Our Favorite Places to Eat on 30A

For Spring Break this year we threw around a few ideas on where we wanted to go and what we wanted to and we kept coming back to returning to 30A! We had wanted to go for a long time and last summer was the first time we made it up there (its about a 7 hour drive from Sarasota) and we absolutely fell in love with staying in Rosemary Beach and exploring 30A.

I did a full recap last summer on our trip there and you can find that HERE and for spring break we pretty much did similar things which is what I think we loved most about 30A. There is just enough to do to stay busy but not enough to do where it feels like a trip versus a vacation. You know what I mean? For us, a trip is so busy trying to see and do all and a vacation is more relaxing. 30A for us definitely feels like a vacation and we just love it so much.

Instead of doing a full recap of our week there since we did similar things to last time, I thought I would recap our favorite places to eat along 30A. We ate at some of the same places we did last summer and tried a few new ones as well.

Okay first up we have a fan favorite, The Donut Hole for donuts and breakfast! We have eaten here several times at the Inlet Beach location (walking distance from Rosemary Beach) and every time it is great.

The donuts are fresh and delicious and the breakfast is your typical diner breakfast but very good and well priced. You can get donuts or food to go or eat there and while there is usually a line, it goes by really fast every time we have been there.

Do yourself a favor and get the glazed donut, it pairs perfectly with the coffee!

I literally dream about this iced coffee, it is hand down the best I have ever had and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a cup when we got to Rosemary. There are a few locations but do yourself a favor and grab a latte from Amavida Coffee when out and about.

We go to the Rosemary Beach location in the center of town and the staff is so friendly, it is so cute inside and gosh, did I mention the coffee is incredible? Must grab.

What I love about staying in Seacrest (between Rosemary and Alys Beach literally its a blip on the map between the 2 towns) is that you can walk back and forth between all three towns. Over spring break we walked to Raw and Juicy in Alys Beach and loved it so much.

We all got fresh juice since we already had breakfast at the condo and not only was the walk enjoyable and he juice delicious but the location is so nice and they have tons of seating outside. It was beautiful when we went so the girls enjoyed the swing and small playground and Joe and I got to chat nearby.

Highly recommend for a quick pit stop and the food looked great too but we didn’t try that.

Another find in Alys Beach, The Citizen is my absolute favorite on 30A.

We ate there last summer and every single thing we had was 10/10 fantastic and I couldn’t wait to return. The atmosphere is amazing, the staff is well trained and awesome and the food is just like nothing I have had before, I love it that much.

We returned for spring break and it was just as amazing of an experience and it somewhere that we will absolutely be eating every single time we go to 30A.

Note, it is one of the pricier places to eat but worth every single penny.

If you are looking for a causal place to eat, look no further than Cowgirl Kitchen in the heart of Rosemary Beach. We have sat outside both times and I highly recommend it, even when it is hot. Sitting outside in what feels like Europe, people watching and enjoying the breeze from the ocean which isn’t too far away is just amazing and the food is great too.

This is one of the girls favorite places and the menu is super kid friendly.

If you are needing a quick meal to go or in, Pizza By The Sea is amazing. We ordered one day and ate by the pool and it was great. This was their GF/DF pie and it was one of the best that I have had.

I will say, I did hear that someone was buying them out so I am not sure that this will continue to be a staple in Seacrest (right in Peddlers Pavilion) but it is such a great pie and is a great option when you need something quick and easy.

Lola is another restaurant in Seacrest, Peddlers Pavilion and is labeled as coastal italian and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The calamari is probably the best I have ever had with the fried veggies and peppers in with it, we’ve had it both times we went and its something I look forward to each time.

When I was researching places to eat this wasn’t on any blog that I read and I couldn’t believe it. We kind of stumbled upon it when we first went and it was such a great find.

I will mention you order at the counter and the sit, they bring you the food but you do have a waiter at your table like a typical restaurant. I don’t mind it but it isn’t Joe’s favorite experience but he loves the food so it’s worth it.

Okay a few dessert options we loved was The Sweet Peddler (pictured at the top of the blog post) in Peddler’s Pavilion, The Candy Shop (pictured below) in Watercolor and Charlie’s Donuts in Alys Beach pictured above.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong grabbing candy, ice cream and treats at any of the places but these are a few we tried and enjoyed!

George’s is also located in Alys Beach, on the border of Alys and Seacrest and we didn’t get to try it last summer but did on spring break and we really enjoyed it.

It is one of the top places blogs recommend and I will say, I didn’t think it was as amazing as everyone says but I did enjoy it if that makes sense.

I had the lobster quesadilla so maybe I would order something different next time because Joe and the girls loved it.

One of the days we were there we had a rainy day so we poked around town a bit and ended up stopping unplanned at Amigos 30A in Inlet Beach (again, on the border of Rosemary and totally walkable on a nice day).

This is a pair of restaurants and the other half of this mexican kitchen was an italian restaurant called Amici 30A. The owner is a family who owns both and it is such a fun place. We decided to try Mexican since we already had italian and it did not disappoint.

They have tons of options for tacos which is what I got and their chips were light and crisp and just so good. We all agreed this was one of our favorite food spots of the trip.

Bud and Alley’s is located in Seaside right on the beach so the views from the top deck are stunning. We ate there last summer and during spring break and loved it both times.

Seaside is really crowded in our opinion and we tried to eat at Pickles but the line was so long and not moving. Bud and Alley’s is so good, the salad is so fresh and the apps are amazing! Highly recommend.

Located in Rosemary Beach the Havana Beach Rooftop was new to us this spring break.

We ordered a bunch of apps since it was getting later in the afternoon and we didn’t want to ruin dinner and the apps were 10/10 amazing! The wings and loaded fries were out favorite and we can’t wait to recreate these fries at home.

I will say, the service wasn’t so great when we went, they seemed a little under staffed but the food was worth the time.

LaCo was another Seacrest Beach find that we loved.

The chips, salsa, quesadillas, tacos made this an easy win in our book.

They have indoor and outdoor seating and it is a great casual lunch or dinner spot we loved.

Last but not least, we tried Red’s in Grayton Beach and it was awesome!

They don’t take reservations (or at least didn’t when we went) but it was worth the wait.

The atmosphere was so much fun, their was live music, the menu is just what you see here and for good reason, they have a small menu with big taste and the portions were crazy big.

I will say the parking is pretty nonexistent since it is right at the beach with a few other places but there is parking across the main 30A highway and a free trolley to get you back and forth!

Okay whew! That was a lot and I feel like I am forgetting a few places but if you are taking a trip to 30A this will hopefully get you started to have an amazing culinary experience.

I will say the food is top notch in our opinion along 30A. It is fresh and just amazing pretty much anywhere that we went and we are excited to return again and try some new places next time.

A few notes I will say about 30A Spring Break…

• We preferred it in the summer versus in the spring. It was less crowded in the summer than on spring break the week that we went and that made a difference in wait times, etc since most places don’t take reservations.

• The weather for spring break is hit/miss which we don’t mind sine we live in Florida. Some days it was cold and some days warm, it was just all over the place so be prepared for that.

• There is a curfew in most of the towns for 18 and younger, typically 8pm but I did see that Seaside started a 6:45 curfew the week after we left.

• The water is crystal clear and beautiful in both looks and temps in the summer and not so much in the spring. The water was ice cold and murky so just keep that in mind as well if you book for spring

Overall, we had the best time and the food was definitely the top of our list as you can see!!!

Any questions? Let me know in the comments, I would love to help!

Any recommendations for when we go back? We hope to make this a yearly trip for us and would love to add to our list of places to try!