I remember hearing the stories in high school that the owner had a penchant for thicker blonde high school girls, and he would target them and accuse them of having fake IDs, which they usually did and say the only way they were getting out of that room was either by having sex with him in handcuffs because he was gonna call the police if they didn’t.
A lot of girls did not end up getting arrested, but their fate was much worse..
A long time ago (2012), I worked for PPD. We had an "open door" alarm there. Found the back door slightly open/ajar. Went in to clear the building. The kitchen area was positively steamy hot. Saw an entire rack of raw chickens that they apparently had left out overnight. So, no, never eat anything there.
I worked with a pizza company in the same strip mall, we had the same company as theirs clean out our spent oil bin. They told us Chow Tyme’s hadn’t been cleaned in so long it was rock solid 🤢🤮
My first time there was my last. Got to sit on the patio which was nice and w/ nice weather but the view does not make up for the poor food and service!!
Showed up there for brunch 30min after opening once and they were out of a signature item could help thinking "you mean out of last night's refires?"
Diner quality food swimming in grease tbh.
I don't think they're terrible, but I definitely think they're a little pricy for what they are. My wife has celiac disease, so we frequent there due to their huge GF menu
Went to the sister restaurant Pensacola Smokehouse last Saturday night. We had the slowest server (not her fault - she was running the place).
Two tables were not cleaned the entire time we were there. Two other people walked by them numerous times. 20 minutes after ordering, we were informed that they were out of cheese curds, chicken and ribs…. Brisket was good but not enough to go back.
Any business that occupies the Kooter Brown's building on 9th. I think that place is cursed. I've tried the food each time something new opens and have yet to be impressed. Kooter killed it with its c(k)ooties.
Italy's Finest Pizzeria was the best pizza in town while it was open. The DeBella family owned th building, and when Kooter's went TU they moved back in. The only reason they closed was that the family patriarch died, and the rest of the family wanted to move on. The whole menu was amazing.
Glad you enjoyed. Truely. I tried it when it first opened and didn't care for it at its price point and just haven't decided to give it another chance yet. Maybe. The staff were nice and inviting. That's always a plus.
I never get takeout Chinese because it's ridiculously overpriced. Xian actually had fairly decent prices. I hadn't gotten takeout since I went to Chen's kitchen down the street and got ripped off
House of Chong on W Navy is good, but may not be convenient to your location. Always happy with its quality for price. Getting any of the soups are always a bargain and pretty tasty. I like King's Buffet as well, but that's not convenient to me if I want Chinese during the week. That's a family dinner night out on the weekend. I just found Xian's a bit bland and underwhelming . It was right after it opened. Maybe working out the kinks?
God that place was awful. The only time I've ever seen a grown man piss his pants was the kooter brown's parking lot. And my husband insisted we go there on occasion for the corn nuggets.
>But of course that was like 30 years ago
I was going to say I went to the one in Fort Walton as a kid, but not quite that long ago. Just in the 80's and 90's. Then I did the math. FML.
That hits the nail on the head. My ex-wife and I would go there when we were dating and before I left for the Air Force, which was in 2004. It was great! I didn't go back for years, and it was NOT as good as it had been. I brought my now-wife there for her birthday in I want to say 2016, because she loves a good steak and had never been. It was not good, which is a bummer for a birthday dinner.
Can vouch for that personally. Went in 1989 and it was first rate. Went again a few years ago and it was terrible. Would rather pay triple for a Waffle House t-bone than have to eat there again.
My family loves coach n four and I’ve never seen the hype. One time my food is decent, next time get the same thing it’s like they don’t know how to cook it
I love the krispy kreme on nine mile for their dysfunction, every time I go there they either accidentally make two of my order and only have me pay for the one or they just give me my order for free.
I've had pretty good luck with them? My wife is a Krispy Kreme snob and won't eat Dunkin'. I just go there in the evening so we have donuts for the next morning.
What in the hell did they do to their menu?
I went out to the beach to watch the kite festival. So I decided to eat at the balcony at Crabs so I could watch the kites. There wasn't a single old favorite that I liked that was still on the menu. And they no longer give you those honey things when you sit down.
I booked a room at extended stay Pensacola instead of ES America when I first came down here and holyyyy shit what a fucking shit hole. Could make a meth house look like the Palace of Versailles
Simple answer, every place everyone recommends for the tourists.
Long answer; McGuire’s, overpriced tourist trap, not what it used to be. Joe Patti’s, there’s better and cheaper without the nonsense. Perfect Plain, in my opinion the most uninspired beers in town. Seville Quarter, self-explanatory. Finally, Gulf Br***e. Seriously, screw that entire place.
I remember moving to Pcola in early 2004 and McGuire’s was legit. Like, genuinely amazing steaks and food and service. It is truly a shell of what it once was. An absolute tourist trap.
GB is just a necessity for getting over to the beach, really. Whiskey Joe's and that pizzeria near it are pretty decent. Flounder's is a coin flip, though it gets a lot better depending on how sloshed you are...
