The Shrimp Boat Restaurant in Panama City Beach, FL is a blast from the past as it was built in the 1950’s as a small restaurant right on the water serving up fresh seafood. It was popular with the locals as well as visitors that found out about it, but over the years the family-owned restaurant closed its doors in the 1980’s and was torn down in 2002. Loren Smith, the son of the original owner, vowed to resurrect the original appeal of The Shrimp Boat Restaurant and build “the darndest marina and restaurant in that very spot.” In the summer of 2009, that dream came true with what is quickly growing into one of the best places to eat seafood in Panama City Beach, Florida.
The new Shrimp Boat Restaurant is 310 feet long, 3 stories high with over 24,000 sq. feet and is modeled architecturally after a 19th-Century Cuban Cigar Factory. Along with the restaurant is a small marina that houses a few shrimp and charter boats.
As for the food, The Shrimp Boat Restaurant has a wide variety of seafood dishes as well as some other meals for those who do not necessarily prefer seafood. For appetizers, the she-crab soup is fantastic and made fresh daily with white cream, fresh lump crab meat, sherry, and white pepper. It’s some of the best she-crab soup available in Panama City Beach. Also, the Flash Fried Cheese is incredible.
Moving on to dinner, there are plenty of incredible tasting items to choose from. If you didn’t get the she-crab soup for an appetizer, then a good choice is the Stuffed Shrimp, which comes with a seafood stuffing and drizzled with she-crab soup over it…amazing flavor! Another good choice is the Coconut Shrimp, which has an unique flavor all its own. As we mentioned, there is plenty to choose from and we haven’t had a bad meal there yet!
View the complete menu.
*INSIDER TIP*
If you’re looking for a restaurant to view a beautiful Gulf sunset from, we wouldn’t necessarily suggest The Shrimp Boat Restaurant. It does have a nice view, but there are only about two tables in the entire restaurant where you can see the sunset well. The interior, though, is beautiful and makes for a nice dining experience and evening out. Also, the food is outstanding and definitely worth a dinner night.
The Shrimp Boat Restaurant is open for dinner daily 4:30pm and does not accept reservations. The dress is resort casual.
Shrimp Boat Restaurant
1201 Beck Ave
Panama City, FL 32401-1458
(850) 785-8706
theshrimpboatrestaurant.com
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