Patty Cakes Bakery  Wolf Bay Lodge   Ginny Lane Bar & Grill @ The Wharf  
Mikee's a Place for Seafood  Ichiban  Villaggio  Louisiana Lagniappe   Cafe Grazie
The Tin Top Restaurant & Oyster Bar    Zeke's Landing   Reds Restaurant
Lester's on Canal Rd   The Sunset Corkroom Cafe  Cosmo's   Geno's Fresh Catch Grill
   The Wheel House Restaurant  Calpyso's  Gulf Island Grill
Sun Place Else II    King Neptunes  The Shrimp Basket
    Original Oyster House   The Beach Club   ParrotDize Bar & Grill
 The Village Market   Cazadores  Las Fuentes Mexican   Pink Pony Pub
Frederic's Restaurant at Faulkner   The Gift Horse Restaurant-Foley
The Original Point Restaurant   Bahama Bob's Beachside Cafe

If you don't see your favorite restaurant listed, it is just because we have not gotten around to visiting it or we ran out of money or over our calorie limit for the time being. 

What to Avoid

 Cosmo's Restaurant & Bar
25753 Canal Road--in Fish Camp Landing
Orange Beach, AL ph 948-WOOF Sushi starts at 5 pm daily
http://cosmosrestaurantandbar.com 

This is our favorite restaurant down here--hands down. Best food, best prices and it is for Grown-Ups !. Attractive and unusual serving pieces compliment the nicely displayed food and drinks. We have made about 6 visits in the first three weeks since it opened and tried different things every time and never been disappointed. The Sesame Seared Tuna Salad served rare is our favorite so far. The crab cakes are the best we have had in the area. Cosmo's appetizer Crawfish tails come in a flavorful light sauce with dipping chewy bread--soooo good. The sides are great and so reasonably priced. We think it is wonderful to have all these choices besides french fries , but have asparagus or gingered greens as a side dish instead. The Black 'N' Blue Shrimp Wrap is very tasty and one person in our group who has had Calamari all over the world, including Japan, thought Cosmo's was as good and tender as any he had ever had.

Brian Harsany who has opened Cosmo's has done stints at several other local restaurants like Giggling Grouper and Bayside Grill but this restaurant that he has opened, we think, hits the best for providing the type of place we have been missing. Lets just hope he continues to keep low carb, intensely flavorful dishes on the menu and we'll keep coming back. Do everyone a favor and don't tell anyone you know who have the 'high chair' age family members about this place !!! This is grown up food for grown ups. 

Not sure of hours, but they are open for lunch and kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on weekend nights this summer but due to excellent customer service, we have been served dinner late on occasion. 

Papa Rocco's
Hwy 59 at 6th Ave.
Gulf Shores, AL 36542
(251) 948-7023
 www.paparocco.com   

Their slogan is 'home of warm beer and lousy pizza'. Well, the beer is actually cold but the food leaves a lot to be desired. Papa Rocco's is a popular hang out that has local musicians oftentimes entertaining the folks who have been coming here for decades. They serve a ton of oysters on the half shell. Also offered are various red sauce pasta type dishes. Originally, Papa Rocco's had only about five items on their menu and some people thought it funny that a restaurant would specialize in pizza and oysters... but Bill knew by the way they laughed that it was going to work. Since Papa's was the first in the area to feature nightly entertainment, there are very few local musicians who haven't played at Papa's.

Geno's Fresh Catch Grill

See our photos of some of our wonderful meals at Geno's Fresh Catch Grill

Reds Restaurant

27267 Perdido Beach Blvd.
(251) 980-7337
In San Roc Cay near the front on east side.
Open for Lunch & Dinner
7 Days a Week
Outdoor Dining Available
Children's Menu

Fresh catch of the day, or your own catch, is grilled, fried, or blackened.

Reds stays open a bit later than other restaurants off season. We like that. We have been there once and it was very off season, virtually empty that night. The wait staff was excellent. Maybe best ever in the area in our experience. 

Extensive Wine List 

Sushi Menu All Day
Salads ~ Seaweed, Sashimi, Sunomono, Edamame
Rolls ~ California, Spicy Tuna, Philly, Shrimp, Soft Shell Crab, and more...
Specialty Rolls ~ Our Own Unique Combinations of Fish, Crab, Shrimp, or Lobster with Fresh Vegetables

Louisiana Lagniappe

In same building as Cafe Grazie shown on the right.

Three of us went to Louisiana Lagniappe for the first time since Ivan. The interior looked great, the service was friendly and professional. It seemed that the menu items and prices were generally as before. We like it that they will split an entree between two people and serve each a salad and potato for an extra $4. Our appetizer of fried eggplant, crabmeat and hollandaise sauce was crispy, hot and good altho the breading on the thin slices of eggplant overpowered the taste of the eggplant. One person at the table thought maybe it was a fried green tomato, so indiscernible was the taste of eggplant.

The special of the evening was Grouper stuffed with crab and shrimp and a sauce on it. We thought it was really good. Our salads were very good. There is only one dressing, the 'house' dressing. The stuffed potato was a little on the heavy side, sort of flat and uneventful. One of us ordered the stuffed shrimp which were very good and had a nice flavorful sauce. Louisiana Lagniappe is not an inexpensive place to eat. You do get very large portions, wait staff in snappy tuxedo like uniforms, cloth tablecloths, water with your meal and glasses with your beers but it will cost you. We noticed that they did have a small dish of hushpuppies on the table w/ some butter but brought no bread with our meal. All of us shared on order of bread pudding w/ bourbon sauce for dessert and it was ok--not great, just ok and none of us could taste any bourbon in the sauce. It had pecans sprinkled on top and I got one rancid pecan piece in one of my bites--never a nice thing. The restaurant does have a great view of the marina outside the huge windows in the rear and in warm weather you can sit on the outside porches. Entree prices range from about $15 to $25. 

