These 10 backroads restaurants in Florida are tops for regional eats

History meets food at many backroad Florida restaurants, like The Red Bar — Photo courtesy of Mark Jimenez

Shed the restaurant chains and skip the celebrity chef sensations. This tour of restaurants in Florida takes the backroads to hidden gems, where menus feature regional favorites like fried gator and grouper sandwiches, keto bowls, pulled pork, and divorced eggs.

Having lived in, traveled around, and written a dozen guidebooks about Florida for over 30 years, I’ve found myself gravitating off the interstates and highways, into the small towns, and away from the “eaten path” to discover new finds around the state.

This trail takes you south to north along the backroad trail, from Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades to St. Augustine and the Panhandle.

City Seafood, Everglades City

This is as “city” as it gets in the Everglades, where several backroad Florida restaurants live — Photo courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton

One of Florida’s few remaining working waterfronts, Everglades City is a backwater and a backroad. Commercial fishermen bring everything from pompano to the pure-gold catch of the ‘Glades — stone crab — to its ports.

City Seafood operates a seafood market and waterfront eatery where seafood lovers sit at picnic tables to gorge on fresh stone crab, fried seafood baskets, frog legs, gator, and Florida lobster tail, all fresh from the briny.

Stan’s Idle Hour, Goodland

Stan’s Idle Hour fills to the gills with Sunday festivities in season — Photo courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton

Somewhere between the high rises of Marco Island and the raw wilderness of the Everglades dwells a burg mired in salt water and the past. Here, where the local vernacular includes terms like “Buzzard Lope” and “Mullet Festival,” there’s Stan’s Idle Hour.

The late Stan Gober created a kingdom of foolishness in time-warped Goodland. During the season, crowds fill tables waterside around the tin-roofed fish shack and Stan’s outdoor stage every Sunday. Fans dance the local take on the “chicken dance” and crown a Buzzard Queen every January at the Mullet Festival.

Snook Haven, Venice

Snook Haven is a throwback to old Florida just minutes off the interstate — Photo courtesy of Visit Sarasota County

Killer turtles, banjo strumming, leisurely paddling the Myakka River, and fried green tomato tacos all figure into the Snook Haven equation. If visions of “Deliverance” scurry through your brain, switch channels. Part of a county park, this local spot feels backroad, but it’s only a few minutes off Interstate 75.

This ramshackle riverside restaurant specializes in barbecue with a decidedly old South flavor. Snook Haven is known for its live music beneath the oaks, including Gulf Coast Banjo Society performances. The killer turtles are a reference to “Tarzan’s Revenge of the Killer Turtles,” filmed on this site in the 1940s.

Nutmeg’s Cafe, Okeechobee

Nutmeg’s Cafe stands out as a pretty foodie oasis along Okeechobee’s main drag — Photo courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton

Not all backroad restaurants in Florida deal in seafood and Southern twang. Nutmeg’s Cafe, a rare find on the main street in the backroad town of Okeechobee, feels like it belongs in the “Gilmore Girls” or a trendy little Colorado mountain town. Shiny, clean, and uncluttered to the eye, the first sense that clicks in is smell.

Part bakery, part cafe, and part hometown gathering place, Nutmeg’s cupcake-filled cases reel you in. Blackboard menus list the offerings, from grilled ham and pear panini to keto bowl. Order at the counter, take your order to one of the mismatched tables and chairs and dig in.

Two Brothers One Grill Mexican Restaurant, Bartow

Agua fresca is a must at Two Brothers One Grill when exploring restaurants in Florida — Photo courtesy of Photography by Tonelson / iStock Via Getty Images Plus

They had me at the fresh-squeezed agua fresca bar at this happy find just outside of Bartow’s historic downtown commercial district. Every sauce, every nacho, and every one of its meat and bean dishes tastes fresh from the molcajete and slow-cook kitchen at Two Brothers One Grill Mexican Restaurant.

You’ll find all your Mexican-American favorites, plus new discoveries like divorced eggs — fried eggs separated by beans and tortillas, each egg covered by red and green salsa.

Vote Now: Best Fast Casual Restaurant (10Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2024)

Seafood Seller & Cafe, Crystal River

Seafood Seller’s Cajun flair makes it one of the best backcountry restaurants in Florida — Photo courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton

Small-town and nature-obsessed, Crystal River may be Old Florida, but at Seafood Seller & Cafe, known locally as Jimmy’s, it’s all about Louisiana and the finest Cajun cuisine in the area.

Like some of the best backroad restaurants in Florida, this unassuming family-run spot inhabits a strip mall, where everything appears calm and quiet. Inside, however, the restaurant overflows with hungry, noisy, happy diners who have long ago discovered this secret. You’ll find crawfish, of course, but also etouffee, blackened fish, and gumbo, all featuring fish from the family’s own boats. The mac and cheese with crawfish and alligator sausage is the bomb!

Lone Cabbage Fish Camp, Cocoa

Views of the St. Johns River complement Southern-fried specialties at Lone Cabbage Fish Camp — Photo courtesy of Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism

Live country music and airboats zipping by windows set into pecky cypress walls: the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp pays homage to the good ol’ good-ol’-boy days. You’ll find bayou shrimp, gator tail, catfish, and burgers topped with homemade chili served in paper-lined baskets. Every Sunday, there’s a fish fry on the deck overlooking the St. Johns River.

Marsh Landing Restaurant, Fellsmere

Marsh Landing exudes an air of backwoods lodge — Photo courtesy of Chelle Koster Walton

In the middle of downtown Fellsmere, Marsh Landing lives in a handsomely restored 1920s building — no ramshackle look here. As long as you know how to find Fellsmere (thank the culinary gods for the GPS), you’ll walk into a museum-like space with hunting lodge vibes.

The menu groans with pimento cheese biscuits, fried local specialties, ribs, and sweet tea served in Mason jar-style mugs. With live bluegrass on Thursdays, you’ll feel like you’re in a backroad gem.

Vote Now: Best Regional Fast Food (10Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2024)

The Red Bar, Grayton Beach

Among restaurants in Florida, The Red Bar is worth a stop along the Panhandle — Photo courtesy of Mark Jimenez

Turn off Highway 98 in Florida’s Panhandle onto County Road 283, cross Highway 30A, and take a left a block before you reach the blazing white sands of Grayton Beach. As hard as it sounds to find, thousands discover The Red Bar, a hole-in-the-wall surfer’s hangout that now sits comfortably in legend status.

From the outside, it looks funky and almost in disrepair, but its eclectic interior has a lively, fun atmosphere. The draw is live music and tasty signature dishes, like shrimp, crawfish, and weekend-only crab cakes.

Saltwater Cowboys, St. Augustine

Dreamy sunsets cap off tasty dinners at Saltwater Cowboys — Photo courtesy of Saltwater Cowboys

St. Augustine’s Old Town draws in the tourists. Most of its restaurants, too, are touristy but not necessarily historic. Instead, escape to the marshlands and head to Saltwater Cowboys for ribs, steak, and saltwater delicacies.

Specializing in the trifecta of Florida backroad goodies — gator tail, catfish, and frog legs — Saltwater Cowboys also serves up fancier fare like baked oysters in a rustic setting.