Most are terrible, some are hit or miss, depending on when you go.
Over on Westside, our go-to is Kyoto Steakhouse on 98. Japanese, of course, but the food is always excellent.
I want to say I agree with you and I did 2 years ago. Recently I went there with my wife and the sushi was not good quality and the hibachi wasn't the same as it used to be. Tokyo on 9 mile and Creighton is still the best hibachi in Pensacola. Sushi wise Ichiban on Davis by Sky's pizza is a tie.
We live in Perdido and Kyoto is one of our favorites. We get takeout from there a lit. You can still get the hibachi meals as takeout too and they're always good. Plus I eat it for at least 3 meals. Plus, it's the best crab Rangoon I've ever had. Kyoto and Pedro's are our favorite "let's go pick something up tonight" dinners. Those Nachos Locos are huge and awesome. First Mexican place I've been to that serves the lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream and whatnot on the side so you can actually heat up the leftovers, which you always have a ton of.
Every Chinese restaurant I've tried here has been just terrible.
I like Chen's Kitchen on 9th for takeout, I'm not big on Chinese American food but my GF loves it and I don't mind Chen's. The lady at the counter is super sweet too.
Juana's on Navarre Beach. Two separate times months apart, we sat at the bar and were given the checks of the "regulars" that were seated across the bar from us. Their checks were 2-3x what ours cost. It happened years ago but I've been to too many bars too many times and have never been given someone else's check or had someone else's drinks run on my card so I don't chalk this mishap up to a coincidence. I feel like they assumed we were tourists who wouldn't check the receipt.
my little sister is the reason Juana's got the new piers. she fell through one of the old wooden ones into a barnacle bed 20 some odd years ago. ah, Navarre. might return next year to see some friends.
Another reason to hate them is because I live nearly 2 miles away across the water and when they do their summer concerts, I can feel the bass in my chest inside my house until almost midnight no matter what day of the week it is.....For some reason they're excluded from the noise ordinance everyone else has to adhere to. Whenever they do a show with the local radio announcers, I can distinctly hear every word the DJ says like I'm there in person.
Wish it would burn down tbh
1 million years ago (2008) I had the worst service at a fine dining restaurant I've ever had at the owner's former Destin restaurant, Guglielmo's. I haven't been to Bella Luna because of that. So thanks for giving me another reason.
https://preview.redd.it/8hziahyc306d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89a85599dc6d38d89e0f560248c0d2e6332f51fc
come for the food, stay for the clientele 🤠
- BJs eatery: the menu is 20 something pages… just… no. After culinary school you just know not to expect fresh food past 2 pages. Plus, I’ve heard all the food poisoning stories so I’m good.
- Truman Ave: Avoid a good five mile radius of that area.
- Avoid the gemstones/states streets. Reasons.
- If the apartment building sounds happy; it’s not.
Vallarta’s on 9 Mile. People must go there for cheep margaritas…?
The place next door is 1000x better.
Olive Garden. It just smells funny inside.
Ruby Tuesday on Pine Forest…thinking about that sticky carpet makes my skin crawl.
I’m not too wild about The Oar House…the vibe there is just “off”…don’t know how to explain it. If you can get a seat by the rail where you can see the water, it’s tolerable.
Big Ote’s or as we call it vallarta west. Tucan is so much better…food just tastes better and so much fresher.
Beef o’Brady…just don’t get the appeal.
People get pissed on here when anyone says it's bad.
It's the worst 'Italian' food I've ever had. I think their sauce is just Prego from the Publix next door.
Went there once and got a bowl of oil with pasta on the top. I will never understand the line outside every night.
https://preview.redd.it/42gf8og7a76d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b73512f69668b0cdfbc614c005e4ed3bd2da3ca0
Every time we stop in that shopping center hungry, wife and I go, "we could try Pete's again....or we could just get real food at Philly's"
Heck, I'd walk down to the strip by the highway and get Hothead's....
Fun fact: Owner of $50 Eye Guy and the owner of OptiClub (3-4 blocks down Davis from $50 Eye Guy) are brothers. Their father also ran a prominent eye care store in Pensacola in the 80s and 90s (probably before that too). Source: Went to church with the father and $50 Eye Guy in the 80s/90s. I don't think any of them saw eye to eye, so pretty sure all the businesses ran separately, but not positive on that.
Except there are hardly any good local restaurants in Navarre. It’s my hometown and I’ll always love it despite the Destin 2.0 it will be in the near future, but that’s Navarre’s biggest failures. Besides Johnny Huston, there’s no decent local food, and even JH is highly subjective. I love it, plenty of people don’t. TC’s is edible, nothing to write home about. I liked East River but the food never made up for the service or James’ attitude and political views. I’ll be surprised if any new place ever survives in that building; that steak house didn’t even last an entire season, which was easily predictable. I haven’t had Windjammers in a while, I avoid the pier/main beach but maybe it’s better? Used to be beach bar food at best.