Cafe Grazie

We have had two very enjoyable evening meals at Italian themed Cafe Grazie. The one thing that comes to mind first is great service. This is unusual for our area. We talked to our server the on the second visit and she told us that in addition to extensive training, the employees must pass a large test before they are allowed out on the floor. Even on Valentine's Day, with the place full to capacity and in the 'off season', the service never missed a beat. This is rare even in big cities.

We found the menu to be quite large and offers many dishes for those in search of something other than noodle dishes. On Valentines we tried the nightly specials, both entree and appetizer. Both were really good. The Fried Calamari appetizer with Marinara Sauce is well prepared and a generous portion. We thought the Oven Roasted Portabella appetizer was a little skimpy for the price and we wished the little piles of green sauce were pesto instead of the mildly flavored parsley. And on the subject of flavors, we, being folks who like strong and spicy flavors, wish that maybe the intensity of the flavors was kicked up a notch. To do that, they would need to use the more pricey imported Gorgonzola cheese where that cheese is specified.

The Veal Marsala entree was tasty but the included Spaghetti Grazie was pretty tasteless. See if they will let you substitute a veggie.

One very nice touch is the baked garlic/olive oil mix and fresh bread that is brought to the table.  We prefer our "Italian bread to be a bit more chewy--made with a higher gluten flour, but just the same, it is a nice extra to your meal.

A real bargain is the Classic Minestrone Soup. 

We tasted the Cheesecake and Tiramisu desserts--good--but who has room ! Maybe better to finish the meal with a steaming cup of Cappuccino. Cafe Grazie uses Community arabica coffee.

Entrees from about ten bucks to twenty.

Wolf Bay Lodge

www.wolfbaylodge.us
9050 Pinewood Ave
Elberta, AL 36530
Phone #1 (251) 987-5129
Phone #2 (251) 987-5126
Fax (251) 987-5130
Lunch:
Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
salad bar is not available on Sunday.

Dinner:
Tuesday-Thursday, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday-Saturday, 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

For several years people have been encouraging us to visit Wolf Bay Lodge. We finally looked up the driving directions on Yahoo Maps and made the trek to this historic water-side family eatery. We went on a spring week night when there it was not crowded. The atmosphere is 'family diner', but on a big scale. In this rather bare-bones restaurant were lots of families with children. 

The placemats are the menus w/ ads all around . We found the menu to be rather extensive with emphasis on fried local seafood. The fried crab claw appetizer arrived quickly and were perfect and not overly breaded. Another dish in the appetizer list and one that thrilled us was the sweet potato French fries. Next time we will ask them to skip the sprinkling of sugar, the potatoes were sweet enuf on their own. A sprinkling of hot sauce or cayenne pepper might be a better choice for us. Wolf Bay Lodge is known for great gumbo.
We agree that it is very good, full of seafood, very little rice (we like that) but we prefer a bit more kick in our gumbo, but then that is why there is hot sauce available.

The baked, stuffed flounder was wonderful. The fried shrimp & oysters were great. One of my companions thought that the oysters were a bit too large for frying, as they were still a bit watery inside. The side salads served with the dinner are weird. Be prepared to cut up your own ingredients. The tarter sauce looked and tasted home made and Wolf Bay Lodge served us real butter. We really liked the slaw, it reminded us of the old KFC slaw we loved that was made in a fine chop and w/ the milk dressing. The West Indies Salad was light, tart and clean tasting. We all agreed that we would have preferred a bit more seasoning in it , something to give it a little twang.

One of us ordered a steak. It was cooked to perfection , but even tho it was obviously juicy, it tasted a bit dry due to the extreme low fat content. We all agreed that it is very difficult to get an old fashioned fat marbled steak anymore with out going to a restaurant that specializes in (expensive) steak. You can find many diverse dishes on the Wolf Bay Lodge menu such as Alfredo, Polish sausage, Pork BBQ, Pizza, Frog Legs in addition to the various fish, shrimp, oysters and crab dishes. Our service was great.

We discussed that with the vinyl tile floor, hard surfaces all around and abundance of children and babies, it might be a bit noisy when there is a full house. Pull up in your boat or drive by car.

One of The Wharf's new upscale restaurants. Outside they have a roomy terrace area overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway. It has it's own bar. Inside: Maybe the sleekest interior in our neck of the woods. They are trying hard to provide an above average dining experience in the Gulf Shores / Orange Beach area. We have had one very good lunch there and one so-so dinner. At lunch I ordered the steak sandwich and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was made from succulent chunks of perfectly cooked tenderloin. In fact, then the waitress asked me how I wanted it cooked, I was shocked. Usually sandwiches just come as they are, no choice on rare, etc..
Live Bait at The Wharf serves fresh potato home made french fries...a welcome treat. Hope they continue to do that. My steak sandwich was delicious. It came covered in smothered onions and peppers on a good hoagie roll, but next time I may order it plain and add horseradish, lettuce and tomato myself My companion's salad lunch was a large portion. 
On another occasion for dinner, overall we had a nice dinner. The plates are nicely decorated and some of the offerings sound creative. We found the pork chops to be a bit chewy and my strip steak really did not have much taste. I think it was just too lean for flavor. I'd try the tenderloin next if it were not for the price....so stick to the lunch steak sandwich for good steak. 
Not the place to take a bunch of children. 

