Grouper sandwich is fantastic, but the staff wasn't takin Covid as seriously as you'd hope. Pre pandemic this was definitely the spot to sit and eat some fantastic fish. The parent restaurant Angelos has more traditionally prepared food and great atmosphere, but this place is great for casual dining and modern twists. read more

This place is an oasis! There is not much in this area, but this place is a no-frills, casual hangout with great local (and some imported) seafood! A cold beer and onion rings (really, they are to die for) is my favorite day off treat!! The only negative is that popcorn shrimp (imported) come on most of their dishes like appetizers, tacos, and Poboys... I learned this the hard way... BUT... for 3$ more, you can substitute fresh, ahhmazing local shrimp to any dish that comes standard with popcorn shrimp! Of course, their $20 shrimp dinner (and such) already includes these local bad boys! So no need to sub. The shrimp poboy on a burger bun (they are nice and soft and brioche-y) with extra pickles, fries, and cheese grits are a REAL treat! Just GO FOR IT! You won't regret it! read more

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We ended up eating here twice on our week long stay in the area. The food is great. The service was great. But the only 2 words you need to remember are Shrimp. Tacos. The first night we went, I had a platter of blackened grouper, shrimp & scallops w/ some cheese grits. It was all delicious. However, my wife had ordered the shrimp tacos, and they were amazing. I found myself craving them a couple of days later and had to have them, so back we went. They are absolutely packed with shrimp and just all around fantastic. Be sure to get some red butter to add to your cheese grits & hush-puppies! If you're in the area, stop in at least once. You won't be disappointed! read more

Tropical Trader - Shrimp. MF'n. Tacos! - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Would love to give this little place more stars. Clean and friendly, the food is good. Staff is friendly and efficient. Our tea glasses were never empty for long. I had the tropical trader platter with the broiled flounder, fried shrimp and Greek scallops. I ate every bite! Cole slaw was tasty, not too sweet, not too much vinegar. My spouse order the local platter. It had a delicious catfish, shrimp and deviled crab. If you get the deviled crab, you will want to know it tastes like Tabasco sauce. Everything else we had was perfectly cooked. It's a gem in the middle of nowhere. read more

Went to dinner at 4:45. Parking lot had plenty of cars, but many must have been the workers. Wasn't too crowded when we walked in. Restaurant had a dive look/feel to it. Drinks were good. I had the Deviled Crab while my husband had the flounder. If you are looking at their menu or various sites, know that prices have gone up. The crab went from $16 to $26! The flounder price increased by $4. The flounder was decent. The Deviled crab was gross. I ordered it grilled. It was greasy and full of onions. The crab could not be seen nor tasted. If I'd go back I'd order the drinks, fries, and Greek potatoes. They were all very good! I'd sit outside as well so I couldn't watch how they washed the glasses (or rather rinsed them!) The service was good. Food was hot. read more

I was a bit skeptical when my husband pulled into this little shack of a restaurant but because he loves a local mom and pop restaurant experience we stopped. The ambiance was a bit dark but the fish tanks were very clean so asked the server what she recommended and we went with the Tropical Trader Burger and Fish Tacos. Both were very good. The burger was actually amazing and my husband was blown away with the tacos. It was a solid 3 experience. Needs to be cleaned up a bit in the parking area and if the waitstaff wore face masks to protect their customers I would have bumped it up a star. Great food. read more

Fabulous! Food is delicious! Service was friendly and knowledgeable! Sangria was perfect! Spacing was good for social distancing. We went early before prime dinner hour because so that probably helped to make sure we weren't sitting next to anyone else. Highly recommend this place! We had a seafood platter Greek style, flounder plate, blackened shrimp plate, and the chicken Alfredo pasta. All were delicious! read more

Had Dozen raw oysters (local) for $20...good but not salty enough for our taste. Restaurant needs a face lift inside and out. Wine served in a water type glass...different type glass for two glasses. Beach type atmosphere but not on beach. Wait staff very nice and attentive but don't think we'll be back even though we're here for a month. 3 star rating for the oysters. 2 star for restaurant. read more

