Great food service and an incredible Owner. This is my local go to spot on the emerald coast. The trigger fish here is off the chain good! Taz read more

We hopped across the street while staying at Waterscape and are so glad we did! The staff and other customers were so nice to chat with. Our family got two kids meals (shrimp and a corn dog), gumbo, baked oysters, and triggerfish. All of the food was delicious. I'm so glad someone else on yelp suggested triggerfish because we've heard of them (husband is scuba certified) but we've surprisingly never tried it. Editing to add: this place was very clean. I know I've said in other reviews that I've grown up in the restaurant industry but it must be noted the tables and chairs weren't sticky, floor was neat, and the bathrooms were great. read more

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Ft Walton old school fine dining at its best. Had a salad and a dozen raw oysters. What else could one want?

10/30/25 first visit. I don't get to this area much, but I'll make sure I stop in at HighTide Island Grill whenever I do! Love the old school atmosphere. Staff were really friendly and the place was pretty busy for an off-season Thursday. It's not a bougie joint, more of a dive bar feel. Went with a dozen oysters and a couple of 30A Beach Blonde Ales. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed! read more

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Yes, we would recommend. I prefer the cab claws sauté but good flavor fried. First time trying the trigger fish. Everyone recap we tried it and it was a treat. The waitress was very friendly. Nice family oriented spot. We'd try again. read more

Everything was deep fried, the food was mediocre. They had some song blaring, staring down the barrel of a 45. My wife asked them to turn it down or off, and the lady well she just laughed at us. I even explained to her that my brother had taken his life with a gun, and we did not want to hear the song while eating with our family and she just laughed and walked away. The hostess. I honestly don't even think she realized what I was trying to tell her she's just one of those people pleasing smiley people that doesn't really care about much of anything. read more

Our second time here, old school steak and seafood. We like the martinis and oysters and sit at the bar. First stop on tonight's progressive dining. We did decide we prefer it when it is dark outside so we get that Jimmy Rockford vibe. Young and capable bartenders. Pablo enjoyed his baked potato which was big enough to feed a crowd. read more

Hightide Island Grill - Pre-Martini Shot! - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Being from Maine, loving seafood, expectations are always high. But not so fast here in the southern climes... this place is "okay" the help are friendly, the atmosphere is pleasant. But the seafood? Scallops were inedible compared to anything Northeast. Shrimp was decent, though over cooked. The Grouper tasted like mediocre haddock. Only the soft shelled crab crab was commendable. And what's the deal with hush puppies? Fried dry balls of cornmeal? Uh-uh. The salad was fresh. Margarita was good (small for 16 bucks)... a 75 dollar meal... gees. Wait to get back to Maine for seafood.... End of story. read more

Fried oysters that are large in size. I use to eat here and recommend it to everyone. Now no fried oysters and the last I got were small.

Came for our anniversary . Was pretty good diner and place . Very big plate of seafood . Just don't like to be interrupted every 5 minutes by the waitress . Other than that good place to eat seafood read more

Hightide Island Grill - #2 - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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Oysters, food and drinks very good. Service was very good considering the situation. Highly recommend for a relaxing evening at a local bar. read more

Don't let the looks fool you ! Dive on in and eat some delicious food And Drinks and they really treat you like family

Service was pleasant and food arrived fast. Fish sandwich of the day tasted good, but was three inches long, the salad was a few pieces of lettuce, one cherry tomato, one onion and the coleslaw was served in a one inch ketchup cup. Not worth $17. There are many other places to choose ... read more

The food was very good! Seafood gumbo was excellent and the blackened shrimp was cooked perfectly! Service was also very good.