www.livebaitrestaurant.com 

The Shrimp Basket

We had a nice lunch at the Shrimp Basket in Foley. It is located in the building that for many years was Katies BBQ. We were told that all their seafood comes either from the local Bon Secour Fisheries or another local distributor-(we always ask in a restaurant if they serve Gulf Shrimp or imported.) The wait staff was perky and friendly and the food was pretty good. The Shrimp Basket offers a pretty large selection of items for such a small place. We started with an appetizer of Steamed Oysters w/ Bama red pepper sauce and Parmesan cheese. Great choice--they were cooked perfectly , tender and juicy and the abundant sauce is great. It is reminiscent of a Marinara sauce but with a bit more zip. ORDER THIS ! The Grilled Grouper w/ Crawfish Etoufee over rice w/ shrimp slaw was good. it is a he-man portion. We have had better etoufee, but theirs is loaded with tender crawfish so we had no complaints. The grouper was fine. Our other lunch was the Smoked Tuna Po-Boy--another good choice. It came with lettuce & tomato, but they seemed to have forgotten the pickle. No big deal. This sandwich was similar to a good tuna salad sandwich, but with a better flavor. The Shrimp Basket offers many menu choices for low fat or calorie conscious eating out. Their Shrimp Slaw is really good--especially if you like sweet slaw and we do. We are very glad to see that. Monday & Thurs is AYCE Fried Grouper nite & Sunday & Wed is AYCE Friend Popcorn Shrimp. 

Gulf Shores / Bon Secour
The Tin Top Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Take County Rd 10 west off Hwy 59 just North of Gulf Shores--somewhat rural but easy to find at intersection of County Rds 10 and 49. ph 949-5086

Warning---It can get extremely loud inside, they need to do something about it.

We have had several good meals at the Tin Top. They seem to be striving to offer better than usual fare and are succeeding we think. The menu includes burgers, PoBoys, Muffalettas, salads, steaks, shrimp, oysters and there are nightly specials written on the blackboard.  The AYCE* fried mullet special dinner that we had one night was delicious, crisp, non-greasy fish. The collard greens were not the usual cooked to death variety, but instead were sliced, cooked and seasoned to perfection and still had a nice texture. The Tin Top home made tartare sauce was especially good, but the potato salad was great ! The spicy grilled skewered large shrimp were perfectly cooked and had the hot/sweet zip we love. One evening we started with dark, rich seafood gumbo and a heavenly, creamy crab-corn chowder. We have tried the Tin Top Oysters on the appetizer section. They are rich-rich-rich and yummy with cheese, crawfish in a cream based sauce--very filling. The Tin Top's cinnamon-y bread pudding is a bit on the heavy side--having almost the consistency of cheesecake. We thought the West Indies Salad was a little on the bland side. But otherwise, the food at the Tin Top is much better than usual for the Gulf Shores area.

Hours of Operation are now:

Tues. - Thurs. 11:00 - 9:00

All You Can Eat Fresh Mullet, Cheese Grits, Collard Greens & Hushpuppies with Ken Matthews entertaining from 6 - 9
every Wednesday evening on the outdoor patio & oyster bar.

Fri. & Sat. 11:00 - 10:00

Sunday Champagne Brunch from 11:00 - 2:00 and live entertainment from 4 - 8 on the outdoor patio & oyster bar.

Closed Mondays----Warning---It can get very loud inside.

The Wheel House Restaurant

on Hwy 59 across from Waterville in Gulf Shores
Open for lunch and dinner, call for hours
ph 968-9222

A small eat in/ carry out place not too far from the beach (where there was once an antiques store). The owner is from Down Under and fixes some dishes in his home style manner, that is fish and chips where the fish is battered and fried. Not for people watching their weight. I have had good 'grilled' fish sandwiches, good slaw, PoBoys, and the Angus beef 1/2 lb. hamburger is suppose to be good. The Wheel House offers lots of choices for children...fried this and that plus hotdogs fixed in various ways. Try the sweet potato fries but ask them to leave off the sugar unless you want them to be dessert-like. All their sauces are home made, as is the slaw. The owners are almost always there working, so naturally there is better service and more care in seeing that your carry-out order is done correctly than usual in Gulf Shores. You often see the Gulf Shores police eating there, so consider it a safe place :o)

Pink Pony Pub
East End Public Beach Area--Gulf Shores
ph 948-6371
 www.pinkponypub.net 

Best to stick w/ the beverages only...

We went to hear some great guitar playing and wanted to be sure to have a good seat so we arrived in time to order dinner. We were told the kitchen closed at 9 p.m. and the music started at 10 p.m. The music WAS great, the dinner wasn't. Our Oysters Bienville which was described on the menu as having a 'seafood sauce' ?? were basically 6 half shell oysters loaded up with ordinary American cheese and cubed potatoes in a creamed soup tasting sauce. It was reminiscent of a school lunch. The fried oyster/shrimp combo PoBoy was served on unexciting, untoasted, mealy bun with limp fries. The tartare sauce was not very flavorful. The 'catch of the day' was ordered 'grilled' and while the grouper was fresh tasting, it was straight off the griddle, not a grill. We asked the waitress to describe the 'grill'--she described a griddle.  It came with limp fries and store bought-tasting slaw. I suppose the hamburgers might be a better bet. We will try that next time. We can happily say that the beer was cold and Wes Jeans Band was good. 