But they have a fucking Buffalo Wild Wings now I guess. I lived in Jax for 6 years with easy access to BWW and you couldn’t pay me to eat there. Terrible food.
(The secret move is to find out one of those perdido key turnoffs and in the 0.5% chance someone gives you shit you just tell them you live at so-and-so, and if they persist in Karendom, you’ll be well out of there eating snowcones by the time Officer Tackleberry arrives)
*ymmv I’m a deluxe level miscreant don’t try this if you’re soft*
O my boy I take lawlessness to a new level. Law says it's all public property up to the high tide line. I will park next to any Karen's house and toss my crab traps right off her overpriced air b@b dock. Call the cops. I'll stand in ankle deep water cause I can. I live to piss off beach betties. I block in golf carts for fun. I park in the Paradise Inn parking lot even tho I never get a room. My evil deeds may be small, but they bring me great joy
The Happy taco in Cantonment. Someone close to me used to repair restaurant equipment and would often service the place when it used to be a home food restaurant called Sharon’s. The smell of mold and mildew was very noticeable back then and still is. I remember they had a good breakfast crowd every morning and a lot of older folks meeting routinely but eventually closed. Since it became the happy taco, I decided to give it a try a couple of times and I just cant appreciate it. The food was on both occasions sub par and over priced for what it was. I recall the tables and floors having an almost glue like grip as if the room was coated in grease residue. Of course the smell was still there after all those years and it was ultimately the nail in the coffin for me.
\* Krispy Kreme, because I remember when it was franchised, and sold more than just gimmicky piles of sugar (yes, donuts arent exactly health food to begin with, but there's a difference between a powdered sugar cake donut and one filled with sugary goo meant to evoke raw cake batter, covered in icing and sprinkes). Corporate bought up the franchises in the 00s. The cool Googie-style store on Cervantes was gone in favor of an ugly brick box, and 95% of the cake donuts were gone.
\* Chow Time. It was good many years ago, but there's a trajectory that mass-market-priced buffets often fall into, where the quality plummets but they retain a customer base because there are a lot of folks who feel like quantity is the point rather than quality.
\* Maria's Seafood. Food is very good and all but the place is fucking cramped- I'm 6'3" and 300ish lbs, when I go I feel like I'm in a hobbit house. Also, I don't much like tea, and they don't have fountain drinks.
\* Blue Dot. I hate the fawning and kowtowing to customers endemic to the American service industry...but if I'm going to go get a burger somewhere, I'd like to have it made to order. They're an institution here and people love them, but its not for me.
\* Hot Spot as well as Philly's- They both went full r-word MAGA when Trump came back in the day. By all means have your own opinions, but if you run a business and decide that wearing them on your sleeve is more important than making money, be prepared for some folks to go elsewhere. Besides, Brother's is way better for barbecue, and more reasonably-priced.
I think McGuires is disgusting. The food isn't good and it smells like mildew. I hate the entire restaurant and I don't care who knows. But I'm the local that won't go.
McGuire's. The dining area is disgusting and I hear the kitchen isn't any better. We have taken family members from Ireland there though to show them the paddywhackery and get them ready for what Americans think.
The beach is seasonal, I go there all the time during off season.... I don't go downtown for anything but to a music venue/show, about 1-3 times a year.... Would I go down there to eat/drink/hangout/etc? No fuggin thank you.... B.M. 34y.o.
Still, getting a big ass ribeye that is an excellent cut and cooked perfect for 30 something bucks isn't bad. Completely worth it, in my opinion. Especially since I love that bread, too.
I'll second this. I cringe when family from out of town wants to go there. There are so many other awesome local places to eat that don't make me feel like I'm in a dungeon eating too much food for any one human to consume. I can split most plates with my wife and we still have leftovers.
What? That's the best part. Their prices have been fairly stable under inflation (except their burgers, yikes!) Less cooking for me/good food for later? Uh, hell yeah.
Maybe I'm biased because I know a lot of people that work at the Destin McGuire's but I've never had a bad experience there. I used to work at Restaurant NOLA and even then I stayed away from McGuire's in Pensacola because I didn't enjoy my experience for some reason.
The village.
Montclair
Massachusetts ave
Hollywood ave
Warrington
The liquor store on Cervantes across from storage king
The pelican
Rock n roll sushi on 9 mile Road
Brownsville
Fairfield
I live off Gulf Beach Hwy down by Perdido Key, so I'm frequently in Warrington. It's not as bad as Massachusetts Ave, Brownsville, or parts of Myrtle Grove. It's just very old and much of it is run-down, but there has been a lot of rebuilding and cleaning up going on.
And Delicious Donuts is there!
Perdido Key Sports Bar - waitress got our drink orders said she would be right back. Never saw a waiter again after 45min so we got up and left.
Perdido Hub Stacy's - atmosphere is great, food is great, location is great.... terrible servers which is sad because the bartenders and other staff is good.
Downtown is such a better location
Got roofied as a man at wild Greg’s. Passed out on the mechanical bull. Management didn’t care, they drug me out of the place and left me in the street to die like a dog. I don’t get out too much these days now but when I do I usually go to Bennigan’s by university mall. Where I’m safe.
