Every year, we get asked a lot of great questions by our clients — questions that only really come up once you’re here. After serving hundreds of guests in 2025, we pulled together the most common ones and updated our answers for 2026.
This is the advice we’d give friends and family before their trip, and we hope they help you while planning your vacation in 2026!
What Restaurants Are Worth Trying?
The Emerald Coast dining scene continues to grow and change, but “new” doesn’t always mean “better.”
Our general advice for vacation in 2026:
- New openings are most enjoyable after they’ve been open several months, once kitchens settle in.
- Spring and early fall are the best times to try newer spots without long waits, but off season may not be the best time to judge quality.
- If a reservation book is wide open in peak summer, that’s often a signal — not a perk.
We serve clients from 30A to Gulf Shores, so not all of these will apply to everyone, but here’s a list of restaurants and eating options we personally love by general area:
30A –
Cafe ThirtyA: always consistent
Pizza By The Sea: Each location we’ve tried is always good, great casual spot
Gallion’s: Great happy hour spot
Destin –
Zen Japanese Grill & Sushi: our pick for quality sushi and reasonable price
Bitterroot: Great food and ambiance
Mimmo’s Destin: a little pricey, but everything was delicious and great quality
Navarre –
Slippery Mermaid: Very best sushi! (We love sushi) And fun beach shack atmosphere
Stripes Pub & Grill: Family and Veteran owned, long time staple, and the food is always good!
Where Y’at Seafood: Hands down best Cajun food on the whole coast (we’ve tried them all)! It’s a little out of the way and a total hole in the wall, but we’ve seen people travel to it from Pensacola and Destin and tell us it was totally worth it!
Pho99: Do not even attempt any other Chinese food, this is the only place worth going, and man! It’s very worth it. Great take out spot.
Andy D’s: This one is actually on the beach and while most beach restaurants are a tourist trap, this one is actually really good. They stay busy though, so there will likely be a wait.
Pensacola –
Pearl & Horn: Everything was absolutely amazing! Best restaurant Josh and I have eaten at in several years for a date night. Service was also outstanding!
George’s: Consistently good, we’ve been multiple times.
McGuire’s: That’s right, in case you didn’t know, there’s one in Pensacola and it’s just as good as the Destin location.
Brother Fox: Great Spanish inspired open fire cooked cuisine.
Gulf Shores/ Fort Morgan –
Emerald Coast Chefs: Shameless plug, yes… but honestly, there isn’t much out there that we love, and especially if you are going to Fort Morgan, even the nearest Publix is a 25-40 minute drive, so either plan to cook at the beach house or let us take care of the shopping, cooking, and clean up so you can enjoy the quiet beach and low key vibe. We did a LOT of events in Gulf Shores in 2025, and it looks like that isn’t slowing down in 2026.
Other Options and Private Chefs:
Publix Deli: Surprisingly great options for grab and go, but the Pub Sub is the real gem if you have time to wait.
La Table De Fe: Chef Fallon is fantastic for wine tasting classes, cooking classes, and brunch options. She prepares everything gluten free and even non gluten free diners hardly notice the difference. Check her out at www.latabledefe.com
Kenji Hibachi Catering: Our recommendation for a Hibachi chef that comes to you. www.kenjihibachicatering.com
Damiano The Tuscan Chef: Our recommendation for Italian cuisine. www.chefdamiano.com
Sushi by Jeff: The best in-home sushi experience! www.sushibyjeff.com
Pro Tip: We usually recommend planning 2–3 restaurant nights max during a weeklong stay and balancing the rest with in-home dining and eating left overs, especially for larger groups of 10 or more. It keeps vacation relaxed and avoids spending half the trip waiting on tables.
What’s the Best Beach?
True “hidden” beaches are becoming rare, but there are quieter options — if you know when and how to approach them.
What we’ve learned from our clients:
- Early mornings and late afternoons matter more than exact locations. Try planning your excursions and shopping for the mornings and head to the beach in the later afternoon when people start to leave. It’s usually less crowded.
- Smaller public accesses are not automatically less crowded than large parking-lot beaches.
- Staying within walking distance of the beach is often better than chasing “secret” spots.