For a fun meal that is really good, drive to Pensacola and go to Global Grill in the downtown area. It calls itself an "Upscale Tapas Bar & Restaurant" . You'll find great service, diverse offerings, all beautifully displayed. You can order creative things in small portions so you can try many different tastes and leave with out being over stuffed. The prices are reasonable too. I wish Global Grill was in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach, we have nothing like it here. 

A tapa is a delicious morsel of food that defines a lifestyle as well as a culinary style. Tapas in Spain are almost always accompanied by wine. The tapas at The Global Grill are fancier than those in Spain as a rule, at least in my experience. Here are some examples:

One of the few restaurants to re-open after Ivan right in the old Gulf Shores public beach area. Nice clean restaurant with good service. Good Crawfish Salad, LOADED with crunchy friend crawfish tails and crispy fresh salad fixins which includes hard boiled egg and a good dressing. The Mango Shrimp Salad is really good and has a generous portion of crispy, tender fried shrimp covering the delicious meal sized salad. We love the fact that our grilled fish sandwich came with two large bright red, ripe tomato slices and dark green leafy lettuce. Generally good food and large portions, but don't expect the jerk dishes to match the scorchin' zingers at Automatic Slims.  Rather family-friendly oriented food, not too cuttin' edge and we think the gumbo needs work--tasted like beef stew. Nice front porch, nice breeze, nice owners, good service, great location--good choice for families with kids. Nice touch---they offer red beans and rice and STEAMED VEGGIES as a side and no extra charge to substitute side dishes. We asked for steamed veggies in place of fries w/ our grilled fish sandwich--no problem and they were delicious. To Go Orders welcomed.

Recommended for families....and save room for their signature dessert-
Pina Colada Pineapple

This shopping center Japanese restaurant is a chain which is franchised. Four visits have both found good service in the sushi room, good food, & fresh clean atmosphere. 
This is one of those Hibachi places where groups of people sit around a hot griddle and an enthusiastic cook tries to entertain as he prepares your main course. Kinda fun if you have children or the eldery with you or you have never done it before.

 Otherwise, choose a table in the other room...it gets noisy in the utensil-flippin' Hibachi room. We found that the hibachi room is a bit like being at Chuck-E-Cheese...noisy and automated. Do not expect good individualized service if you order out of the kitchen and sit in that room. I had to ask 4 servers for hot sauce before I got any. By then my food was cooling off and one of the servers even acted like it was a bit of an imposition that I wanted hot sauce. 

Ichiban Restaurant is one place where you can get tasty low calorie food around here. For that I am totally glad they opened. The Seafood Salad is a good choice if you want some protein and salad . The Sushi we have ordered has pleased all diners at our table. The seaweed salad is one of my favorites. Make sure that you know your server is clear about what you order. I have had a misunderstanding, got served the wrong appetizer. I wanted the eggplant and the fried rolls they brought by mistake, were overly oily and undercooked inside (gummy uncooked wrapper on inside. I think it may be because they are made up way ahead and the juice out of the veggie shreds inside saturated the wrapper. )

Next visit, I sat in the front room, as close to the entrance as possible, behind the picket fence. That is as away from the noise as you can get. My companion couldn't believe then volume of the noise coming out of the other room and he commented, "Next thing you know , they'll be singing happy birthday"...low and behold, in 5 seconds, they WERE singing happy birthday. But, I ordered the eggplant again, and this time got the right dish--it was not the slender Asian eggplant like i had hoped, but it really was fabulous. 

Ichiban has lunch specials. I only wish that this restaurant was a bit closer to my home so I could grab last minute carry-out more often. It has potential. 

We rate this place "OK" !

The Sunset Corkroom Cafe-The Wine Store
Gulf Shores
The Pines Shopping Center on Hwy 180 where it turns to become Canal Rd.
ph--(251)-967-4773

The folks from the Wine Store have opened a small cafe with some good food. It is called The Sunset Corkroom Cafe--see photos here-- and is located in the Gulf Pines shopping center at 2200 East 2nd St. in Gulf Shores. This small Gulf Pines shopping center is on the short piece of Canal that runs North/South before it makes the hard right and runs along the Intercoastal waterway to Orange Beach. They open at 4 p.m. and serve food until 10 p.m. The specialty there is all sorts of wine by the glass and offer daily Chef's Specials. I had a carry out of the special of Chef Rudy's Scallops which was outstanding and wonderfully spicy. The next day we ate in and had one order of Grilled Portabella Mushrooms layered with roasted vegetables covered with crusty grated cheese and a Merlot reduction sauce---HEAVENLY ! We also ordered the Grilled Ahi Tuna which was served over perfectly sautéed green beans , roasted garlic cloves, and small tomatoes. I have tried a couple of the other menu  choices, but would stick to the ones I mention here. The food does tend to be a bit too salty, (several people I know have mentioned this to me) so you might ask that they be careful of that when ordering, as I have lately--you can always add salt at the table. They have live music on select nights--we heard some good boogie-woogie piano. 

Note: Oct 07, they have dropped the Small Plate concept and last few times we went it was quite expensive.

