Boathouse Oyster Bar

If you want good FRESH oysters, great SERVICE and I mean great service and excellent food! This is the place to be. As a Floridian there is no better place for good food, great service, great atmosphere and excellent location.
We have been coming to Destin for years for vacation and never miss this place! This place is a must!

Great food and drinks! Service was awesome and had several recommendations that were great. Definitely recommend this place.

We live in Gulf Breeze and this is our favorite restaurant around here! The service is great and the seafood is even better. They have live music a lot and it’s a really fun place!

We were looking for a tasty place where local’s eat. This little place did not disappoint! The food was flavorful and fresh and the portions where plentiful! We had the freshly shucked to order raw oysters, Action burger which was devoured by the Beu, and the shrimp and oyster dinner (bang sauce on the side) was plenty for 2. Even the fries were on point! All the staff were super friendly :) We will be sure to visit again sometime soon!

If your idea of live music includes listening to an old white dude with a fro make casually racist jokes while he makes you listen to a pre-​recorded set well here you go!
The oysters were drenched in sea water making them just too salty to eat straight– but my fried shrimp sandwich was good. The bloody Mary’s were great at first cause of alcohol but later I realized they were a overly peppery mess. Our waitress was very kind and attentive however.
Mostly the «live» music ruined it for me. He was obviously playing to the crowd (it’s the off season so basically a bunch of white old locals) but the experience just felt gross and left me with a bad feeling about the place. I did like the bras on the ceiling though! Seems like it could be a cool place.

Great food and great view! Right on the water the restaurant overlooks the harbor. You can sit inside or out and when we went on a Wednesday night there was live music which was pretty good. My husband had the raw oysters and I had the cold boiled shrimp. Beware that the shrimp must be boiled with some spicy spices because it did have a little kick to it. Both the oysters and the shrimp were good. Paul was our server and he was very nice and attentive. All in all a really enjoyable place and would certainly come back.

The men went fishing with Jeff Jones (O Sea D Fishing Charters) and caught some delicious Mahi Mahi. As soon as we left the boat dock, we went straight to the Boathouse to have it grilled up for a late lunch. The price per pound for them to cook it INCLUDED slaw, hush puppies, corn and potatoes. We had it blackened and it was AMAZING. It doesn’t get much fresher than going from the ocean straight to your plate in the same day.
The ambiance was very beachy dive bar and the music was great. Dollar bills stapled to the ceilings and walls. We sat outside for the full dive bar atmosphere near the harbor. It doesn’t look like much from the road BUT don’t let that keep you away. It was definitely a great place to eat. The locals KNOW where to go and this one didn’t disappoint. We really enjoyed it!!!
Our next trip the boys will be fishing at the beginning of the trip so we can hit this place more than once.

If you are just looking for some fresh oysters and bottled beer, this would be the place to go. A dozen oysters were around $ 12 which is great for the fresh oysters they serve. i know it wasn’t meant to be an upscale restaurant and more of a casual place on the boardwalk but i dislike being served in all disposable cups, plates, and utensils unless i’m eating at a food court or eating off of food trucks. there’s no excuse for any restaurant to serve their food in any disposable containers or utensils in my opinion. I was disappointed with their portion. Soft drinks come in a tiny disposable 8 oz. plastic cup where most of it is ice. They charge you for softdrink refills unless it’s a sweet tea. A cup of gumbo was basically 4 spoonful and their bowl of gumbo might have yielded just a little more than a cup. Although every restaurant from Fort Walton to Panama City claims that it’s an «award-​winning» gumbo, i’ve been disappointed at every cup of gumbo that i tried. Here, the gumbo didn’t even have any rice.
I had the fried shrimp sandwich and it comes with no sauce of any kind. It’s basically 5 pieces of friend shrimp on a hamburger bun topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. I had to pour hot sauce and cocktail sauce into the sandwich for some flavor. It was mediocre at best. Everything on their menu seemed to be a bit overpriced compared to its portion.
I didn’t get to ask them about the story behind all of the stapled dollar bills and frankly, i really didn’t care. Ceilings had bras hanging from it as well and i definitely didn’t care for the story behind those. Service was bad. After we got our food, the server never came by to refill drinks and when she did, she would only refill drinks if one asked for a refill. Service is basically non-​existent at this place. I know the gulf cost beaches are known to be the playground for rednecks from its surrounding states but when i walk into a seaside restaurant during mid day, i don’t expect to be blasted by country music. Couldn’t converse with my party at the table because they had live country singer blaring through the speaker. It was a little too red neck for my taste.
I would give them one less star but since the oysters were really fresh and yummy and priced reasonably, i gave them an extra star. I would only recommend this place if you are in the mood for oysters. Everything else is overpriced and not worth your money and the place is blazing hot with no AC so be ready to sweat like a hog.

