The Gulf Coast Tables
worth planning a day around.
From a beach café in an old West Beach house to a pub that has stood on the sand since 1956, an oyster bar shucking since 1983 to a waterfront tavern pouring breakfast coffee on the Intracoastal, a brewery with swings in the yard to a café where the rolls come flying across the room — these fifteen tables in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Foley are where we send every guest. Royal reds, fried crab claws, Gulf oysters and sunsets on the side.
Bahama Bob's Beachside Cafe
The closest table to our condos, and one of the friendliest on the coast. Bob Murphy and his friends opened this little café in an old beach house on West Beach over Memorial Day weekend in 1999, and it still feels like somebody's porch with the Gulf in front of it. Order the Bahama Burger — ten ounces of Angus with grilled pineapple, bacon and Swiss — or the coconut shrimp, blackened grouper and a bowl of gumbo, add the fried pickles, and stay for the sunset.
The Hangout
Two and a half acres right where Highway 59 runs into the sand — live music on the stages, a foam pit and a giant sandbox for the kids, and the public beach spread out in front. The menu is made for sharing: peel-and-eat shrimp, the Ultimate Seafood Boil, shrimp po'boys and the Lifeguard burger. Loud, happy and sandy-footed — the place everyone in Gulf Shores ends up at least once.
Pink Pony Pub
Gulf Shores' original beach bar, pouring since 1956 in a building that began life as part of the old Seahorse Cottages. Take a table on the wooden deck right over the sand at Gulf Place, order a frozen drink, a basket of fried Gulf shrimp or a cheeseburger, and watch the beach go by. Children are welcome until nine; after that it belongs to the grown-ups.
Sea-N-Suds
Built right out over the sand a few feet from the Gulf, and serving since 1975 — this is beachfront dining the way it used to be. The gumbo is a family recipe, the royal reds come steamed with drawn butter, the oysters are on the half shell, and the fried crab claws disappear faster than you can order another round. Come for sunset. Hours change with the season, so check before you go.
DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen
One block back from the Gulf, locally owned, and the kind of place families come back to every single year. The house favourite is the pecan-encrusted fresh catch; the kitchen will also cook the day's fish New Orleans, Mediterranean or Caribbean style, and the coconut shrimp and Hawaiian ribeye have fans of their own. A warm, easy dinner three minutes from the condos.
Original Oyster House
Opened in May 1983 by two local families, and proudly the oldest seafood restaurant on Pleasure Island. The oysters are the reason to come — hand-shucked on the half shell or fire-grilled — followed by a bowl of the homemade seafood gumbo and the blackened mahi topped with crawfish tails. Walk the little boardwalk of shops afterwards.
LuLu's Gulf Shores
Lucy Buffett's flagship, sitting right on the Intracoastal Waterway — live music every night, a sandy beach for the kids to dig in, the three-storey "Mountain of Youth" ropes course, and free dockage if you arrive by boat. Start with the award-winning fried green tomatoes and the smoked tuna dip, add fried crab claws and a bowl of chicken and andouille gumbo, and finish with LuLu's famous Bushwhacker.
Tacky Jacks
A coastal Alabama name since 1979, with its Gulf Shores tavern right on the Intracoastal Waterway. It opens early for breakfast and runs all day, so it's the place for a slow morning with boats sliding past the window. Order the shrimp and grits, the Tacky Jacks seafood trio or a fried oyster po'boy — and their famous Bushwacker once the sun is high enough.
Big Beach Brewing Company
Opened in October 2016 by Jim and Julie Shamburger, and the southernmost brewery in Alabama. Twelve taps, every beer brewed in-house — try the Hundred Daze IPA or the easy Rod's Reel Cream Ale — in an open-air taproom with big garage doors, swings in the yard and flatbreads from the kitchen. The perfect late afternoon after a morning on the sand.
Perch
For the night that deserves a little more. Perch sits on the second-floor terrace of The Lodge at Gulf State Park, looking straight out over the Gulf as the sun goes down. Seared Gulf fish with corn and crab chowder, a centre-cut filet or a Delmonico ribeye. Dinner only, Wednesday to Sunday from 5 PM — book ahead for a sunset table.
Lambert's Cafe
The Lambert family has been throwing hot rolls across the dining room since 1942, and the Foley café has kept the tradition flying since 1996. Put your hand up and one comes sailing over — then the servers come round with free "pass-arounds" like fried okra and black-eyed peas. Country-fried steak, BBQ pork steak and portions nobody finishes. Go hungry, and go with the kids.
Doc's Seafood Shack & Oyster Bar
A true seafood shack, and a local favourite since 1984. Doc's "World Famous" fried shrimp is the order, followed closely by the seafood gumbo, steamed royal reds and oysters on the half shell. Caught something yourself? Bring it in and they'll cook your catch. Casual, busy, and exactly what a beach-week dinner should be.
Cosmo's Restaurant & Bar
A chef-driven kitchen with a menu that wanders happily from the Gulf to Japan. The signature is fish wrapped in banana leaf; there are sushi rolls, scallops and hand-cut steaks too, and an outdoor deck with live music in the evenings. From the same owners as Cobalt — a reliable, lively dinner on the way back from The Wharf.
Cobalt, The Restaurant
Tucked beneath the Perdido Pass bridge, with the bay in view from every table and boat slips for anyone arriving by water. The Firecracker Shrimp is the dish it's famous for; the tuna and avocado stack and shrimp fra diavolo are close behind. Come at golden hour and watch the charter boats run home through the pass.
The Gulf
An open-air restaurant and bar built from shipping containers and reclaimed materials beside Perdido Pass, with the Gulf just over the dune. Lounge chairs on the lawn, a breeze off the water, a grouper sandwich or a tuna poke bowl and something cold in your hand. Hours change with the seasons, so check before you make the drive.
Stay where the Gulf slows you down.
Three beachfront condos on one quiet stretch of West Beach — Sand Between Your Toes and Got Flip Flops side by side in Driftwood Towers, and Fabulous Views a short walk down the sand. The Gulf off every balcony, Little Lagoon out the back, and every table on this list within a few minutes' drive. Booked direct, hosted personally by Greg & family, and ready long before you walk in.
View Our Gulf Shores Condos