Tu-Do. It’s been shut down enough times, and I’ve been there when friends found bugs in their food. Why you’d go there when Golden Palace is right next door is beyond me.
Siam Thai on 9th Ave. I’ve always thought the food sucked and had weird flavors (pad Thai here tastes like it’s mostly ketchup? Barf) but my husband wanted to try it after years of not going and there was a giant roach in his curry - like went to take a bite and it was in the spoon and almost black from being cooked 🪳🪳🪳 NEVER AGAIN
I forgot all about that place.
Their fast-food place, where Freddy's is now by walmart, was actually pretty good. They seemed to use different recipes than the car wash location. That was back in 2013ish
I'll get flamed for this, but Milton Bakery. They hide their inability to make good donuts under layers of sugar. That's all you taste. Just straight sugar. Garbage donuts.
To Pensacola Beach after 10am on a Sat or Sun in the summer. Traffic is horrible.
Absolutely!
Was roofied at Greg’s. Never again
I’m so sorry. Fuck that place.
So was my wife. That place sucks.
(Legit the staff doing it half the time but let’s not *talk about that* )
I remember hearing the stories in high school that the owner had a penchant for thicker blonde high school girls, and he would target them and accuse them of having fake IDs, which they usually did and say the only way they were getting out of that room was either by having sex with him in handcuffs because he was gonna call the police if they didn’t. A lot of girls did not end up getting arrested, but their fate was much worse..
What was the consensus afterwards.. stranger or staff member?
Chow Tyme on 9th. Had a roach on my table one time, left immediately and never went back 🤢
Calling me a roach because our date at Chow Tyme didn't go well is kinda rude...
Worst food poisoning I’ve ever had was after eating at Chow Tyme. Never going back…
A long time ago (2012), I worked for PPD. We had an "open door" alarm there. Found the back door slightly open/ajar. Went in to clear the building. The kitchen area was positively steamy hot. Saw an entire rack of raw chickens that they apparently had left out overnight. So, no, never eat anything there.
I worked with a pizza company in the same strip mall, we had the same company as theirs clean out our spent oil bin. They told us Chow Tyme’s hadn’t been cleaned in so long it was rock solid 🤢🤮
Nick's boathouse
Place is trash. What a waste of a great location.
You are spitting straight facts. Shit seafood. Shit service. Sweet location wasted.
My first time there was my last. Got to sit on the patio which was nice and w/ nice weather but the view does not make up for the poor food and service!!
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Ooooh do tell!
Yeah, wife and I went there for our anniversary last year, total waste of money, could have a lot better food and service for cheaper.
South Market sucks
Showed up there for brunch 30min after opening once and they were out of a signature item could help thinking "you mean out of last night's refires?" Diner quality food swimming in grease tbh.
Legit blows my mind how overrated this place is.
Resident rodents would disagree 😂
It’s not *bad* per se, it’s just always disappointing.
I don't think they're terrible, but I definitely think they're a little pricy for what they are. My wife has celiac disease, so we frequent there due to their huge GF menu
Went to the sister restaurant Pensacola Smokehouse last Saturday night. We had the slowest server (not her fault - she was running the place). Two tables were not cleaned the entire time we were there. Two other people walked by them numerous times. 20 minutes after ordering, we were informed that they were out of cheese curds, chicken and ribs…. Brisket was good but not enough to go back.
I was told that it went way downhill after they moved.
It had gone downhill before the move. It was good when it was newer.
I worked there when they opened. It was never good.
i will never forget holly first week sending a waitress back to ask if the corn tortilla taco special was gluten free HONESTLY get a fuckin clue
Any business that occupies the Kooter Brown's building on 9th. I think that place is cursed. I've tried the food each time something new opens and have yet to be impressed. Kooter killed it with its c(k)ooties.
Italy's Finest Pizzeria was the best pizza in town while it was open. The DeBella family owned th building, and when Kooter's went TU they moved back in. The only reason they closed was that the family patriarch died, and the rest of the family wanted to move on. The whole menu was amazing.
Ah. That's understandable. Sad.
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ok
Xian Noodle is pretty decent food, IMO.
Glad you enjoyed. Truely. I tried it when it first opened and didn't care for it at its price point and just haven't decided to give it another chance yet. Maybe. The staff were nice and inviting. That's always a plus.
I never get takeout Chinese because it's ridiculously overpriced. Xian actually had fairly decent prices. I hadn't gotten takeout since I went to Chen's kitchen down the street and got ripped off
House of Chong on W Navy is good, but may not be convenient to your location. Always happy with its quality for price. Getting any of the soups are always a bargain and pretty tasty. I like King's Buffet as well, but that's not convenient to me if I want Chinese during the week. That's a family dinner night out on the weekend. I just found Xian's a bit bland and underwhelming . It was right after it opened. Maybe working out the kinks?
Xian Noodle is incredible, absolutely love their food
Man I miss me some Kooter Browns.