What Areas Have Changed?
30A: Look, there’s no place quite like 30A for that small beach town vibe and the walkability… But prices are premium on everything and traffic and beach space are always a fight during peak season. The “beach access” fight is a real thing and if the beach is more important to you than shopping or walking to restaurants, I highly recommend looking into other areas along the coast. That being said, most of our clients along 30A reported loving their stay and many come back year after year.
Destin: This town has grown by leaps and bounds. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is the Outlet Mall is more of a gimmick than a place to find great deals, but it’s still great for those looking to do some shopping. Destin remains the place to go if you are looking for easy access to activities outside of just hitting the beach. Chartering fishing trips, renting jet skis, getting out to Crab Island, and dolphin tours are all going to be easier to access while staying in Destin.
Navarre: We may be partial, but this town is hands down the very BEST of the beaches for just enjoying the white sand and emerald water! Of course we have the National Seashore and the Sea Turtle Conservation Center, but our little town has grown a lot in the past few years with more coffee shops and fast food options as well as long time staples, several of which we named above. For those looking to do a little souvenir shopping, we have several little boutiques like The Coral Door, Saltwater Beach Cottage, and Pick-Itz. Pretty much all the restaurants and shops are on the mainland, not on the beach, but it’s still easy and fun to explore. Also, fun fact, we have the longest fishing pier in Florida, and the best avid kayak fishing community on the coast with great fishing off the reefs a couple miles off shore.
Pensacola: It’s important to remember, Pensacola is not Pensacola Beach, so make sure to pay attention to that when booking a house if you are considering this area for the first time. All the restaurants we named above are in Pensacola, not on the beach, and yes, you have to go over 2 bridges to get into the main town, but Pensacola has a lot of rich history and despite what many believe, is actually the oldest town in the United States (August 15, 1559), NOT St. Augustine (September 8th, 1565). Also, if you are going into town, Joe Patti’s is a must stop! It’s one of our most frequented seafood markets and fun fact, the Patti fishing fleet was used to film scenes in Forrest Gump.
Orange Beach/Gulf Shores: Not quite the same shade of emerald waters, but still worth mentioning as there’s lots of scenic Alabama coast and a quieter, low key atmosphere. Orange Beach has more high rises and activities, Gulf Shores/Fort Morgan has more beach houses and less accessible shops and activities. Still, traffic out there is soooo much better than a lot of the Florida beaches.
When Is the Best Time to Visit to Avoid Crowds?
This was one of the most asked questions of 2025 — and for good reason.
Best low-crowd windows for vacation in 2026:
- Jan – beginning of March
- Mid April – Early May
- The last 3 weeks in August and first 2 weeks of September
- End of October – December, excluding Thanksgiving week and the week between Christmas and New Year
While Spring and Fall may seem like “off season” make sure to keep Spring Break and Fall Break in mind, not just for college age kids, but middle and high school as well. Especially along 30A, Spring break for the middle and high school demographic have been surprisingly crazy each year with the county imposing curfews and lots of “incidents” from unsupervised young people.
Pro Tip: Shoulder season guests consistently tell us they enjoyed their trip more — even if they originally planned for summer.
When’s the Best Night to Hire a Private Chef?
This question came up constantly in 2025 — and the answer depends on what kind of trip you want.
Hiring a Chef at the Beginning of Your Trip
Pros:
- Sets the tone for the entire vacation
- Everyone relaxes immediately
- Great for large groups getting settled
- Great for groups who want to enjoy their left overs
Best for:
Families, reunions, longer stays, guests who want to truly unplug
Hiring a Chef on the Last Night
Pros:
- A celebratory finale
- Allows you to focus on packing up
- Ends the trip on a high note
Best for:
Shorter stays or those who aren’t big on enjoying leftovers.
We hope this answers some of the questions you’ve been mulling over for your vacation in 2026! Have a question you don’t see answered? Feel free to shoot us an email at events@emeraldcoastchefs.com and we’ll be happy to help answer if we can. We love helping to make sure your vacation is as memorable as possible!
Here’s another great article to check out if you are looking to visit Gulf Shores for your vacation in 2026. Click here