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Lynnie

SoWal Insider

Cafe Tango!  Wonderful restaurant and amazing food with a yummy wine list.  All of that was memorable, but the look on our waiter's face when he realized two of our guests had fallen asleep was indeed priceless!  

I've had many great meals along 30-A.  And, can't think of one bad experience except those times you roll into town in the winter and most places are closed on strange days.

Cafe Tango! Wonderful restaurant and amazing food with a yummy wine list. All of that was memorable, but the look on our waiter&#039;s face when he realized two of our guests had fallen asleep was indeed priceless! 
 
I&#039;ve had many great meals along 30-A. And, can&#039;t think of one bad experience except those times you roll into town in the winter and most places are closed on strange days.

sisters4

Beach Lover

So what would your top 4 be for instance?  Also why did your guests fall asleep?  Fun to read your reply.  Thanks.

Cafe Tango
Hurricane's
Red Bar
Borago
Basmatis
Elmos
Angelina's
Onano
Summer Kitchen


Sorry, I got carried away.  My personal faves are Cafe Tango, Red Bar and Hurricane's.  Can't wait to try Chan's, though!!  Guests fell asleep because they were evidently light weights!   It was an extra special groovy walk home!  :lol::biggrin:

Cafe Tango 
Hurricane&#039;s 
Red Bar 
Borago 
Basmatis 
Elmos 
Angelina&#039;s 
Onano 
Summer Kitchen 
 
 
Sorry, I got carried away. My personal faves are Cafe Tango, Red Bar and Hurricane&#039;s. Can&#039;t wait to try Chan&#039;s, though!! Guests fell asleep because they were evidently light weights! It was an extra special groovy walk home! :lol:😀

Matt J

SWGB

Me and hubby had a very memorable meal at Criolla's for an anniversary one year.  I still miss that restaurant.

The most memorable was a company Christmas party at Fish out of Water.  Hubby hadn't come out at work yet, but brought me.  Nobody was phased except for his closeted former roommate who proceeded to down cheap whiskey like there was no tomorrow.  I don't know why he was nervous, I don't think that poor girl he brought ever guessed.

Me and hubby had a very memorable meal at Criolla&#039;s for an anniversary one year. I still miss that restaurant. 
 
The most memorable was a company Christmas party at Fish out of Water. Hubby hadn&#039;t come out at work yet, but brought me. Nobody was phased except for his closeted former roommate who proceeded to down cheap whiskey like there was no tomorrow. I don&#039;t know why he was nervous, I don&#039;t think that poor girl he brought ever guessed.

Beach Runner

beats on hood

Bud & Alley's: From the old menu the pasta special with a rich herb broth, various vegetables, and seafood. My favorite meal in SoWal ever!
 
Bud & Alley's Pizza Bar: Caprese, fileto, and fennel-sausage pizza. Now our favorite restaurant on 30A.
 
The old Shades at Seaside: Fried grouper sandwich. Perfectly cooked. The atmosphere at the bar there added to the experience(s).
 
Hibiscus Caf?: Spinach-feta frittata and (tie) pancakes with pecans, bananas, and blueberries, both served with fresh fruit salad. And Hibiscus iced tea. Served with love. BE GRATEFUL for that restaurant and its owner.;-)

Bud &amp; Alley&#039;s: From the old menu the pasta special with a rich herb broth, various vegetables, and seafood. My favorite meal in SoWal ever! 
 
Bud &amp; Alley&#039;s Pizza Bar: Caprese, fileto, and fennel-sausage pizza. Now our favorite restaurant on 30A. 
 
The old Shades at Seaside: Fried grouper sandwich. Perfectly cooked. The atmosphere at the bar there added to the experience(s). 
 
