Pino Gelato Cafe At the Beach — Restaurant in Santa Rosa Island

We walked in at the end of the night (6/15/25) and ASKED if this place was closed, trying to be courteous to the worker in case we missed business hours. She said she would/could serve us, so we tried to order really quickly and get our 3 kids dessert before we went home. Our 1 y/o son managed to get behind the counter, maybe 2 steps past the serving floor before we could get him out, because our hands were full. Our other son asked a question about the flavors (which the worker never answered), and in the meantime, our 1 y/o made it behind the counter 2-3 steps again before I got him again. We do not let our kids run wild. We both had things in our hands and the baby pulled away to get back there. She rudely told us the oven was hot, so to please make sure he stayed out (which we know, we would not willingly or intentionally let our baby run behind a serving counter). The worker was sooo rude about the whole situation, even though we tried to be apologetic and get out of her hair quickly. Once we finally wrangled the baby, my other kids asked for their gelato on cones. The worker just stared at us like she had no idea what we were asking. So my husband politely asked if she had any cones available, and she very rudely pointed at the countertop, halfway rolled her eyes, and said condescendingly, “I just have these cones….”. That was the last straw. We walked out at that point because of her attitude, and we found dessert elsewhere. She acted bothered and inconvenienced about us being there, even though she okayed us to come in. She was rude from the second we walked in. If we came in past serving time, she could have politely let us know they were closed and not let us in to order. Looks like employees here are a common complaint...

This is one of my favorite places to frequent as a local. Whether I am in Destin, or in Fort Walton Beach...a Pino Gelato is never too far away.

We enjoyed stunning views of the beach/pier & Wednesday evening fireworks while devouring some of the best ice cream/gelato we have ever had!

The shop is small, but carries a wide variety of items (pizza, hot dogs, wraps/sandwiches, snacks, gelato, coffee/water/soft drinks).

My favorites: Tiramisu gelato, Mocha gelato & Strawberry Cheesecake gelato.

I highly suggest a visit (and a few samples) while in town (or around town, if...

The door was unlocked, and my family plus another couple were inside, and finally, a girl came out and advised us they were closed. So we were like, okay, no big deal. What time do you open? She didn't know, maybe 1245. That might have been okay if she knew what time she was going to open. She was the one opening the place. She was not waiting on anyone else to get there. So, instead of waiting, we just decided to leave. I understand the concept of island time. But dang. She just...