So disappointing. We have been coming to Traders for 3 years now and I'm sad to say we won't be back. The prices have gone up and the food quality has gone down. The wait staff is great but we will find another place for our seafood fix. read more

Great lil get away spot with plenty of outdoor seating.. great seafood but more importantly by far the best pizza for 20 miles

Excellent shrimp--fresh and sweet. I had the low crab boil ( no crab- out of season) and it was very tasty and had great portions of crawfish and shrimp with some clams and mussels mixed in. Wife loved the shrimp tacos. She said they were were delicious. We also tried the Shrimpmaters and that was very tasty. Staff were friendly and prices were reasonable. PS: I forgot to mention we had some of their hushpuppies on another day, and they tasted great! read more

My husband was headed to lunch with a friend and I asked him to bring home take out for me. I had enjoyed the shrimp and grits dish there previously and asked for an order of that. The dish my husband brought home was some of the most disgusting slop I have ever laid eyes, much less tasted. Truly awful. Tiny salad shrimp swimming in an ocean of orange cheese. Grits were sort of a suggestion in the dish - barely present. I rarely give a 1 star rating but a chef should be ashamed to let this pass from his kitchen as a representation of shrimp and grits. read more

Tropical Trader - More cheese than grits in shrimp & grits? - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Yum-yum! Also, that is the name of their signature sauce! It is always a must stop for us when we are in town. This visit, we ordered Shrimp and pineapple kabobs, fresh and fried calamari for our appetizers. Both were delicious! Boiled shrimp and onion rings and the Low Crab Boil were the mains. *See the attached pics! A relaxed and casual environment make this a great way to end the day after fun in the sun. read more

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Wonderful staff and service. Girl Scout cookies for sale outside at 4:42 pm...we tried some bottled and canned beers and had a tuna stack. Way more gooey than I'm used to, but the staff was so amiable and it tasted good. No shortage of chilled glasses at the bar. read more

Tropical Trader - Not on the water, but lots of room to spread out with a Large group and a dogp - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Mediocre at best. Pricey for what it is. Boiled platter the best. Food tends to be salty. Try the cheesey grits. read more

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Every time we visit the food just gets better and better! Love the blackened grouper! The Greek salad with house dressing is so good, love their dressing! My husband got the Crab boil and was not disappointed! Enough for a few meals, we are still eating it a day later! read more

Tropical Trader - Crab boil! - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

We were on the road late and looking for some dinner. After checking the reviews we decided to give the Tropical Trader Shrimp restaurant a try. The entire family agreed that every single one of the stars listed here is well-earned. The food was outstanding, the service was fantastic, and the entire experience was incredible! We were greeted at the door and made to feel welcome even at the late hour. The restaurant is casual and family friendly. The hostess assured us that the kitchen was open and the entire menu was available. She told us that the fishing boats had docked the day before and all the seafood was fresh. Our server, Kristin, was wonderful. She was knowledgeable about the menu and made several recommendations. My hubby and the oldest had oysters as an appetizer and we all shared a Greek salad. The house dressing is a Greek-style dressing and is phenomenal! Our entire meal (whole fried red snapper, flounder tacos, popcorn shrimp, and Bacon-wrapped stuffed shrimp) was amazing. We will definitely return again! read more

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We were looking for someplace with locally caught seafood. This place is a hidden gem. We had grouper and flounder sandwiches. The piece of blackened flounder was so huge that I couldn't even finish half of it! It was delicious! My husband had the grouper and said it was some of the best that he's had. I have to give 5 stars to our waitress Karen. She was very welcoming and attentive. Very easy to talk to (we are from out of town) and it felt like we had known her for years! read more

Great service and excellent food! We enjoyed oysters on the half shell, the Tuna Stacker, fired shrimp dinner, and the Local Platter(broiled). Seafood was on-point, sides were divine, and this hush puppies were so good we had to order extra! So happy for the recommendation from some locals at the Win Dixie. read more

Tropical Trader - And this cute little Star Fish kept us company during dinner - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

This is the second time that we have dealt with bad service here. I'm a little more forgiving with current circumstances and when a place is busy. At the time we went this evening, they were not busy. Our waitress thought it best to slam our drinks down and throw the straws on the table. We were then ignored for 15 minutes and several attempts were made to grab our waitresses attention. I guess a party of two is not as profitable as a large party. Sad that it feels we were ignored for the larger party. Unfortunately for Tropical Trader, they sent us to Posey's Steam Room. read more

Highly recommended.. looks like the locals already know that... oysters were fresh and the shrimp delightful..