Lester's
24821 Canal Road
Orange Beach
251-974-2525

Lester's on Canal Rd in Orange Beach ! Gorgeous wood staircase (see photo) to the upper bar area. When they first opened the food and service was good, last few visits have been disappointing.
   Vintage motorcycles are displayed around a mezzanine above the main dining area See photos inside Lester's and read more here.   Lester's prices seem to be right in line with the other better restaurants down here.
   I hope all the salad dressing are homemade at Lester's. And, Lester's serves local Gulf shrimp, not Asian imports.  Call to ck music schedule. Print Lester's Coupon

Mikee's a Place for Seafood
205 E. 2nd Ave
Gulf Shores, AL 
251-948-6452

Mikee's has been a favorite in Gulf Shores since my children were little kids. I wonder how many years they have been here...they had to close after Ivan, but unlike other old favorites that disappeared forever, Mikee's re-opened with the same specials and what looks like about the same menu as before. We always loved to go on Tues. or Friday nights for the all you can eat fried mullet dinners. They are great. Always. The turnip greens at Mikee's are great. Mikee's is very reasonably priced family dining. Sometimes in summer too many high-chairs for my taste (get carry out you parents of infants) but perfect for large groups and all ages. The service has always been good and sometimes they have tough jobs when that place is packed as it often is in summertime. Try the corm fritters

 The Beach Club -The Clubhouse--on Ft. Morgan Rd. 
Gulf Shores

Overall we used to think the Beach Club was one of the best values down here. Times change. Post Ivan, Post Katrina, new management now--new menu--

Some points are still valid: Cloth napkins & tablecloth, Fewer 'high-chair' diners per capita.....refreshing & quieter

Some of the nicer things seem to have disappeared--Prices are up, Steaks especially HIGH,  no po-boys or sandwiches on the menu in the upstairs restaurant after 4 p.m. :o(

A dinner in Jan 07 was rather disappointing I know it is hard for these nice restaurants off season, but still, I liked The Beach Club better a few years ago. Maybe it was because it was Snowbird Season that everything was so tasteless and under seasoned. The waitress was kind to bring me some horseradish, onion, chopped parsley, Tabasco so I could give some flavor to the tartar sauce. I guess I could have asked for capers too, just didn't think of it.  

We had another visit on an off season weeknight and our service was very, very casual. No glasses brought with our beer, none offered. Not a problem for us, as we prefer none, but we can imagine that others might feel otherwise. 
The grilled tuna steak is still excellent-and properly kept to rare or med rare which ever you prefer. I received a very large portion. The new dinner rolls were store-bought mundane tasting. The gumbo was thin (thin is ok, we like all styles), it had good seasoning and flavor but no visible seafood or okra. It was rather like a bowl of gravy. 
The tomato/cheese stack appetizer was made using unflavorful regular slightly under-ripe grocery tomatoes and the fresh cheese was not special at all--this dish did not taste like a little bit of Tuscany. 
We asked our waiter about various items on the menu and he had limited knowledge of the method of preparation and seemed a bit apologetic for some of the new changes and the missing favorites like the sweet potato chips--when we told him how sorry we were that they didn't offer the delicious and special sweet potato chips, he told us "Hey, you are preaching to the choir"

We will return and visit the Village Market restaurant now under new management too.

Sun Place Else II
Gulf Shores

Going downhill, unfortunately...

One Gulf Shores restaurant that has actually figured out how to prepare some reasonable priced delicious seafood main courses  besides fried, is Sun Place Else on Ft. Morgan Rd. The lunch specials are the deals. 

They make some delightful fish dishes with sauces.  The slaw there is really well done too (sometimes), maybe one of these days they will begin to serve some other interesting side dishes too. Good house salads, good home-made Creole Ranch dressing. Sun Place Else Restaurant is located next to the Chevron station & Ft. Morgan Seafood, about 4 miles from Hwy 59. Be sure to ck your carry-out order for accuracy, because the restaurant probably will not have.  
As most G.S. restaurants : Inconsistency Rules.

Last visit, everything was very dirty...carpet...chairs...salt and pepper shakers, sweetner containers...everything. 

The original (now deceased) Sun Place Else was on West Beach, pre-IVAN and had great grilled veggies that are not available at the Ft.Morgan location. Maybe if enuf of us bug them, they'll start serving them.

Note : Feb 2008, health dept rating of 67 !!! Whoa !

The Original Oyster House
Gulf Shores
"Overlooking scenic Big Lagoon"
701 Hwy 59, Bayou Village
Phone: (251) 948-2445 

Over the years we have eaten many times at The Original Oyster House in Bayou Village right in Gulf Shores not too far from the beach. We have generally found it to be pretty good in the 'regular Gulf Shores type fare'--Po-boys, gumbo, fried anything, etc. The menu there is a bit larger than some restaurants, but the offerings tend to be the pretty typical stuff. The portion size has always been good (I like leftovers!) and the service has been too. We do like the no-smoke atmosphere and many others must too, since the lines form early in the summer. We do wish they would consider enhancing the salad bar a bit--it's OK, but not exciting. I am particularly turned off by fake bacon bits. And a "no-high chair" zone in summer would be wonderful ! It is a popular place for the fried shrimp crowd--and snow-birds--who flock there in droves for the marked-down early bird dinners in Winter.

