Smiling Fish Cafe, Santa Rosa Beach

Being a local of Santa rosa beach i love eating at the Smiling fish Cafe. I am always bringing visitors there when they come in town. The food has always been really fresh and served promptly. The grouper taco is my favorite thing to eat there, but I have often tried the daily specials which have been awesome. The staff is always very friendly whenever i am there.

Smiling Fish is the best spot on Scenic 30A for open air dining. The lunch specials are outstanding, with lots of seasonal fresh vegies. I usually pick one paired with grilled fish, and try not to let anyone see me lick the plate! My husband thinks the grouper sandwich is so good he can't pass it up. Owner George Barnes and staff are great.

We had a wonderful meal at the Smiling Fish Cafe. The staff was very helpful and the atmosphere was fantastic. We ordered Calamari as an appetizer and it was wonderful. It had a sweet and sour sauce that was splendid. I ordered the Crispy Duck with a salad and rice and it was absolutely delicious. My wife ordered the Fish Platter Special (Red Snapper) and it too was delicious. The bread pudding was the best I've ever had, just don't tell my Mom. :) Great food, great atmosphere, great wait staff, no complaints here. I highly recommend The Flying Fish Cafe.

We are local residents of 30A and have dined here several times a week, including locals night, since September 2007. However, today's experience changed everything. My wife had the Chicken Tortilla Salad and found a rusted metal bracket about the size of a quarter in the salad. Upon bringing this to the owner's attention, he seemed to be more concerned with explaining what the object was instead of offering an apology. Outrageous, don't you think? Thus, we left after paying for the meal and with no apology. Needless to say, we won't be back.

I want to say that this is a restaurant that i go to everyday almost because it near my place of employment and the servers and the cook and even the guy in the dish pit are excellantly skilled at their jobs. They are always exveptionally happy, and they make my visit ,as a pregnant woman , off the charts outstanding!!!!! I think they deserve a raise!! All of them !