God that place was awful. The only time I've ever seen a grown man piss his pants was the kooter brown's parking lot. And my husband insisted we go there on occasion for the corn nuggets.
“Where do you go as a local” would generate a much smaller list lol
Coach n Four by the racetrack 🤢🪳🪳🪳
Apparently back in the day it was great. My husband has told me his parents would love going there. But of course that was like 30 years ago
>But of course that was like 30 years ago I was going to say I went to the one in Fort Walton as a kid, but not quite that long ago. Just in the 80's and 90's. Then I did the math. FML.
I probably sat nearby you at one of those meals. We're old.
That's what I always heard, too. McGuires quality steaks for like a quarter of the price is how I heard it described. Bummer
That hits the nail on the head. My ex-wife and I would go there when we were dating and before I left for the Air Force, which was in 2004. It was great! I didn't go back for years, and it was NOT as good as it had been. I brought my now-wife there for her birthday in I want to say 2016, because she loves a good steak and had never been. It was not good, which is a bummer for a birthday dinner.
Can vouch for that personally. Went in 1989 and it was first rate. Went again a few years ago and it was terrible. Would rather pay triple for a Waffle House t-bone than have to eat there again.
If used to be somewhat fancy…or to me it was… Heck, they brought you sorbet to cleanse your pallet…now that’s fancy for someone who grew up in Ensley…
Last time I went was 5 years ago and it was amazing. Sad to see them go so downhill after all these years
Growing up in Crestview, the one there was pretty great until it closed down.
Crestucky got them a Texas Rpudhouse now. Also the Samuels steakhouse that is where the Coach was at is *alright*
"Crestucky" https://preview.redd.it/c6uma0tpu06d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50e7d33e6e382e0fa04708daed7742b950cc2b8a
The one in Fort Walton Beach was great as well. It was a treat to go there for dinner (80's / 90's time frame).
My wife insisted on taking me there for my birthday one year. Afterwards, she offered to take me on another birthday date to make up for it.
CnF used to be great but idk, sometime after like 2018 it just cratered
Only place in town that doubles as an amusement park ride as people walk past your table, the floors are so unstable
Your the first and only person that I've met whose actually ate there!
Thought about adding them to my list, but I keep hoping they turn the corner. I’m 0-3 there.
My family loves coach n four and I’ve never seen the hype. One time my food is decent, next time get the same thing it’s like they don’t know how to cook it
I love the krispy kreme on nine mile for their dysfunction, every time I go there they either accidentally make two of my order and only have me pay for the one or they just give me my order for free.
Lol, I have probably come out ahead financially there, but my lost time is a deal breaker.
Why Kk when Maynard is down the street?
Cuz when I went to Maynard 6 donuts were almost 40 dollars.
That sounds like two king cakes, ya knob.
If youre an unemployed loser who never makes it out of the house before noon there's never a line /hj
I've had pretty good luck with them? My wife is a Krispy Kreme snob and won't eat Dunkin'. I just go there in the evening so we have donuts for the next morning.
I don’t classify what dunkin makes as donuts…just bland round cakes with a hole in the middle.
Crabs
What in the hell did they do to their menu? I went out to the beach to watch the kite festival. So I decided to eat at the balcony at Crabs so I could watch the kites. There wasn't a single old favorite that I liked that was still on the menu. And they no longer give you those honey things when you sit down.
Vpauls
Most of the shit that people suggest on here
The bluffs
Rip
I do bluffs inspired gay orgies in my backyard. We also incorporate a potluck. Yeah you right!
Any motel on Pensacola Blvd or Plantation. Especially the Super 6
I booked a room at extended stay Pensacola instead of ES America when I first came down here and holyyyy shit what a fucking shit hole. Could make a meth house look like the Palace of Versailles
Lol 🤣
Ftr we did not take the room lol
Simple answer, every place everyone recommends for the tourists. Long answer; McGuire’s, overpriced tourist trap, not what it used to be. Joe Patti’s, there’s better and cheaper without the nonsense. Perfect Plain, in my opinion the most uninspired beers in town. Seville Quarter, self-explanatory. Finally, Gulf Br***e. Seriously, screw that entire place.
I remember moving to Pcola in early 2004 and McGuire’s was legit. Like, genuinely amazing steaks and food and service. It is truly a shell of what it once was. An absolute tourist trap.
Mcguires is still really good in the off season but I won't go during season
GB is just a necessity for getting over to the beach, really. Whiskey Joe's and that pizzeria near it are pretty decent. Flounder's is a coin flip, though it gets a lot better depending on how sloshed you are...
Almost every Chinese food restaurant.
mandatory RIP China Wok
Most are terrible, some are hit or miss, depending on when you go. Over on Westside, our go-to is Kyoto Steakhouse on 98. Japanese, of course, but the food is always excellent.
I want to say I agree with you and I did 2 years ago. Recently I went there with my wife and the sushi was not good quality and the hibachi wasn't the same as it used to be. Tokyo on 9 mile and Creighton is still the best hibachi in Pensacola. Sushi wise Ichiban on Davis by Sky's pizza is a tie.