The food was pretty good. I had a steak that was delicious and the atmosphere was fun and upbeat. The wait staff was very friendly and I really liked that you could join the waitlist remotely. read more

This place used to be an annual tradition for our family to eat at over the past 10 years, so it is truly sad how much High Tide has gone down hill. The service last time was absolutely terrible - took forever for our server to get to us, and our food came out at wildly different times (my son's dish came out a full :30 after everyone else's). No apology, no nothing. The food has also taken a hit - what was once fresh and delicious has turned into reheated frozen-tasting junk. End of a tradition, we will never go back to Highturd. read more

Absolutely LOVE Hightide! We always sit in the outdoor patio area which is awesome with vintage signage and decor! Then there's the oysters which are always top notch! Their food is always excellent...hot and yummy...with the best hush puppies!! Been going here for years and love it! The staff is helpful and so nice too! read more

Amazing food and service! Will come back again soon! We came with a party of 7 that included a toddler. We called ahead and were seated quickly. Great experience all around and all the food was delicious:) read more

My wife and I ate here on 9/22 for dinner. The menu looks good, reviews were mixed. I wanted oysters and my wife wanted the shrimp and scallop skewers. I ask the waitress if the oysters were running small and she was honest and said they are. I opted for the gumbo and it was good. However my wife's food was under cooked and not good ! She has had an upset stomach now for two days, and it was definitely from the undercooked food. Lesson learned, we will not be back !! read more

Trigger fish dinner was excellent! Hush puppies and coleslaw were divine! Our server was very attentive

We have been coming here for 7 years and tonight the service was horrendous! Let's begin with at least a 10 minute wait for a drink order to be taken, once taken it was the last time we were ever asked for another drink with our glasses empty from our first drink that was ordered. Next my wife ordered half dozen oysters to be delivered before main dish. About 20 minutes later, our food arrives without the oysters. I said my did not get her oysters and I said let's forget about them and Natalie our waitress said ok and immediately ran off from the table. The food was delicious, but the only time she returned was to ask if we wanted desert and I said we would like our check. There was not any concern what so ever about the service, the missed oysters, empty drinks, etc.... All she had to do is just say sorry, I am busy is there anything I can get you. Nothing except a nonchalant attitude. I have never left anything less than at least a 10% tip my average is 25% because my wife was server in high school and college and always made sure I tipped well. Tonight I made a decision that my wife had to think about, but finally agreed. The bill was 122.43 and I handed her 123.00 dollars. Very disappointed with the situation, I hope she improves herself in her position. read more

Food was really good, and the portions were enough to fill you up. They had something for everyone, even with picky appetites. We enjoyed the food so much that we went back for a second night while on our vacation. Natalie W. was our waitress on our first night and was very friendly, attentive without hovering, and made sure our drink glasses were refilled as needed. Will definitely be on our list of places to eat when we go back to Fort Walton. read more

It was fantastic when we arrived early they stayed is immediately. We ordered drinks and fries to snack on while we browsed the menu. Unfortunately the fries were cold and I was afraid it was going to set the stage for the entire meal. But, I was wrong. I had the New York strip, perfectly cooked with a baked potatoes (huge) and my hubby had 2 dozen raw oysters. We will return. read more

Quick service it was an hour before closing, our party was seated immediately. The waitress took our drink and appetizer and was back with our drinks in less than 5 minutes. The food came out fresh and was amazing, Highly recommend the Sampler platter had a bit of everything and was so much food. Price is as you expect, it wasn't as crowded as other spots in the area, and again service is great. read more

Came here upon a suggestion from a coworker. Had the catch of the day, Triggerfish, blackened. It was very good. Everyone at the table got it, some people opted for the stuffed triggerfish, (with crab). read more

Hightide Island Grill - Blackened triggerfish - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

We are locals and eat here pretty regularly. Had dinner there the other night with some friends. I was disappointed in my dinner. I ordered the combo deviled crab and scallops. My deviled crab was so small I ate it in three bites. I bit into what I thought was a scallop only to find it was a crab ball which was very fishy tasting, snd I got three of them.I only had three scallops and my dinner was $31.95. Hush puppies were huge but dry and tasteless. Service was good. I love the character of this old time restaurant. I think the rest of our party was happy with their meal. read more

Great food, great service...and the nostalgic atmosphere and multitude oyster shells with tributes written, makes this a great place we love to frequent! read more

Food was amazing large amount for the price. Super kind waiters and great service.The prices were high when we first looked at it but not too bad the food was definitely worth it. Most of the restaurants around here are not so great but this was definitely our favorite restaurant read more

Excellent seafood. Casual atmosphere. Always a favorite! Been around a long time. A community hallmark.