OLD REVIEW...Now New Management--
The Village Market OLD The Beach Club
Gulf Shores The Beach Club
Gulf Shores

It was refreshing  to have a meal turn out better than expected. At the new cafe at The Village Market on Ft. Morgan Rd. in front of The Beach Club We ordered what was called a Spicy Shrimp Salad Wrap. The salad-y mix contained nice sweet shrimp with toasted almonds &  rolled in a black pepper seasoned flour taco. And miracle of miracles--it was actually spicy. And good. Now get this--the slaw that came along with it was especially good too. 
Certainly not gourmet, but 'bout as good as any 'family restaurant' around here.

Attention Moms & Dads: Need to feed a big family? One age-old Gulf Shores tradition lives on. Mikee's has been having 'all you can eat fried fish' nights on Tues. & Fri. since our college grad kids were little tikes. And the price has hardly changed over all these years ! It is a true bargain with crispy, hot  fried mullet, & comes with choice of sides (choose the great turnip greens) & the special cornbread fritters that they only make on Tues. & Fri. nites. GO EARLY. Mikee's is in Gulf Shores, just a street or two north & east of the dead end of Hwy 59 at the public beach.

King Neptunes
Gulf Shores
1137 Gulf Shores Parkway
Gulf Shores, AL
251-968-5464

www.KingNeptuneSeafoodRestaurant.com 

Back to FRIED--you can get a pretty good cheap assorted fried seafood platter for between 4-6 p.m. at King Neptunes on Hwy 59 in Gulf Shores next to the dive shop where Little Lagoon meets Hwy 59. I am told that the lunch fried shrimp & oyster platter special is even better. Pay the extra $1 for salad instead of slaw, as the slaw there is the most boring shredded cabbage concoction ever. One good thing is that King Neptune's says in ads that they only serve Gulf seafood, not imports.

On another visit at lunchtime, the fried flounder lunch special I ordered  with collard greens and squash was all very good. My companion said his liver and onions lunch special had no onions & the butterbeans were not good. We knew better than to order the slaw.

Click here to read about our recent evening King Neptune's visit that was quite comical....

Other visits,  the Creole vinaigrette salad dressing is quite good. Fried fish very good. Sometimes the fries are not crisp...but generally about as good a bet as anywhere in Gulf Shores for everyday prices. Inconsistency occurs here as elsewhere.

LuLu’s Sunset Grill, is now called Lulu's Landing or Lulu's at Homeport Marina.
200 East 25th Ave. 
Under the Bridge in Gulf Shores, AL
Gulf Shores
251-967-LULU (5858) 

They have spent a bundle. Owner Lucy Buffett has moved the 5- year old restaurant she owns with brother and singer Jimmy Buffett & investors to Gulf Shores. LuLu’s Sunset Grill has now opened in the old Southport Seafood building under the Intercoastal Waterway Bridge. We have eaten there many times. I am happy to say that Lulu's now has a marinated rare tuna sandwich that comes with some great 'asian style' slaw which is really, really good. Just heard that they are planning to change it to a plate dinner w/ fries and not a sandwich. When asked why, I was told that lots of people ordered it without the bun....I asked it they had considered that if someone was trying to save calories they might not want fries either or that maybe that particular bun was a drag. The waitress thought that was a novel idea. 

Generally,  we find the service to be good and most of the food pretty typical Gulf Shores fare, costing about a buck more than other restaurants.  No raw oysters here...Lulu's doesn't want anything to do with bad-bug lawsuits. All the salads seem to have that really bitter lettuce and are not too exciting. Even though I like fried oysters, the fried oyster salad wasn't a good combo. Hamburger lovers like the cheeseburger. The emphasis is on *fried* of course. The restaurant is quite large and seems popular. One of several nice touches is the outdoor kids playground. They have live music a lot--call to get the schedule, or go to their website. In season, it is way-way too crowded and people are nuts to wait with beepers like they do. Recent remodeling added even more retail space. Step right up and buy your Lulu's stuff right here folks, while you wait...  See photos of Lulu's here.

Open 11 am - 10 pm • 7 Days A Week
200 East 25th Ave. Gulf Shores, AL. 36542
Tel: 251-967-LULU

Villaggio Grille & Bakery next door.
4790 Wharf Pkwy
Orange Beach, AL 36561
251-224-6511

A bit confusing as a shopping center has opened down the road on Perdido Key w/ the same name. This restaurant is at The Wharf on Canal Road. Opened by the same couple who opened Ginny Lane Restaurant a few doors away. So far, so good. They make their own fresh potato chips...yum...and offer an array of Mediterranean themed dishes. They do the wood fire pizza thing, have pasta dishes, lamb, soups, salads and things like Gulf Shrimp Artichoke Heart. I don't see anything spicy n the menu (alas) and it is not cheap. The Nicoise Salad Orange Beach Style (I didn't know OB had a style) was a bit of a surprise. It was separate piles of the various ingredients, not a mixed salad as you might expect. My lunch companion commented that she didn't want to do work like cutting things up and mixing when she spent this much on lunch. I on the other hand was thrilled that her plate was so big and she never takes home leftovers, so i knew I'd get to have it for supper later :o)
I had the fish sandwich ($12) which was delicious and I ate it all...

I am eager to go back and try some of the other very interesting sounding dishes like Lamb Lollipops, Mussels in White Wine, Persian Fold. . 

Nice and quiet the day we were there...Leave the kids at home or bring lots of money.

Popular with locals, who as everyone down here knows, have limited choices. Pretty much the same menu you will find anywhere, with the exception of some 'specials' that are fried, cheese, & calorie overkill. Noisy and grimy looking, not much on atmosphere. There is bluegrass in one room on weekends, but the noise level is such that you have to be really close to the band to hear them. The service, while attempting to be dutiful, constantly interrupted and removed dishes from the table before all diners had finished eating. The slaw was good.  Stick to the fried or broiled fish.