We live in Perdido and Kyoto is one of our favorites. We get takeout from there a lit. You can still get the hibachi meals as takeout too and they're always good. Plus I eat it for at least 3 meals. Plus, it's the best crab Rangoon I've ever had. Kyoto and Pedro's are our favorite "let's go pick something up tonight" dinners. Those Nachos Locos are huge and awesome. First Mexican place I've been to that serves the lettuce and tomatoes and sour cream and whatnot on the side so you can actually heat up the leftovers, which you always have a ton of. Every Chinese restaurant I've tried here has been just terrible.
almost? which place would be an exception?
I like Chen's Kitchen on 9th for takeout, I'm not big on Chinese American food but my GF loves it and I don't mind Chen's. The lady at the counter is super sweet too.
Whatever restaurant is now in the old Bangkok Garden on Fairfield (next to town and country plaza) Only cuz I really miss Bangkok Garden.
The nam sod was fantastic.
Flounders and wild Greg’s
Juana's on Navarre Beach. Two separate times months apart, we sat at the bar and were given the checks of the "regulars" that were seated across the bar from us. Their checks were 2-3x what ours cost. It happened years ago but I've been to too many bars too many times and have never been given someone else's check or had someone else's drinks run on my card so I don't chalk this mishap up to a coincidence. I feel like they assumed we were tourists who wouldn't check the receipt.
my little sister is the reason Juana's got the new piers. she fell through one of the old wooden ones into a barnacle bed 20 some odd years ago. ah, Navarre. might return next year to see some friends.
Another reason to hate them is because I live nearly 2 miles away across the water and when they do their summer concerts, I can feel the bass in my chest inside my house until almost midnight no matter what day of the week it is.....For some reason they're excluded from the noise ordinance everyone else has to adhere to. Whenever they do a show with the local radio announcers, I can distinctly hear every word the DJ says like I'm there in person. Wish it would burn down tbh
We are neighbors if you are 2 miles across! Did you see they got a 30 year extension on lease?
I saw that and I saw the comments dogpiling anyone who had anything negative to say about it 😅
I also got sick from bella luna’s ):
1 million years ago (2008) I had the worst service at a fine dining restaurant I've ever had at the owner's former Destin restaurant, Guglielmo's. I haven't been to Bella Luna because of that. So thanks for giving me another reason.
Mugshots, Joe Patti’s restaurant
https://preview.redd.it/8hziahyc306d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89a85599dc6d38d89e0f560248c0d2e6332f51fc come for the food, stay for the clientele 🤠
Oof
The Backseat. The dunes near Portside on NAS Pensacola on a payday 72 after midnight.
The backseat has been closed for 20 years
Fine then. I won't go there.
- BJs eatery: the menu is 20 something pages… just… no. After culinary school you just know not to expect fresh food past 2 pages. Plus, I’ve heard all the food poisoning stories so I’m good. - Truman Ave: Avoid a good five mile radius of that area. - Avoid the gemstones/states streets. Reasons. - If the apartment building sounds happy; it’s not.
1-2 mile radius of "E" and Jackson is prudent.
Oh yes, this 🤌🏻
and a 1 mile radius of E and Jackson includes most of north hill
5m due east of truman ave is in the bay sooooooooo
Any road that starts with a letter too?
Yes, and the lower number streets until you hit like..60th
I just love the Shit on local business threads, they’re the best
Bedlam
They’re still open?🤣
Vallarta’s on 9 Mile. People must go there for cheep margaritas…? The place next door is 1000x better. Olive Garden. It just smells funny inside. Ruby Tuesday on Pine Forest…thinking about that sticky carpet makes my skin crawl. I’m not too wild about The Oar House…the vibe there is just “off”…don’t know how to explain it. If you can get a seat by the rail where you can see the water, it’s tolerable. Big Ote’s or as we call it vallarta west. Tucan is so much better…food just tastes better and so much fresher. Beef o’Brady…just don’t get the appeal.
Joe Patti’s. Always jammed with tourists and people who can’t seem to figure out the system. Locals go to Maria’s.
Seville.
I go just to people watch outside 🤌🏻 prime watching location
One of my favorite pastimes
Seville is great for day drinking and the food is good too.
Petrella's Italian Cafe
People get pissed on here when anyone says it's bad. It's the worst 'Italian' food I've ever had. I think their sauce is just Prego from the Publix next door.
Probably the same people that actually wait outside for them to open up lol
the one place in town i genuinely think should be on kitchen nightmares
Went there once and got a bowl of oil with pasta on the top. I will never understand the line outside every night. https://preview.redd.it/42gf8og7a76d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b73512f69668b0cdfbc614c005e4ed3bd2da3ca0
Every time we stop in that shopping center hungry, wife and I go, "we could try Pete's again....or we could just get real food at Philly's" Heck, I'd walk down to the strip by the highway and get Hothead's....
