12 Best Restaurants In Panama City Florida

Wondering where to find the best restaurants in Panama City? This Panama City food guide shares twelve of our favorite places to eat in Panama City, Florida. 

Panama City restaurants don’t impress at first sight. They take a while to fall in love with. So keep an open mind, swipe right on strip malls, tired buildings, and weathered venues, and steer yourself to places that ditch the beauty of the beach for a food-first paradise.

Like many, I came to Panama City for its Gulf-fresh seafood, waterside meals, and sun-kissed patios. But I left (as many also do) with memories of places far from the shore and deep within the city.

This list is a roundup of those places. From breakfast to dessert, here are our top picks for the best restaurants in Panama City!

Breakfast

The Bagel Maker

There’s a charm to The Bagel Maker: a sunny facade as bright and yellow as a New York City taxicab, friendly service and smiling faces (these are bagel folks, after all), made-from-scratch bagels doled out every morning, six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

The Bagel Maker’s Lox And Capers is the order to note; the capers are a briny loud horn, a not-so-subtle amplifier for salty salmon. And then there are the shop’s Everything Bagels, perfectly dense slices crackly from double-sided seasoning.

The Press Downtown

With charging stations, comfortable tables, and ample laptop room, The Press intends to be a work tunnel for morning study sessions and long nine-to-five days. But I found the ambiance more relaxed, easygoing, and socially driven than expected. The Press is cozy and intimate; conversations spill between couples on dates, friends getting together, and at-work professionals navigating mid-day Zoom calls.

The downtown location is particularly feel-good. Oversized Scrabble letters spell out The Press (thirteen points). A long brick wall warms the cafe. Light blue cabinets and merch-lined shelves reel in a homey mood. Coffee flights are served at this address, too—mini mason jars brim with seasonally-inspired cold brews and cold foam and iced lattes.

Alice’s On Bayview

Alice’s On Bayview is one of the most popular brunch restaurants in Panama City. Crowds pack into this small, picket-fence-white bayside joint early on Sunday mornings. Table-side remarks entangle as more and more guests slide into chairs. Voices rise and rise, and at some point, Alice’s feels like a roar. But with Smoked Tuna Dip that’s heavy and creamy, delightfully citrusy mimosas, and (even better) tomato-rich bloody marys, Alice’s On Bayview is an easy historic St. Andrews favorite.

Lunch

Local Steamer

To-go is the way to order Local Steamer’s Famous Seafood Platter, a hefty box that tests your arm strength. Snow crab, seasoned potatoes, corn on the cob, and thick sausage weigh down the carton. On the drive back to your hotel (or home), the scents (of strong ocean breezes, warm spices, and Old Bay-style seasoning) tease you. So have your Netflix marathon pre-queued up; you’ll want to dig into Local Steamer’s seafood platter as fast as you can, capitalizing on the warmth of the dish.

Long crab legs – stout with sweet-knit crab meat – gleam from melted butter. Gently curled shrimp are firm and tangy from a squeeze of fresh lemon. Potatoes sit at the bottom of the tray, softening from the hot gush of seafood condensation. Local Steamer’s seafood platter is a splittable and satisfying dish worth trying in Panama City Beach.

Finns Island Style Grub

Situated in Little Village, Panama City’s boho, artist community, Finns Island Style Grub is one of the most relaxing lunch restaurants in Panama City. Find a spot to eat outside, under thatched beach umbrellas or in dinky lawn chairs. Check out the deck overlooking a small pond.

If you visit at the right hour (events listed here), you’ll hear the upbeat bops of live music, loud and clear, as singers press close to mics. Ask for the Ahi Tuna Tacos (one of Finns’ most consistent menu items) – seared tuna, folded between two corn tortillas, twined with spring mix (less earthy from honey) and cabbage (spicy from sriracha).