Hibiscus Caf?: Spinach-feta frittata and (tie) pancakes with pecans, bananas, and blueberries, both served with fresh fruit salad. And Hibiscus iced tea. Served with love. BE GRATEFUL for that restaurant and its owner.;-)

deepender

Beach Comber

[b]top 3 restaurants in sowal[/b]

our favorites are Gravel Road, Hurricane Oyster Bar, and Paradis! We do go to the Hurricane Oyster bar a bit more because it's very affordable and close! Gravel Road is very good and Paradis is great for a special occasions:lolabove:!

top 3 restaurants in sowal 
 
our favorites are Gravel Road, Hurricane Oyster Bar, and Paradis! We do go to the Hurricane Oyster bar a bit more because it&#039;s very affordable and close! Gravel Road is very good and Paradis is great for a special occasions:lolabove:!

kathydwells

Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname

Seagrove Village Market Cafe' - Can't make a trip down without stopping by for a most wonderful Fried Oyster Po-boy, and my sister always gets the Grouper Sandwich, son usually gets one of their yummy burgers. Wow, I wish I had a po-boy from there right now!

Red Bar - I have never had a bad meal there, and the company is wonderful. :wub: The breakfast is so, so good.

I am going to try Hibiscus on my next trip down. Can't wait.

Seagrove Village Market Cafe&#039; - Can&#039;t make a trip down without stopping by for a most wonderful Fried Oyster Po-boy, and my sister always gets the Grouper Sandwich, son usually gets one of their yummy burgers. Wow, I wish I had a po-boy from there right now! 
 
Red Bar - I have never had a bad meal there, and the company is wonderful. :wub: The breakfast is so, so good. 
 
I am going to try Hibiscus on my next trip down. Can&#039;t wait.

Paula

Beach Fanatic

lobster quesadilla at George's at Alys Beach (I don't know if they still have it, though).  It wasa amazing, serves 2 easily.

lobster quesadilla at George&#039;s at Alys Beach (I don&#039;t know if they still have it, though).  It wasa amazing, serves 2 easily.

Allifunn

FunnChef - AlisonCooks.com

Every meal in Sowal is memorable :biggrin:
There are so many places that I have not been to yet, regretfully. I look forward to trying Louis, Louis. 
I think that good service and just so/so food is preferable, but here in Sowal, there is no excuse for either food or service to be poor. We have far too much talent on 30-A to tolerate excuses from the back or the front of the house.
I hope to see Chan's Wine World at Watercolor on this favorites list one day :D

Every meal in Sowal is memorable 😀 
There are so many places that I have not been to yet, regretfully. I look forward to trying Louis, Louis. 
I think that good service and just so/so food is preferable, but here in Sowal, there is no excuse for either food or service to be poor. We have far too much talent on 30-A to tolerate excuses from the back or the front of the house. 
I hope to see Chan&#039;s Wine World at Watercolor on this favorites list one day 😀

scooterbug44

SoWal Expert

Louis Louis definitely needs to be added to the list - cleaner/nicer version of the Red Bar (newer building, fab chandeliers, and [I]black [/I]duct tape on the furniture) and great food!

They had a veal piccata special the other night that rocked! And the asparagus was correctly - nice and crisp, not mushy.

Good pork tenderloin too!

Louis Louis definitely needs to be added to the list - cleaner/nicer version of the Red Bar (newer building, fab chandeliers, and black duct tape on the furniture) and great food! 
 
They had a veal piccata special the other night that rocked! And the asparagus was correctly - nice and crisp, not mushy. 
 
Good pork tenderloin too!

shakennotstirred

[quote="scooterbug44, post: 653237"]Louis Louis definitely needs to be added to the list - cleaner/nicer version of the Red Bar (newer building, fab chandeliers, and [I]black [/I]duct tape on the furniture) and great food!
 
They had a veal piccata special the other night that rocked! And the asparagus was correctly - nice and crisp, not mushy.
 
Good pork tenderloin too![/quote]
 
:lol: on the black duct tape comment! The food sounds great - can't wait to try it.

<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="scooterbug44">Louis Louis definitely needs to be added to the list - cleaner/nicer version of the Red Bar (newer building, fab chandeliers, and black duct tape on the furniture) and great food! 
 
They had a veal piccata special the other night that rocked! And the asparagus was correctly - nice and crisp, not mushy. 
 
Good pork tenderloin too!</blockquote> 
:lol: on the black duct tape comment! The food sounds great - can&#039;t wait to try it.