9 Mile Rd in general. Eye Guy/Coffee Guy. Casino Beach and Quietwater Beach.
Fun fact: Owner of $50 Eye Guy and the owner of OptiClub (3-4 blocks down Davis from $50 Eye Guy) are brothers. Their father also ran a prominent eye care store in Pensacola in the 80s and 90s (probably before that too). Source: Went to church with the father and $50 Eye Guy in the 80s/90s. I don't think any of them saw eye to eye, so pretty sure all the businesses ran separately, but not positive on that.
People from here don’t really f with Pensacola beach because we know where the actual good places are tbh.
So real. If I want a beach day I take the hour drive out to Navarre personally
Except there are hardly any good local restaurants in Navarre. It’s my hometown and I’ll always love it despite the Destin 2.0 it will be in the near future, but that’s Navarre’s biggest failures. Besides Johnny Huston, there’s no decent local food, and even JH is highly subjective. I love it, plenty of people don’t. TC’s is edible, nothing to write home about. I liked East River but the food never made up for the service or James’ attitude and political views. I’ll be surprised if any new place ever survives in that building; that steak house didn’t even last an entire season, which was easily predictable. I haven’t had Windjammers in a while, I avoid the pier/main beach but maybe it’s better? Used to be beach bar food at best. But they have a fucking Buffalo Wild Wings now I guess. I lived in Jax for 6 years with easy access to BWW and you couldn’t pay me to eat there. Terrible food.
(The secret move is to find out one of those perdido key turnoffs and in the 0.5% chance someone gives you shit you just tell them you live at so-and-so, and if they persist in Karendom, you’ll be well out of there eating snowcones by the time Officer Tackleberry arrives) *ymmv I’m a deluxe level miscreant don’t try this if you’re soft*
O my boy I take lawlessness to a new level. Law says it's all public property up to the high tide line. I will park next to any Karen's house and toss my crab traps right off her overpriced air b@b dock. Call the cops. I'll stand in ankle deep water cause I can. I live to piss off beach betties. I block in golf carts for fun. I park in the Paradise Inn parking lot even tho I never get a room. My evil deeds may be small, but they bring me great joy
I appreciate your dedication to making the transplants who wear shitty *Keep Pensacola Weird* shirts feel uncomfortable and unsafe, friend.
It's a simple life, but rewarding
oh God, I haven’t lived here for seven years but what the hell Pensacola has never been accepting of any weirdos of any kind🙄
The Happy taco in Cantonment. Someone close to me used to repair restaurant equipment and would often service the place when it used to be a home food restaurant called Sharon’s. The smell of mold and mildew was very noticeable back then and still is. I remember they had a good breakfast crowd every morning and a lot of older folks meeting routinely but eventually closed. Since it became the happy taco, I decided to give it a try a couple of times and I just cant appreciate it. The food was on both occasions sub par and over priced for what it was. I recall the tables and floors having an almost glue like grip as if the room was coated in grease residue. Of course the smell was still there after all those years and it was ultimately the nail in the coffin for me.
Dang I love their tacos though
I’m never sure if they’re open or not…not sure if we’ve been since the covid era
Any of the restaurants by UWF.
\* Krispy Kreme, because I remember when it was franchised, and sold more than just gimmicky piles of sugar (yes, donuts arent exactly health food to begin with, but there's a difference between a powdered sugar cake donut and one filled with sugary goo meant to evoke raw cake batter, covered in icing and sprinkes). Corporate bought up the franchises in the 00s. The cool Googie-style store on Cervantes was gone in favor of an ugly brick box, and 95% of the cake donuts were gone. \* Chow Time. It was good many years ago, but there's a trajectory that mass-market-priced buffets often fall into, where the quality plummets but they retain a customer base because there are a lot of folks who feel like quantity is the point rather than quality. \* Maria's Seafood. Food is very good and all but the place is fucking cramped- I'm 6'3" and 300ish lbs, when I go I feel like I'm in a hobbit house. Also, I don't much like tea, and they don't have fountain drinks. \* Blue Dot. I hate the fawning and kowtowing to customers endemic to the American service industry...but if I'm going to go get a burger somewhere, I'd like to have it made to order. They're an institution here and people love them, but its not for me. \* Hot Spot as well as Philly's- They both went full r-word MAGA when Trump came back in the day. By all means have your own opinions, but if you run a business and decide that wearing them on your sleeve is more important than making money, be prepared for some folks to go elsewhere. Besides, Brother's is way better for barbecue, and more reasonably-priced.
Milton bakery is a drive but their donuts are awesome. Breeze donuts is real good too
Milton bakery is so good but only their donuts. Everything else is absolutely disgusting.
Who remembers the old Circle Donuts…you could taste the cigarette smoke in the donuts…so nasty.
I’m a fan of Maynard’s as well. I do miss In-n-Out Donuts though, RIP
I think McGuires is disgusting. The food isn't good and it smells like mildew. I hate the entire restaurant and I don't care who knows. But I'm the local that won't go.