Amazing seafood, live music, and friendly staff! Our first time at the boathouse and we were pleasantly impressed!
Open air, relaxed atmosphere makes this place a must visit! Our waitress suggested the yellowfin tuna blackened and it was AMAZING!
Make sure you go on a Rusty is signing, awesome entertainment. We are visiting for s week, and we will be going back to the Boathouse multiple times.

When you just need a good cold beer and plate full of oysters, this is your place. Live music wasn’t bad either. Keep it simple.

First time in Destin, first restaurant to try. It’s not a bad experience but it’s not a great one neither, just «eh» disappointing. I don’t know how Florida people eat here but I expect the food to be super fresh and I better be stuffed if I paid twice as much for the price of a regular dish. I paid a total of $ 115 for 3 dishes and a soup. The food was fresh but everything was fried so the freshness went from a 10 to a 3. If you can buy the food from the local market and cook it like the restaurant or even better than it’s very disappointing. So to sum up overpriced, oily, small portion.

If you don’t like this place, you are an uptight a-​hole. It’s a bar on the gulf that has bras and dollar bills hanging from the ceiling. It’s unkept appearance is all part of the charm. The raw oysters are FABULOUS! I read a review that someone didn’t like the fact that the oysters had small clams on them and they appeared dirty. THEY WERE PULLED OUT OF THE WATER!!! If my oysters were polished and didn’t have sand or little clams on them, I’d be worried. This place weeds out the «touristy» families and kids. Good live music too.

Ordered the Mahi Mahi sandwich grilled. What I received was a dry, bland and boring sandwich. You can tell it was a frozen piece of fish. When you expect to order a sandwich or burger, you’d expect French fries as sides, but instead you receive a bag of potato chips. All of that is $ 15.00 which is over priced for what you get.
The server, an Asian lady with a huge flower tattoo on her right thigh, also gave me a bad attitude. Asking questions about their food was not accepted and was despised.
All in all, I will NEVER come back to this over priced and unfriendly places in Destin.

Classic dining experience for a seaside town… not a chain, so great for tourists that want to have a «local» experience. Live music on the deck rafted through the open windows. Rustic setting… like a fish shack. Apparently the locals love it. having all chipped in to rebuild it after a hurricane took out the original structure. Be sure to bring a dollar to write your name on staple to the wall.
Some of the best raw oysters I have had.

This was a favorite spot while in Destin. Great service, laid back atmosphere & most importantly, excellent oysters! We had raw & fried oysters, both were very good and had a great flavor. You can’t beat the prices and the view was relaxing near the water. They have live music later in the afternoon. There are larger tables for families & the new bathrooms were very clean. We’ll definitely be back next time we’re in town.

GREAT ATMOSPHERE! Love this place for oysters, crab claws and COLD beer. We went Sat (first night on vacation) saw Gunner the band-​fantastic music! Went back on Wed night and heard more great music and more crab claws! YUM! Ask for Debbie, she is great!

Cute spot on the harbor with good food. The clientele was a little dicey during spring break this week as we saw a woman in her 60s cold cock a college kid in his face Friday night. They had a decent band and our bartender was very sweet. I’d go back again, but hopefully my next trip will be altercation free…

One of my co workers recommended this place. Sense then I have been here 3 times.
Like the previous reviews, the gumbo does not come with rice, but imo has great flavor.
The cheese fries are great.
The dozen oysters for $ 9.99 is the best deal you find in Destin. I had 4 dozens and all of them have been fresh.
Thank you

My most favorite place in my home town! Perfect vibe, best oysters and gumbo on EARTH. I wish they had more variety in their live music, however. I can only take so much 60’s and 70’s southern rock before I feel like it’s time to go. C’mon guys! Mix it up a little bit for the not-​so-​middle-​aged crowd! ;)
Just a suggestion, maybe take it for a trial spin? Regardless, I am faithfully yours.

NOT A FAN
I found it to be trashy, overpriced and not some place that I would go to get quality food.
Our server was inattentive, was throwing back shots and smoking in between taking tables.
The burgers were overpriced and came with a stinkin’ bag of ruffles (really?) And, the sides were boring (and cold).
Do yourself a favor — if you’re looking to get drunk and partying with the servers, go for it. If you’re looking for good food and service, skip it.