Great food and Service. The value is excellent. Ambiance is ok. Lots of construction going on.

Food was less than what I expected-service was pretty bad -waitress had bad attitude-no tolerance for children

The food was not very good. My blacked red snapper was barely blackened and it was a very small portion. The service was not very good either. The server came by and asked if I needed another drink but totally ignored my wife's empty glass. For the portions of food served the prices were very expensive.AJs is just around the corner with better food, service and prices. read more

I was told that High Tide is a local institution that has been around forever and all I can say is "with good reason." Super fresh oysters, delicious grouper sandwiches and friendly staff. This is what and old Florida seafood restaurant is. We didn't have any wait time and the food came out so quickly and our server was a hoot. read more

Hightide Island Grill - Oysters - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Guys... we ordered one adult entree and 1 kids entree.. $70! The food was lackluster, scallops tasted fresh from the freezer so did the suspiciously identical sized "deviled crab" (that's a sign it's probably frozen as well) they generously threw a handful of fries and a sauce cup of cole slaw for our meal.. meanwhile the batter on EVERYTHING was falling off and didn't stick to the actual food so it tasted like we had non reasoned and non battered seafood for dinner. Also apparently at this establishment gratuity is a requirement regardless of your preference so our waitress who couldn't seem to locate our table got a nice $12 tip. Absolutely ridiculous that what should have been $40/50 was $70! My advice? SKIP THIS PLACE read more

The food here does not disappoint! The oysters were delicious and fresh. We had the jalapeño with onion and cheese. They were very tasty! We had the special with crab stuffed trigger fish. This was the best meal we had on our week in FWB. We had been years ago and really appreciate all of the improvements that have been down to the property and pleasantly shocked that the carpet in the dining room, although familiar wasn't the dirty nasty carpet we remembered from the past. Nice and clean with no lasting fish smell in the dining room read more

When I walked into Hightide, I was super impressed by the atmosphere and ambience of the restaurant! The hostess was very nice, the bartenders were social and nice, as was our server. Everyone was professional and attentive. The restaurant was clean, nice and cool. The food... so fresh. I had fish of the day: mahi mahi grilled. Baked potato. Cole slaw. Crab bites. 1/2 dozen half shelled oysters. So, so tasty. Highly recommend. read more

Hightide Island Grill - Hot sauce for oysters. - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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My food was great! But my wife's crab dip was very salty! Almost inedible! Our server was kind enough to not charge us for it!

Food was overall good! The ambiance is an old fish shack, which makes since because this area was built on fishing. It's very cute. The service was good. This place is just a little pricy for what you get. Especially whenever it is frozen and not fresh. read more

Hightide Island Grill - This is the seafood combo - Seafood Near Me - Fort Walton Beach, Florida

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Took a flier on coming here after looking at reviews and they seemed favorable. I didn't realize how dated they were. That won't slip by again. If you want to call it service I guess by definition it was service. If you don't want to be in the service business then maybe you should look else where. Took for ever to get drinks and food was slow in coming. The entrees where definitely not worth waiting for but if that is what they offer then so be it. My family dines out often. Especially seafood so I suppose we expect better than what was offered. We did speak with Sandy (Mgr) and I understand the staff now. She seemed very detached and appears to hold no accountability. I do understand the struggles of service businesses, I own one that is 53 years old. There is no excuse when families are spending their money and deserve better. read more

It has been YEARS since I've been to Hightide. When I was in college, we used to trek down to Fort Walton Beach every year for a long holiday weekend, and every year, we always had one dinner at Hightide. I'm personally not a seafood eater, but they have a nice variety of other food on the menu for those who don't want seafood. This time, I was back in town for a work retreat about 6 weeks ago, and we came here for dinner at my request. My coworkers were happy with the fresh oysters and seafood, and we had wonderful service from the staff all night. They seated us outside on the back deck, and we all had great food, great drinks, and a great time! read more