We spent our wedding anniversary in Florida while we were on vacation. My cousin, John, and his wife, Bonnie, wanted to take us out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Bonnie suggested an upscale restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach by the name of the Old Florida Fish House. We really didn't want anything fancy, but Bonnie insisted. "This is our anniversary treat for you guys," she said after we mildly protested. We hopped in the car and made our way to the Old Florida Fish House.
The Old Florida Fish House was opened in 2005 by partners Charles Morgan and Cary Shahid. Shahid had another popular restaurant in Destin - the Ocean Club. But Morgan was sort of an restaurant icon along the Emerald Coast as the founder/owner of Harbor Docks.
Charles Morgan had moved to Destin in the mid-70's to become a commercial fisherman, but he found that there was really no place for he and his co-workers to go and get a beer and some fresh seafood after work. He opened Harbor Docks in a small shack in 1979 and the restaurant eventually grew from a one room, six-picnic table restaurant to a large restaurant on Destin's harbor. Morgan also runs five other restaurants as well as a commercial fishing business that supplies fresh fish to over 40 restaurants along the Emerald Coast.
Morgan sold his stake in Old Florida Fish House to Shahid a few years ago and we were told on our visit that earlier this year Shahid had sold Old Florida Fish House. The person we talked to didn't tell us who the new owner was.
The Old Florida Fish House is located on the east side of East Lake, a small freshwater lake that drains into the Gulf of Mexico. (see map) It is located in a small shopping complex just off Highway 30A, the main drag along the Emerald Coast in South Walton County.
Coming into the place we were greeted by a hostess standing behind a half-circle marble-topped counter. A curio cabinet was directly behind her with a large fish sculpture hanging above it. It was a pretty elegant welcome to the restaurant.
The bar area was off to the right of the hostess area. The bar top was a thick fitted wood slab with multiple coats of clear lacquer. It was actually one of the nicest looking bars that I'd ever seen. The small bar area also had a small stage and I understand that they'll have bands and musicians play in there primarily on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
As the hostess was taking us to our table, we passed a 3-sided sushi bar that looked kind of interesting. I thought about possibly getting some sushi for an appetizer until I saw the prices. They were pretty proud of their sushi at Old Florida Fish House.
We were seated at a table along the window that looked out on to East Lake and given menus. The dining room was rather nice with white table cloths topped with a fabric top. Pictures of boats and fishing companies from over 50 years ago were on the walls of the dining room.
Our server, Damien, came over to great us and tell us of a couple off the menu specials they had that evening. The items on the menu were pretty sparse, but we were told that had a little bit to do with the recent change of ownership and the dynamics of bringing a new kitchen staff up to speed. In addition to the seafood dishes they had on the menu, Old Florida Fish House also had steaks and chicken dishes. I was definitely there for the seafood.
My meal consisted of the catch of the day special that was a blackened red snapper served on a bed of new potatoes and cheese grits along with wilted spinach on the side with three grilled shrimp. There was something on the top of it, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. It was some sort of a formed vegetable medley. I had been getting a lot of Cajun style food when we were on vacation as I figured that we were pretty close to Louisiana. And it didn't disappoint - the Cajun spices were zippy in taste and went very well with the tender and flaky red snapper.
Cindy got basically the same thing as I did - the red snapper fresh catch special - only she had hers sauteed in butter. We were talking about news reports from last year about how an amazingly high number of fish that were labeled as red snapper weren't really red snapper but some other fish. My cousin said that the restaurants and fisheries around here don't do that. "If it says red snapper on the menu at any of the good places around here, you can pretty much guarantee its red snapper," he told us.
My cousin's wife got the seafood pot pie - a flaky shell filled with seafood in a cream sauce. She said it was very good. They must have had a lot of spinach and new potatoes in the kitchen because her dinner came with those, too.
My cousin decided that he wanted to get the chicken breasts that were infused with tasso and tomato sauce. Both breasts were good sized and he knew he wouldn't be able to eat both of them. He was able to box one up and take it home with him. He, too, got new potatoes and wilted spinach with his chicken breasts.
I thought my meal was fine enough. It wasn't outstanding, but it was far from bad. And the service Damien provided was fine, as well. I think we went to a restaurant under new ownership that was still trying to find its way. But as far as a nice and elegant music on our anniversary, we were pleased with what we had at Old Florida Fish House. I'm sure they'll get their sea legs soon enough and find their way.
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