Zeke's Landing DownUnder
26619 Perdido Beach Blvd.
Orange Beach, AL
251-981-4001
 www.zekeslandingrestaurant.com   
Open daily at 4 p.m.

A fun place to go on summer evenings about 6 p.m. and watch the fishermen come in with the day's catch. Very limited menu at the outdoor tables. Zeke's crab claws are very good but the other appetizers are sorta like 7-11 food. Only 4 items on appetizer list and one of them is gumbo.  The beer was good and very cold but my gin cocktail was awful. Downstairs at Zeke's has always been the very casual eat spot and upstairs is saved for more formal dining & full menu. Upstairs there is a Sunday Brunch 10:30 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. and early snow-bird specials in winter.

It is so refreshing to be able to talk about some good food down here. Bahama Bob's on Beach Blvd. on West Beach in Gulf Shores has a couple menu specials that are better than the norm for the little local casual places. Their stuffed baked (fake) grouper dish is really good. The crab cakes are especially good. Very casual, "Lower the latitude-better the attitude" motto. Lunch specials, early-bird specials. Multi-tv sports coverage. 

Note: We had a fish labeling crackdown this year city wide and they no longer sell an imported fish as local grouper. 

ParrotDize Grill
8818 Hwy 180 West (Fort Morgan Road)  in Gulf Shores
251.540.6860

Out Fort Morgan Road, close to The Beach Club is a little restaurant/ bar behind The Pines Grocery store. For years it was called 'Round Back, then Esco's, and now a misspelled version of 'Paradise' Grill. Good for a lunch or dinner when you have been on the beach or fishing all day and don't want to get dressed up. You'll see an assortment of locals and the odd beach house folk. ParrotDize Bar and Grill located at  is open daily at 11:00 a.m. and feature a diverse menu of affordable appetizers, sandwiches, burgers and main entrees including steak and seafood. The ParrotDize Bar and Grill features live entertainment Thursday through Sunday beginning at 7:00 p.m. Stop in for lunch specials Monday through Friday and enjoy Blues and BBQ on Thursday after 6:00 p.m. Owners, Sandy and Rick Peterson invite you to stop by the ParrotDize Bar and Grill, 12 miles west of Hwy 59 on Fort Morgan Road behind the Citgo gas station. 

Well, I suppose it is an overall indicator of quality and attention to detail when a restaurant's waitress brings you rancid tortilla chips to begin your meal.  The dip that came with it was watery and underseasoned tomato puree. 
We went on to order ice teas (huge and good) , Spinach Quesadillas, and a Spinach Enchilada and a side of tamal. To their credit, the quesadillas were not greasy. Not great, but OK. The tamales are not made in house. I asked the waitress where they came from and she didn't know. I asked if they came in frozen and she said 'probably' and had no interest in investigating further. The small scoop of guacamole w/ the quesadillas was tasty and seemed fresh. 

This particular location has been the home of several restaurants over the years and sat in a badly decayed condition for a long time. I was curious to see what the inside was like. Do not go to Cazadores for the ambience. 
Overall, we both decided that Cazadores was very mediocre at best, and the service was barely adequate. Be warned, if you ask for onions for your salad or meal, there is a 50 cent surcharge...weird.

We have not found any *really* good Mexican restaurants in this area. None offer casseroles or fish fixed in creative ways. Best bet is the place in downtown Foley.

Pretty yucky experience our one time there. Nice colorful menu. Lobby decor is pure corn-ball. Fake everything, but the light-up, fiber optic plaster 'Our Lady' statue is the best. (Photo coming ) 

I ordered the ceviche appetizer and was amazed to find tough, and what seemed like heat-cooked (rather than lime juice cooked) fish meat. A big disappointment. I ordered the Carne Asada soup, but was served a open face taco like thing but instead of a tortilla, it was a fat laden thick thing about the size of a pre-made strawberry shortcake round. I took one bite and tossed it aside. On top was the staple of all americanized Mexican restaurants around here, a mix of  iceberg lettuce, refried beans, ground meat, some cheese, a piece of pale tomato, and a bit of guacamole. Oh well...

I asked, they serve frozen shrimp they get from a supplier in Texas, don't know if they are imported or not. 

I should have gone to Taco Bell and saved a lot of money.

or ...Cook at home.

Don't these restaurant owners ever watch the Food Network. They could see what real Mexican food can be like. 

The Gift Horse in Foley AL occupies a very interesting and historic building. It is worth sticking your head inside just to have a look around. But since you can't eat history, you might want to eat elsewhere. We went for lunch recently, out of season, and there was a one-price buffet. Looked like a good value at first glance. The cloth tablecloths and napkins are a welcome touch. While the presentation attempted to look 'grand', the quality of the food was not. My chowder soup had lumps of raw flour in it and did not taste like it was made with real butter. The unimaginative and bland food is of a type probably most popular with snowbirds and the elderly. Ditto the service. My companion experienced stomach cramps the afternoon following our visit. Since I ate different dishes, I was spared. 

Gulf Shores Restaurants....Orange Beach Restaurants...Gulf Shores Restaurants

Mientje's at The Wharf--GONE

Gulf Shores Rule of Thumb:
Generally, the smaller the restaurant / the better the food.
(there are some exceptions, see below.)

Restaurants here constantly come...and go...and change names !