Josiah’s Southern Cooking

Sharolyn Gaines’ soul food restaurant in Panama City, an old-fashioned eatery with cafeteria-style chairs and tables, is unstuffy and unfussy. The walls are minimally adorned, so it’s easy to focus on the food: addictively tender (and just a little greasy) oxtails, crispy fried pork chops, and soft collard greens.

Snacks & Dessert

Andy’s Flour Power-Cafe Bakery

Andy’s Flour Power-Cafe’s bakery case (to the right after you enter) will draw you in. Rows of cookies slide one on top of the other. Bands of icing stripe cinnamon rolls. But the pistachio muffins are what you want. You’ll spot them quickly. Andy’s Flour Power-Cafe’s pistachio muffins are radioactive green, an unsparing color reminiscent of cartoon aliens and UFOs. The taste is otherworldly, with mildly nutty, earthy undertones.

Another favorite? Andy’s French Toast – thick, crispy, and sticky sweet from brown sugar batter.

Riviera Creamery

At Riviera Creamery, flavors like Raspberry Truffle and Salted Caramel Pretzel fill big white tubs of ice cream. Vanilla, waffles, and caramelized sugars perfume this clean, family-friendly Panama City Beach ice creamery, so you can’t leave empty-handed. Take your cone down to the beach (if it lasts that long) for a sweet taste of Florida summers.

Firefly

Firefly is one of the hottest restaurants in Panama City Beach. An ultra-fine dining experience spearheaded by Dave Trepanier and Chef Rob Burgess, Firefly is chic and romantic. You can dine by an old oak tree, strings of soft lights wound around its aged trunk. The mood is seductive and dazzling, perfect for a date night.

There’s a lot to love about Firefly’s menu, but I’m including it in this section as a reminder: don’t forget dessert. Firefly’s vanilla and white chocolate crème brûlée arrives tableside torched. White-hot waves and blue-tipped flames blaze upwards, caramelizing the shell.

Dinner

Dat Cajun Place

Dat Cajun Place is the loud, proud Cajun dinner spot Panama City locals recommend to tourists. So inside, you’ll find legions of tired families, feet cramped after long travel days, smelling like sand and sweat, waiting for a filling meal. Televisions flip channels. Football games play. College flags drape down from the ceiling. Live music bubbles up from the side deck. There’s more entertainment, too – just enough to strip the pressure to make small talk, entertain, and accommodate. Don’t split a meal (even though portion sizes are large); this is the time to order Dat Cajun Place’s cheesy, spiced Rockefeller Baked Oysters for yourself.

Hunt & Gather

Hunt & Gather is the Panama City Beach restaurant locals keep to themselves. I get it. Hunt & Gather is nice. It’s tucked away near a Dollar General and Post Net, in a strip mall complex where you’d expect a laundromat, not a sleek bar counter lit by Edison bulbs. But trust me, Hunt & Gather’s offerings arrive dreamily plated and brazenly carnivorous, slaughtering any doubts about Panama City Beach’s restaurant scene.

Dishes here feel fully realized. Yes, their brussel sprouts are what you wish your mom made, but the Elk Burger and Wild Boar Bolognese (which, I admit, I tried because of my childhood love of Obélix) convey more of the restaurant’s allures. Hunt & Gather’s Wild Boar Bolognese is magnetic. Think ribbons of hand-made pasta, ground boar tender from a slow cook, and creamy sauce sharpened by Pecorino cheese. 

Captain’s Table

Go to Captain’s Table for an early dinner. Although Captain’s Table’s atmosphere remains fun and casual into the night, its most famous dish (grouper throat) sells fast. You’ve been warned. Captain’s Table’s fried grouper throats have a cult following. The meat is underrated, soft, and sweet. Captain’s Table’s grilled groupers carry even more flavor – delicate, spiced, and graciously salted, with overtones of onions and bell peppers.

What are your favorite restaurants in Panama City? Let me know in the comments below! This is by no means a comprehensive list and I love hearing about your experiences.