Cafe Thirty A Cafe ThirtyA Cafe Thirty-A Cafe 30 A Cafe 30-A Cafe 30A Beaches of South Walton Seagrove Cafe Thirty-A

Cafe Thirty-A Awards

Panhandle favorite for casual fine dining.
Openings: Dinner Tues.-Sun.

Features


Cafe Thirty-A Restaurant Review:


Café Thirty-A opened in 1995 to serve the Beaches of South Walton's growing population of Prada-sandaled resort dwellers. It has done that admirably, but the roomy, haute beach house-designed eatery also has been at the forefront of Florida's blossoming coastal cuisine craze. Bright young chefs at several high-profile Pensacola and Destin restaurants first came through the kitchen of Café Thirty-A. Today, the restaurant still caters to those who wish to sip froufrou martinis---and the bar has a full menu of them---in shorts before dining on updated Southern fare. Chef Ken Duenas prepares café favorites like the small plate of grilled Georgia quail on creamy grits and sage fritters. An oak-fired oven turns out gourmet pizzas (all hail the grilled chicken with goat cheese) and wood-roasted meats and fish. Regulars declare the banana beignets to be an addictive dessert, but the warm brown sugar apple bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream and “Makers Mark” sauce is hard to pass up.