![]() ![]() Hunker down for a sushi-centric omakase and surrender yourself to the chef’s whim, which might just include Japanese A5 Wagyu, tuna matsutake with quail egg and hackleback caviar, langoustine nigiri, and Kurobuta pork belly essentially, the only way seafood could get any fresher is if you were actually a shark. With sweeping views of the Gulf just outside, Bonsai on the second floor of the Hilton Pensacola Beach is a stunner of epic Asian-fusion proportions. After you’ve polished off your oysters, head back into the Garden for a rum-splashed nightcap at the highly Instagrammable Perennial Patio Bar. Here they sling broiled oysters, lobster rolls, smash burgers, meaty grouper fish & chips, and BBQ shrimp that could hold its own among New Orleans’ finest. Vendors include BOCA Latin Kitchen, MELT Gourmet Sandwiches and Mac N’ Cheese, and Calavera Tacos, as well as Pearl & Horn-a fast-casual surf & turf concept from the acclaimed local chef behind upscale George Bistro + Bar. Photo by Amanda CripeĪround the corner is The Garden at Palafox + Main, a covered outdoor food hall outfitted with airstream trailers, a daiquiri-slinging bar, and all manner of comfort foods. Coupled with its tapas-centric menu (think Spanish crab melts, buttery soda bread, and Cubano-inspired pork and plantain “pies”), it’s got the feel of a European cafe where patrons take extended wine-fueled lunch breaks. Right next door is Carmen’s Lunch Bar, a warm, intimate space with a lively patio and a U-shaped indoor bar next to the small open kitchen. Come evening, it’s out with the fast-casual and in with the hard-to-snag tasting menu reservations for Troubadour, an ever-changing three-course prix fixe experience that sets up shop in Bodacious on weekends, providing an intimate, unique space in which to enjoy things like red shrimp bisque with saffron-braised leeks or Wagyu beef Wellington. This is most apparent downtown and along main thoroughfares like Palafox Street, where seemingly every storefront bustles with diners and barflies.Īt the nexus of it all is Bodacious-a community keystone and catchall restaurant-market hybrid for casual breakfasts, candlelit dinners, cooking classes, and stocking up on esoteric olive oils you never knew you needed-where they offer Southern-inspired bites like andouille sausage quiche and creamy grits flecked with Gouda, green onion, and roasted corn. Pearl & Hornĭine on everything from fresh seafood to Waygu beefįor a city with one-sixth the population of Orlando, Pensacola has a staggering amount of high-quality, independent restaurants per capita. Here’s everything that’ll make this your new favorite Floridian city. Over the course of its subsequent 450 years of existence, all this history, heritage, and character has colored Pensacola into the kaleidoscopic cultural sleeper hit it’s become, offering phenomenal energy, outdoor recreation, seaside dining, and lore unlike anything else in The Sunshine State. It’s all indicative of the fact that Pensacola became America’s very first settlement in 1559 (technically pre-dating attention hog St. While downtown may channel a mini-New Orleans, other parts of the seaside town feel more far-flung: The Historic Pensacola Village, a smattering of timeworn homes, museums, and cottages that look more like a set dressing for witch trials from The Crucible than your typical Floridian city. A stroll through the downright pastoral downtown feels like moseying through a far-cleaner French Quarter, complete with intricate iron railings, colorful cottages, and restaurants slinging gumbo and hurricanes. Much of its architecture and cuisine feels more akin to Louisiana than Florida. With a population a smidge above 50,000, Pensacola feels like a peaceful beachside gem, with all the benefits of big-city amenities minus the impossible-to-get-into restaurants or horrendous traffic. But what it lacks in Mickey Mouse and South Beach (which frankly might be for the best), it more than makes up for in vibes that conjure dreams of New Orleans or even Salem, Massachusetts-all while Navy jets soar dramatically overhead. ![]() Hugging the Gulf Coast and flanked by sandy beaches so snow-white the shore looks like a balmy blizzard, Pensacola-the westernmost city on the Florida panhandle-often gets overshadowed by its well-trod compatriots: your Miamis, your Tampas, your Orlandos. ![]()
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