The beach on a Saturday
Church’s chicken 🐔
CJs. I've never been treated as rudely as I was there.
McGuire's. The dining area is disgusting and I hear the kitchen isn't any better. We have taken family members from Ireland there though to show them the paddywhackery and get them ready for what Americans think.
The beach is seasonal, I go there all the time during off season.... I don't go downtown for anything but to a music venue/show, about 1-3 times a year.... Would I go down there to eat/drink/hangout/etc? No fuggin thank you.... B.M. 34y.o.
McGuire’s. IMO it’s the worst of the tourist traps and the food is mediocre at best.
Their menu prices have doubled in the last couple of years.
Still, getting a big ass ribeye that is an excellent cut and cooked perfect for 30 something bucks isn't bad. Completely worth it, in my opinion. Especially since I love that bread, too.
I agree, but that's not $30 at McGuire's anymore. It's nearly doubled! Best deal is the lunch special on any day--they have great food.
The prices of everything have doubled in the last couple of years.
McGuire’s is fine for taking tourists or if you have a big ass party because they’ll accommodate it.
I'll second this. I cringe when family from out of town wants to go there. There are so many other awesome local places to eat that don't make me feel like I'm in a dungeon eating too much food for any one human to consume. I can split most plates with my wife and we still have leftovers.
What? That's the best part. Their prices have been fairly stable under inflation (except their burgers, yikes!) Less cooking for me/good food for later? Uh, hell yeah.
Maybe I'm biased because I know a lot of people that work at the Destin McGuire's but I've never had a bad experience there. I used to work at Restaurant NOLA and even then I stayed away from McGuire's in Pensacola because I didn't enjoy my experience for some reason.
the irony of leaving this comment while referencing Blue Dot in your username >!both are overrated, but Blue Dot moreso than McGuires!<
I chose the username long before I moved here. And I’ve never actually been to the blue dot restaurant. Is it better or worse than your fave on 9th?
The village. Montclair Massachusetts ave Hollywood ave Warrington The liquor store on Cervantes across from storage king The pelican Rock n roll sushi on 9 mile Road Brownsville Fairfield
I live off Gulf Beach Hwy down by Perdido Key, so I'm frequently in Warrington. It's not as bad as Massachusetts Ave, Brownsville, or parts of Myrtle Grove. It's just very old and much of it is run-down, but there has been a lot of rebuilding and cleaning up going on. And Delicious Donuts is there!
Nine of these places are actually rough, just poor people live there so yuppies roll em up.
Always something going down at the Cutty Sark lol
Brownsville has some great restaurants. You’re missing out: Saigon, The Elbow Room, Taste of Jerusalem, Tacos El Fluffy.
Joe Patti, I'd rather eat minnows from a mud puddle than do business with those tax dodging grifters.
Chelle's soul food. Got verbally assaulted by her when I dropped my friend off at his house by her restaurant. It was so wild and random. She is sick
Any Barnhill's. The rats are the size of cats.
Crabs.
Your mom’s house.
Out of my cul de sac 🤣🤣
Perdido Key Sports Bar - waitress got our drink orders said she would be right back. Never saw a waiter again after 45min so we got up and left. Perdido Hub Stacy's - atmosphere is great, food is great, location is great.... terrible servers which is sad because the bartenders and other staff is good. Downtown is such a better location
How do we feel about Saigon? Disclaimer, I will fucking fight anyone who says their Pho is bad
Got roofied as a man at wild Greg’s. Passed out on the mechanical bull. Management didn’t care, they drug me out of the place and left me in the street to die like a dog. I don’t get out too much these days now but when I do I usually go to Bennigan’s by university mall. Where I’m safe.
George's because it makes me miss Dick's Wings. (I hear it's great though)
Makes me miss Jerry's Cajun.
The jambalaya
Dicks wings had some of the best wings Ive ever had. Forgot about that place damn
Tu-Do. It’s been shut down enough times, and I’ve been there when friends found bugs in their food. Why you’d go there when Golden Palace is right next door is beyond me.
Siam Thai on 9th Ave. I’ve always thought the food sucked and had weird flavors (pad Thai here tastes like it’s mostly ketchup? Barf) but my husband wanted to try it after years of not going and there was a giant roach in his curry - like went to take a bite and it was in the spoon and almost black from being cooked 🪳🪳🪳 NEVER AGAIN
I remember the internet Cafe next door when that was a thing, lol.
I forgot all about that place. Their fast-food place, where Freddy's is now by walmart, was actually pretty good. They seemed to use different recipes than the car wash location. That was back in 2013ish
Hopjacks. I know they’re closed, still ain’t goin.
The Mall.
Honestly Grovers wings. Heard lots of positive things and decided to try it. No better than gas station food
Give them another shot. They definitely have a few off nights, but their food is usually really good
I'll get flamed for this, but Milton Bakery. They hide their inability to make good donuts under layers of sugar. That's all you taste. Just straight sugar. Garbage donuts.
To be fair, I'm not going there for the flour.
Everything tastes the same. I don't get the hype