So delicious! Small but cozy. Wait staff attentive but not annoying. Nice salt water fish tank for the kids. Looks like they are doing repairs on the place still from the hurricane. Get the shrimp tacos! Best I ever had! read more

Stumbled upon this place just before our hotel, and the reviews were good so we gave it a shot. Tried the Shrimp n' Maters which were fried green tomatoes loaded with cheese, shrimp, bacon, and other good stuff. App comes with two large tomato slices and could easily serve as a light meal itself. Next the low boil - clams, shrimp, mussels, crawfish, andouille, corn, tater, and a blue crab. It was okay - not the most flavorful we have had, but decent. Everything was cooked well, and for $26 you could easily feed 2 hungry folks. For an up charge you can also add oysters and snow crab. Finally, we got our new favorite, blue crab claws - where have these been all our lives!?!?! We opted for an app size, blackened ($16), and they could have also served as a light meal of there own. Came with a buffalo style sauce which was actually very tasty. Only down side we had was service - our waitress was overwhelmed and it took quite a bit to get orders and our check. We saw several surrounding tables turn while we sat there, so we don't think it was a kitchen issue, just her being super busy. The verdict: Check this place out! Family owned, they catch most of their own seafood. They will prepare stuff from their market for you or even your own fresh catch. Just be prepared to sit back, have a drink, and enjoy. Enjoy the Ride! Baker & Biker read more

Three words: Fried shrimp tacos. OMG, they were fantastic!!! What a treat, and totally unexpected. We had been to Angelo's and were very disappointed..... and not at all sure about this place..... but wow, those shrimp tacos! We told some neighbors about them, and they came back and raved that they were the best shrimp tacos they had ever had. I don't even know what else is on the menu... it's all about the shrimp tacos! read more

First time trying Tropical Trader Shrimp! It was so good! The oysters and grouper were perfect! Our waitress was very nice. Definitely so many food and drink options to choose from. Definitely will be back read more

Their yum yum sauce is mouth watering and the main reason I go lol The calamari is so freakin good!! The bartender is one of my Favvvvvvs!

Holy wow! The shrimp tacos were some of the best I have ever had! Servings are large. Shrimp was falling out of the taco. Very generous! read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Somehow, this place has the best pizza in the area. I actually really like it. service is sometimes a little slow but always friendly. Goof menu variety. read more

We stopped in for a quick beer and bite. The oysters were very fresh and not too briny. Husband had the blackened grouper sandwich which was perfectly prepared. The fries would have been better if they had been hotter. I had the pepper jack shrimp appetizer. It was surprisingly good - maybe less cheese on top next time. We saw a few people stop into buy fresh shrimp. So we'll be back to get some to take home to grill and some of their homemade Greek dressing which the table next to us raves over. For such a small town, this is a hidden treasure. read more

Tropical Trader - Who doesn't love fresh oysters? - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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Very delicious! I got the ahi tuna with Greek potatoes and vegetables. My sister got the flounder tacos, but she was able to substitute the flounder for grouper instead. Very quick and friendly waitresses and everything was good. Would come back! read more

Tropical Trader - Grouper tacos and yum yum ahi tuna - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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This was the second time we tried this place and it was our last. The service is very slow and the food we had was not good. The "O We Go" platter looked pretty gross with everything just slopped on the plate. The grouper tasted fishy (even with it being blackened), the deviled crab cake was mushy, soggy, and unappealing. My husband never got his hush puppies but that might have been a good thing after all. I had the shrimp and grouper (also, fishy) and my Greek potatoes were cold, overcooked, and greasy (looked like they had been sitting around awhile). The place feels dirty inside and out and I can't imagine what the kitchen looks like. The staff doesn't really seem to care that the food they are serving looks/tastes bad. The shrimp and fries (pretty easy to get right) were the only good things we had but not enough to give more stars or return. read more

