Emerald Waterfront Bar and Grill

Emerald Waterfront Bar and Grill occupies a sound-front lot on Navarre Parkway, just west of Navarre Park, with dining decks that look out over the Santa Rosa Sound, the same water locals and the restaurant’s own marketing often call the “Navarre Sound.” Owner Tommy Gialamas opened the restaurant as a rebrand of a previous waterfront eatery at this address, holding a grand opening on January 12, 2025, with live music, champagne, and samples poured from his other business, Emerald Republic Brewery. That brewery connection shows up directly on the beer list, where house brands like Lumi, 10 Wraiths, and Cherry Gozen sit alongside standard domestic and craft options. Head chef Nick Brummette runs the kitchen, and the restaurant now employs more than 70 people, a fast build-out for a property that only opened under this name in 2025.

The menu splits cleanly into hand-cut steaks, Gulf seafood, and a short pasta list, with a raw and oven-roasted oyster bar on the side. Steaks range from a top sirloin up through a 32-ounce tomahawk the menu calls “The Tommy,” alongside a filet mignon, a bone-in ribeye, twin filets, and a rack of lamb for guests who want red meat with their sound view. On the seafood side, the kitchen serves fresh Gulf grouper, mahi mahi, Atlantic salmon, sea scallops, and a stuffed grouper plate, plus a lobster tail and a whole lobster option for special occasions. Starters cover the coastal-restaurant staples done well: boom-boom shrimp, bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp, seared ahi tuna, crab cakes, and a hand-cut cheese chunks plate that has earned its own following on the specials menu.

Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with two-for-one pricing on draft beer, well drinks, and house wine, plus a half-priced appetizer menu served at the bars only between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday nights bring a Date Night special, a three-course meal for two built around the waterfront setting. Beyond the kitchen, Emerald Waterfront has built out more than 15,000 square feet of outdoor sand space that can host events for 300 or more guests, and the restaurant books live music Wednesday through Sunday, alternating full bands and dueling pianos on an outdoor stage with solo acoustic acts at a covered bar stage.

Regular hours run Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight, with the dining room itself closing at 10 p.m. on the later nights while the bar stays open. The restaurant takes reservations through OpenTable, useful on weekend nights when the outdoor stage draws a crowd, and it also runs online ordering through Toast Tab for guests who want takeout instead of a table. For visitors staying in Navarre or passing through on the way to Navarre Beach, Emerald Waterfront works equally well as a sunset dinner spot or as a lively weekend hangout, thanks to the combination of a serious steak and seafood kitchen with a waterfront stage built for a crowd.

The sand yard itself deserves a mention beyond its use as an event lawn. Because the property sits low and open along the sound, guests can carry a drink from the bar out past the dining deck and stand right at the water’s edge while the band plays behind them, a layout that gives Emerald Waterfront a different feel from most steak-and-seafood houses tucked into a strip of highway frontage. Groups planning a wedding, reunion, or corporate party often work directly with the restaurant to book that outdoor space, since the combination of catering, a full bar, and a built-in stage removes the need to bring in outside vendors. Even on an ordinary weeknight, the sound view and the brewery-backed drink list give Emerald Waterfront a reason to linger past the meal itself, which is part of why it has become a fixture on Navarre Parkway so quickly after opening.