Many of the restaurants I have written about in the past no longer exist, if that happens, we remove the review.  Some of them have reopened, and some old favorites are gone forever. 

The Gulf Shores Restaurant Humor Department

'Round Back Restaurant on Fort Morgan Rd
Gulf Shores

Laney DeJonge's comments:

I thought I would share 2
experiences at the 'Round Back restaurant on Fort Morgan Rd.

1. We were eating there and my boyfriend ordered the club sandwich and asked
to have no tomato on it. The waiter replied, "uhhh, I will try to do that,
but I don't know." Apparently he was having issues with the female cook
there. We pointed out how that would actually make it easier on her, less
work not to have to put the tomato on the sandwich, unless of course, their
sandwiches were pre-made. He said he would talk to her and try to get the
tomato off. When the sandwich was delivered, there was a tomato on top.
You have to wonder why he didn't take the tomato off before serving. This
wasn't a big deal, but it just shows a lack of understanding about serving
your guests as a waiter.

2. Another time a friend of mine was eating there and some people came in to
get a to-go order 30 minutes before they closed (they close at some early
time like 8:00) and the waiter said they couldn't do to-go orders 30 minutes
before they closed, but they could be seated and eat there. The guests
asked why they couldn't get it to-go. The waiter said, "we have a policy
that we don't take any to-go orders after the cut-off because when people
call in, they may not show up before we close." The guests said, "but we
are here, we have showed up." The waiter said, "sorry but that is the
policy". So the people sat down, ordered and received their food, each took
a bite, and then asked for to-go boxes.

King Neptunes Comical Experience-Gulf Shores
Casual Atmosphere, Casual Dress, Casual Service

We went out to dinner at King Neptunes on Hwy 59 in Gulf Shores with 3 out of town guests who wanted seafood. It happened to be the evening after Tropical Storm Isidoro had passed thru (9/26/02) not so all the usual places were not open. In fact we originally went to West Beach but found the whole area to be without electricity.

Our waiter in King Neptunes brought our menus and hurried off to the television over the bar to watch a football game. We then spent most of the night trying to pry him loose from the TV long enough to take our orders and bring out the food. He told us he had money riding on the game and it was 'very important'. One of the older ladies in our group asked him about wine. he assured her that they had wine and it was all "French wine"..she insisted on knowing what it was she was ordering so he said he'd go check, Upon his return, he told us he was sorry, that he was mistaken, the wine was all "Sutter Home". She decided to order some and he brought it in a little clear plastic cup (think airlines). She asked for a glass but was told something akin to 'Nope, this is what wine comes in'

When one in our group ordered a side order of hushpuppies, our waiter told us that the kitchen screws things up a lot, so if we didn't get it to remind him later and he'd try to get some for her. Sure enough, when our food came, there were no hushpuppies--so we reminded him (after waiting for a TV commercial), and he replied "see just like I said"...he did bring some out in a few minutes. When we needed anything we would fling our arms wildly in the air to try to catch his eye during TV commercials.

I ordered a Caribbean Combo platter. The grilled tuna was rare as requested and tender, fresh & good. The 'mango salsa' was not salsa--just some chopped bits of mango and jalapeno pepper. The platter's grilled shrimp were a bit dry and the fried coconut shrimp were good (Gulf Shores knows how to FRY) served with an unexciting dipping sauce. Everyone else at the table thought the food was acceptable, not thrilling. The 'garlic bread' is not very good. Everyone thought their fish was fresh and tasty. We asked, and were told that King Neptunes serves only local fish & does not serve any Asian imports.

The service was absurd and comical. When we asked for the check, the waiter showed up and handed it to me with a "Here you go Money Bags".....he later commented that he said that since I was looking in my purse and he said usually when he brings the check everyone at the table looks away hoping someone else will grab it. Maybe he thought we should just be grateful to find anyone to cook for us on the day of a storm, or maybe this is the norm in the evenings, most of my visits there in recent years have been in the daytime when the wait staff is more involved in the task at hand..

We did notice that he failed to put our glass of wine and one beer on the ticket, but we decided that he would much rather be allowed to stay glued to the football game than be distracted with our food ticket observations, so paid and left.

 

Do you have local restaurant adventures that you think others would enjoy reading about?  Send us your Gulf Shores restaurant experiences and we will try to include the most entertaining ones on this site.

 

 

Well, as often happens in the Gulf Shores area--inconsistency rules !! I ordered the a dish in 2004 at Calpyso Joe's called Crabmeat Gazpacho and noticed there was no crabmeat and upon inquiring, I was told that it was there, I just must not have seen it. I insisted that there was not any, then after the staff went to the kitchen to ask, they returned to say that the kitchen left it out because the crabmeat on hand was "bad"...well, I suppose they did me a favor. I asked if it occurred to  them to tell me that the dish could not be prepared as usual and offer other choices, no it didn't...happy ending...they took it off my bill :-)

Next time there I saw they had changed the name on the menu to just "Gazpacho"...hmmmm.. 

 Memorial Day weekend, my sister -n-law called Sun Place Else II to order a carry out meal around lunch time...she was told that the cook didn't show up and maybe she could get some food later. My sister-in-law said "Girlfriend, I am HUNGRY NOW...." while she was figuring out what to do next, (one does not have a lot of choices on Ft. Morgan Rd), the phone rang. The restaurant had used caller ID to get her number and called back and said "we are fixin' you a hamburger and some fries right now that you can come pick up" . So alls well that ends well !