It was a memorable moment - was scoping out the place and thinking how nice/fresh it looked, then realized some things never really change! :rofl:

sunspotbaby

Dinner at D & K's during Halloween with our little girl. 
We were impressed with the meal and the service...  Little Jackie was not impressed with the impressive spooky decor. :lol:

Dinner at D &amp; K&#039;s during Halloween with our little girl. 
We were impressed with the meal and the service... Little Jackie was not impressed with the impressive spooky decor. :lol:

KerriH

Every meal at Cafe Tango. Delicious food and superb service. Doesn't hurt that my hubby grew up with one of the servers in MS and we get to gossip about the crazies....Also, George's fish tacos were DELICIOUS last year!

Every meal at Cafe Tango. Delicious food and superb service. Doesn&#039;t hurt that my hubby grew up with one of the servers in MS and we get to gossip about the crazies....Also, George&#039;s fish tacos were DELICIOUS last year!

Where is Louis Louis?  Is it new?  I can't recollect it.  Thanks all.

Where is Louis Louis?  Is it new?  I can&#039;t recollect it.  Thanks all.

elliedog

The old Lake Place, the New Lakeplace, cafe 331, and Yanni's all have exceeded our expectations.  Sorry to see all of them go.

The old Lake Place, the New Lakeplace, cafe 331, and Yanni&#039;s all have exceeded our expectations.  Sorry to see all of them go.

[quote="middlesister, post: 653325"]Where is Louis Louis?  Is it new?  I can't recollect it.  Thanks all.[/quote]

If you can prove you're a local we'll point you in the right direction.  :biggrin:

<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="middlesister">Where is Louis Louis? Is it new? I can&#039;t recollect it. Thanks all.</blockquote> 
If you can prove you&#039;re a local we&#039;ll point you in the right direction. 😀

You know actually come to think of it, some of my most memorable meals in SoWal have been the one's that we (my gang of friends), have prepared and eaten with a beautiful sunset backdrop. :wub:

You know actually come to think of it, some of my most memorable meals in SoWal have been the one&#039;s that we (my gang of friends), have prepared and eaten with a beautiful sunset backdrop. :wub:

Kurt

Admin

[quote="sunspotbaby, post: 653251"]Dinner at D & K's during Halloween with our little girl. 
We were impressed with the meal and the service...  Little Jackie was not impressed with the impressive spooky decor. :lol:[/quote]

Just a note to those who don't know - D&K's is closed and replaced by Shorty's.

[quote="elliedog, post: 653341"]The old Lake Place, the New Lakeplace, cafe 331, and Yanni's all have exceeded our expectations.  Sorry to see all of them go.[/quote]

LakePlace is closed. They may open in a new location.

[quote="middlesister, post: 653325"]Where is Louis Louis?  Is it new?  I can't recollect it.  Thanks all.[/quote]

[URL]http://www.LouisLouis.net[/URL] - on north side of 98 in the old Cafe Provence location west of 393. It is new and run by the Red Bar crew.

<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="sunspotbaby">Dinner at D &amp; K&#039;s during Halloween with our little girl. 
We were impressed with the meal and the service... Little Jackie was not impressed with the impressive spooky decor. :lol:</blockquote> 
Just a note to those who don&#039;t know - D&amp;K&#039;s is closed and replaced by Shorty&#039;s. 
 
<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="elliedog">The old Lake Place, the New Lakeplace, cafe 331, and Yanni&#039;s all have exceeded our expectations. Sorry to see all of them go.</blockquote> 
LakePlace is closed. They may open in a new location. 
 
<blockquote class="xfBb-quote" data-name="middlesister">Where is Louis Louis? Is it new? I can&#039;t recollect it. Thanks all.</blockquote> 
<a href="http://www.LouisLouis.net" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">http://www.LouisLouis.net</a> - on north side of 98 in the old Cafe Provence location west of 393. It is new and run by the Red Bar crew.

I am curious.  Does anyone have a story about a memorable meal in SoWal?  Whether it is the food, service or the whole experience.  Would you rather have great food and so-so service or wonderful service and mediocre food?  Of course we would all want the best of both but what do you think?

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Memorable meals in SoWal

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Cars of 30A At Alys Beach: Event Highlights & Photo Gallery

Sixth annual Run Watersound At Watersound Town Center October 24, 2026

Support Our Parks: The 2026 Friends of Camp Helen Pumpkin Patch Is Open

Annual Events and Festivals in South Walton