A terrible experience. Stopped here for lunch, we seated ourselves and then waited about 20 minutes just to get any service. Finally got waited on and ordered 2 beers and when they came we requested glasses which never came. Waited another 25 minutes for someone to take our order which never happened. We decided to leave and went to pay for our beers and told waitress we were leaving. She said don't worry about the beers you can leave, no apology at all. Food could be good here but we could not get anyone to take our order. Some of the poorest service I have had ever at a restaurant. read more

Tropical Trader Shrimp Company (same owner as Angelo's restaurant just up the street) has a broad comprehensive menu including sandwiches, steaks, seafood, salads, pastas, fresh oysters and a large appetizer selection. You can even bring in your own fresh catch and they will cook it to your liking! They have a full bar with beer, liquor and wine. There is plenty of parking (dirt lot) and the atmosphere is casual-beach. The waitress (Britt C) was very attentive and came around often even as the restaurant filled up with customers. I ordered the fried beer-battered onion ring appetizer that came with "yum-yum" dipping sauce which was DELICIOUS! I followed that with their cheeseburger entree topped with everything and a side of fries. It was very good. I chased the meal with several mojitos which were spot on tasty! My tablemate had the fried grouper sandwich entree which was pretty good. I liked the service and food so I will definitely return when passing through the area. Cost was $$ read more

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Last 4 visits have just been terrible. Service is slow and the food keeps getting worse and worse I don't know what's changed. but this place Was great back in the day. Now if everyone else has a Wait we find ourself settling for tropical traders read more

Outlaw oysters very good. All great options and cheaper than Angelos ...and do not get out of there without dessert it is a surprisingly good call . read more

Your typical beach seafood restaurant. Not exceptional but not bad! We got mozzarella sticks as an appetizer which were actually very good. I got the flounder and fries which were pretty good. This spot is owned by the same owners of Angelo's which was recommended to us by our Airbnb host. We tried Angelo's as well and if I had to choose between the two I'd 100% choose tropical trader shrimp. Not nearly as long of a wait and very similar food. We had much better service at this location as well. read more

There are no pics of our main courses because we dove in and forgot! I had grilled grouper fish tacos which was upcharged $3 because I don't like flounder. They were pretty good, not the best, but good and more than I could eat.the Greek salad stole the show, homemade dressing was amazing. Husband got fried shrimp and fries. He said the shrimp were very fresh and good. He also got cheese grits and they were just ok. Our waitress was ok. Lots of the staff are teenagers. I only saw 1 person who was older so these kids did a good job! read more

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Great food every time I go. The shrimp tacos are one of a kind. Only recommendation is to not go on holidays as the extra customers overwhelms the staff. read more

Wonderful! We went the day after Christmas at about noon and they were put of a lot of things, even sides. They didn't seem prepared well for the crowd either. That said, our waitress was really sweet and friendly. And out food was amazing. Thankfully they were put of the appetizer or we would have been foundered. So it worked out well. The entrees were fab and even the sides exceptional. My husband had his fish blackened and said it was all perfectly cooked. And I had the tuna sashimi thingy (can't remember the name) cooked medium rare and loved it. The hush puppies were the best I've ever had and hubby said they were right up with the best of the best. read more

Tropical Trader - Tuna sashimi dish, cheese grits, coleslaw, lima beans, seafood platter. All phenomenal! - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

My wife & I tried this restaurant last night & were very pleased. We had the Shrimp & Fried Green Tomato appetizer which was as good as it was unique. My wife ordered the Flounder Tacos with green beans on the side & I had the Popcorn Shrimp Tacos with a house salad. It's very obvious they have a chef that knows their stuff! Great flavors on everything, some bold & some subtle, but all delicious! White wine & draft beer completed our meal & I was totally satisfied. Our waitress Jess checked in often to see if we needed anything & when she cleared my dinner plate I joked that all I needed now was a finger bowl. Two minutes later she brings me a finger bowl! It's not fancy but with food of that caliber I'll definitely put it on my short list. read more