pie—coastal classic, right? Now look, I’m a man who takes his pie seriously, and lately some slices been lettin’ me down. Tasted more like sad lemon pudding than anything outta Key West. But this one? Hell no. Tart, creamy, and big enough to make you question your life choices in the best way. Straight-up A+ slice. I’ll be orderin’ it again, probably twice next time just to make up for the past disappointments.

Now this joint was hoppin’—packed tighter than a cooler at a tailgate—so I figured the service might be movin’ at Gulf Coast speed, ya know? But nope! Surprise, surprise, surprise—service was spot-on. Fast, friendly, and fun. And get this: a damn parrot helped take my order. That’s right, a talkin’ bird. Only in Florida, y’all.

So yeah—Sharky’s ain’t just dinner, it’s a damn experience. You got shrimp swimmin’ in garlic butter, pie that’ll make you rethink your life, oysters doin’ their best, and a parrot hollerin’ your order like it’s Mardi Gras. It’s Florida at full throttle—loud, weird, tasty as hell, and a little bit magical. Next time you’re cruisin’ down Front Beach Road with sand in your shoes and salt in your hair, pull up a chair at Sharky’s. Just don’t be surprised if you leave full, sunburned, and slightly in love...

Our first visit. My first time to PCB. This visit was my birthday. Smallest parking lot ever for such a strongly suggested place. Not the friendliest of greetings at the host stand but that’s ok. No wait. Table for 2. We asked to be outside but not so close to the band so we could hear ourselves talk. So they took us to BFE where we couldn’t see or hear them at all. Not exactly what I meant but ok. On the way to our table, a food runner ran by me, tray over head, brushing my top bun, and he had the nerve to turn back to look at me as if I was in the way. Our booth for 10 was not well spaced. The bench was so close to the table behind us (with guests) so we had no choice but to pull the heavy-ass table closer to one side so neither of us wouldn’t be sitting on the edge of our seats and cutting off circulation to our legs. Key west shrimp was delicious! Crab legs would have been good if I had proper utensils. I only had a regular fork and crab crackers. I asked for a cocktail fork and the server said they don’t have them because they get stolen. What! Wish I wouldn’t known that before ordering. All in all, $175 later, not the best experience. We won’t be back. We went to Pineapple Willy’s the next night and it was superb in all ways! We loved PW so much we went back again. ADDED AFTER OWNER REPLY : I should’ve clarified “smallest handicapped/disabled parking.” Parking across the street was not an option. I’ve served and managed a variety of restaurants from casual to fine dining which is why I know how to give an accurate review. I also know our table should’ve been “touched” by a manager at least once while we were there but that didn’t happen either. So yes, the normal guest would’ve asked for a manager, listed their complaints, and had their meal comp’d, but I didn’t want to be that guest so we paid our bill and tipped our server. We found sturdy plastic cocktail forks at Shuckum’s a few nights later but we didn’t need them because the crab legs were huge and the meat came right out with...

One of my favorite places to eat here! Plenty of beach side seating and views, live music, and amazing atmosphere. Even with being absolutely packed, the wait time was only 40 minutes. There's a small gift shop inside the restaurant so you can shop a little while you wait, which was nice! Plenty of outside seating in the front to sit while you wait to also. Service was wonderful, and everyone was so kind. The food was really good, but maybe a little under seasoned. We got the gator bites app which were so good! It's fresh, local caught gator too. I had the red fish dinner with Bur Blanc sauce and mashed potatoes. It was cooked perfectly but not a lot of flavor. The bur blanc sauce helped, but still was lacking a little in flavor. My husband got the blackened grouper with bur blanc and mashed potatoes. His was pretty good, but also lacked a little flavor. Still good though! Kids meals come on a sharky's Frisbee you get to take home which was cool and there's even a kids play set at the back of the restaurant next to the outside tables. We were sat at the end table next to the beach which was great because my 4 year old got to play while we waited for our food. We got rained on and had to move inside but our server Ashley was amazing and got us moved inside but still right next to the beach! Ashley from GA is a rock star! They also have photographers that come around and to your table and take pictures of your group for a cute keepsake! Can't wait to eat...