We love Gulf Shores, Alabama. It is part of an island off the southern coast of Alabama extending into the Gulf of Mexico with beautiful white sand beaches. It is a tourist town but with small town hospitality. “Small town, Big beach” is our tag line. Chip and I have a house in this town, and since we are here fairly often, we decided it was a good place to blog about so that our friends that have never been could enjoy some of our favorite places to eat. This page is about lunch places.
Our favorite lunch place list includes Kitty’s Kafe again (it was on our breakfast page also). They have a “meat and three” offering on their menu. (For those of you who don’t know what that means – it is literally a choice of one of several meats and then a choice of three vegetables from the menu). Kitty’s fried pork chops are amazing. They also have a great roast and chicken pot pie. The “smothered” options are usually pork or chicken in gravy over rice and are so good. They also have wraps, sandwiches and homemade soups. They have a wide variety on the menu and everything is good.
Another great choice is Bahama Bob’s. They are actually on the beach. Turn right at the Hangout and go less than a mile – it’s on the beach side. Their seafood is great. The shrimp, the white fish and the pecan flounder are all excellent. My family (except for me because I don’t love “hot” foods) loves the buffalo popcorn shrimp – (get your fries on the side or the sauce will make them soggy). I love their grilled shrimp and grilled white fish options. They have a great burger too! In the summer, you need to get there early or late. There can be long waits, but they are really good.
My family also loves Hog Wild Beach and BBQ. They are right on Gulf Shore Parkway across from the water park. They have really great smoked meats especially the chicken and a great selection of barbeque sauces – try several. There are also good sides, especially their fries and macaroni and cheese and potato salad.
We have a new place we love called The Sloop – under the bridge near Acme Oyster House. It is literally a dive bar and always full of locals. It is small and you need to get there early at lunch time or wait until after the lunch rush. They have really good cheese steak sandwiches in really great bread – both steak and chicken are awesome! They also have locally home made tortillas, so the tacos and quesadillas are also excellent. (You have to be early to get these, they sell out fast.) Order the boat of fries – really good skinny fries. (And its not on the menu but the fried chicken sandwich is the best I have ever had.)
Another great choice is The Shrimp Basket and they have a lot of locations so there will be one close to where you are. They serve excellent fried popcorn shrimp in baskets with fries. (Some days it is all-you-can-eat) I also like the grilled shrimp dinner. They have hush puppies, corn nuggets (fried corn in batter) and a cole slaw with little tiny shrimp in it. You can usually get in pretty quickly depending on which one you visit and when.
Tacky Jack’s also has multiple locations but the one in Gulf Shores has great seating overlooking the canal. We like their burgers and fried shrimp tacos for lunch. Usually my daughter and I will each order one of those and split them so we can have some of both. Their Mexican Garbage nachos need to be shared and are amazing!
One very unique place for lunch or dinner is The Gulf in Orange Beach. It is unique because it is made out of cargo containers and it is located right at the Pass where boats are passing through from the bay to the Gulf. One of the cargo containers is a bar, one is to order crab legs and oysters and tacos and the other is for the famous burgers. Everything is really good and it is a very creative outdoor restaurant concept with seating in groups from the patio and porch area all the way down to the wall at the waters edge.
A bit farther away – across the bridge and heading toward Pensacola (we often go by boat) are two restaurants on the water – Sunset Grill` and The Perdido Key Oyster Bar. Both have great views. Sunset Grill has great tacos and fried baskets and one of their sides is cucumbers and tomatoes(which I love). They are only open from March to October and are located at Holiday Harbor Marina. The Oyster Bar is upstairs at a marina at the bridge in Perdido and has great views overlooking the inter-coastal waterway. They have great seafood and salads.
Travelers Tip: Right before you get to the bridge to go to these two restaurants is a food truck that has fantastic seafood. The tacos and shrimp baskets are both amazing. It is called “The Deep Blue Seafood Truck” and is definitely worth stopping if you are down that far.
These next few places would normally be on my dinner list but during the summer when it hard to get in, it is sometimes better to go for lunch.
The Original Oyster House is a great choice for lunch. They have a fabulous salad bar with a lot of choices. (Notice: they might bring you a salad instead due to Covid). Their seafood is great too. I like their grilled daily fish. This is also a fun place to eat. There are stores to visit while you wait all along the deck. There is a also a place to feed the fish and places for photos with the kids.
The Tin Top Restaurant and Oyster Bar is a local favorite – it is back up toward Foley and then left toward Bon Secor. It is a little father out but worth the drive. Again easier to get in for lunch. Our favorite here is the West Indies salad, which is crab meat in a vinegar based dressing over arugula. The seafood is great and we love the crab legs. They are right down the street from where the shrimp boats come in. Their steaks are good too.
Acme Oyster House has a lovely location on the canal and you can sit on their back porch to eat. They have a grilled marinated shrimp dish that is really good – you can get the entree or the salad. The fried fish and shrimp combination is good. They are famous for their po boys. There is one called the “debris po boy” that is roast beef and gravy and all the fixings on an excellent sandwich roll. They are also known for their red beans and their oysters. For dessert, their brownie sundaes are gigantic and delicious!
I know this page sounded like a food blog and I know it is a lot of places but hopefully this will give you some good choices when you come to visit Gulf Shores!