Pizza by the Sea

Pizza by the Sea serves wood-fired pizzas, calzones, and salads in a relaxed, family-friendly setting at WaterColor Crossings, and it has been part of the neighborhood almost since WaterColor itself started filling in. The pizzeria’s first location opened right here along the 30A corridor, and it grew quickly from there: a second spot opened in Santa Rosa Beach in 2015 in the former Amore Pizzeria space, with a third following that same season in Seacrest. What began as a single WaterColor pizza counter has since grown into multiple locations spread across the Gulf Coast, but the WaterColor Crossings original remains the anchor of the group.

The wood-fired pizzas come in 12-inch and 16-inch sizes, from a straightforward cheese or pepperoni pie up to loaded specialty builds like the “One Mean Supreme” and the “Kickin’ Chicken.” Calzones get the same wood-fired treatment, stuffed and baked into a golden, portable pocket that travels well for a beach picnic. Salads round out the lighter end of the menu with Caesar, spinach, and Greek options, while pasta dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs or chicken alfredo give non-pizza eaters something familiar. Breadsticks, vegetarian dishes, and gluten-free crusts are all on offer too, so mixed groups rarely have trouble finding something everyone can agree on.

Beyond the food, the restaurant pours craft cocktails, beer, and wine alongside a lineup of retro bottled sodas, a nod to the beach-town nostalgia running through a lot of 30A dining. Free Wi-Fi and casual indoor and outdoor seating make it an easy stop for families killing time between beach sessions, and a mobile ordering app keeps the line moving for anyone who would rather order ahead than wait at the counter.

The coastal pizzeria also offers takeout and delivery throughout the WaterColor area, which matters more than it sounds like it should on 30A, where a lot of visitors are staying in rental homes without a car and just want dinner to show up. Between the delivery radius, the WaterColor Crossings location’s easy parking, and a menu built to please picky kids and grown-ups alike, Pizza by the Sea has settled into the role of the neighborhood’s reliable, no-fuss dinner option, the kind of place regulars order from on a quiet Tuesday and first-time visitors stumble into after a long beach day and leave full and happy. It also handles catering for parties and gatherings, a useful option for anyone hosting a group in one of WaterColor’s larger rental homes.

WaterColor Crossings, the small shopping center where the pizzeria sits, functions as a practical hub for the broader community, with a Publix grocery store and other everyday shops within easy walking or golf-cart distance. That location matters on a stretch of 30A where a lot of vacation rentals are tucked well back from the highway: being able to order a pizza for delivery, or swing by after a grocery run, keeps Pizza by the Sea in steady rotation for families who would rather spend their evening on the porch than in a restaurant line. Vegetarian dishes and gluten-free crusts round things out further, so even a mixed group with different diets can order from one menu and eat at one table without anyone settling for a side salad while everyone else digs into a pizza.