One of the best restaurants on this end of the Panhandle is Bay Cafe, just under the Brooks bridge. An old French chef has been there 100 or so years. Cross over to McGuire's in Destin for burgers (actually served rare if you like it that way) and Sakura for sushi. Pretty sure Big City was just sold but will keep the name.
We visited this restaurant twice in the last two years, and I'm quite sure that the French Chef is gone, though they are still using his recipes. Our experiences were a mixed bag; here is my report as posted on my blog Fun Playing With Food (go to
the blog to see the photos):
The Bay Cafe, 233 Alconese Avenue Southeast, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548-5832, (850) 244-3550 (no website) is tucked beneath the Brooks Bridge; coming from Okaloosa Island, you actually have to detour through what is now a shopping center parking lot to get to it. The Bay Cafe is described by those who write about it as a French Restaurant, and I suspect that at one time, it was. Though there is still a French influence in the menu, there are just a few inconsistencies that make me think the French chef no longer cooks here. For example, this food-service bread:
We were also served this bread last year, which I found so incongruous with a French restaurant.
Or the commercial base of this very delicious clam chowder that two of our party ordered.
Crab Cake Appetizer
The crab cakes were very good, but lacked the ethereal fresh lightness of the crab cake served at Shoo Mamas. The food service greens had a nice creamy dressing that also paired well with the crab cakes. The version of this dish I had last year also had grapes on the plate.
House Made Smoked Trout
My taste of this appetizer was delicious.
Two of us ordered the above special: Grouper With Artichoke Sauce. It was for the most part a very tasty plate and the most important part of that plate - the fish - was fresh and well prepared. But for $26 ($4 more than the Grouper Wellington, a regular menu item where the fish is wrapped in pastry and topped with lobster sauce and lobster), I would have expected fresh, not frozen vegetables on the side, and not canned artichoke on the fish.
Shrimp Provenále, with tomatoes and garlic
Bob's shrimp was also accompanied by frozen veg and the same scoop of potatoes. Though the shrimp were purported to be local, they had the taste and texture of frozen. No off smells or tastes, but texturally, you can't hide it. Our server told Bob the shrimp was fresh/local when he asked, but there is no way that it was.
Duck with cherry brandy sauce
Virginia enjoyed her dinner, which also came with the same sides. Since Phil and Virginia love dessert, we picked two to share:
Coupe Romanoff
Fresh fruit, brandy, ice cream, and whipped cream all combined for a tasty treat.
Creme Brulee
This dessert was flawless.
So, what's the deal at Bay Cafe? We actually spent some time at the FOH while waiting for our table - I got the impression that this is a family business (all of the FOH folks seemed related). All had the same distinctive accent, which I learned was Serbian. I'm guessing that the original chef sold it to them and they are using his recipes. This is strictly a guess; I could be completely wrong. But I can't imagine any French Chef worth his salt using frozen and canned veg, and food service bread among other things. Given the price points, the good service (much improved over last year), the beautiful views (more useful during the day) and the overall good quality of the fish - Bay Cafe can be a fun place to play with food. Just don't expect too much and stick to the fish versus the seafood.
I'm fond of High Tide and Pandora's on Okaloosa Isl.; my one visit to Old Bay Steamer several years ago didn't impress, but it was in the middle of winter and they might have more local/fresh stuff in summer.
