Stewby’s Seafood Shanty

Stewby’s Seafood Shanty traces back to a single stubborn idea: build a seafood restaurant in a spot everyone said would fail. Stewart “Stewby” Taylor grew up around the business through his father, Sam Taylor, who opened Sam’s Oyster House in the late 1960s and became known locally for serving amberjack, a fish that had long been dismissed as undesirable table fare. When Stewby set out on his own, he couldn’t find an affordable storefront near the beach, so he bought an old portable classroom, gutted it, and turned it into the first Stewby’s on Racetrack Road, well away from the beach tourist strip. Skeptics doubted anyone would drive out of their way for seafood served from a converted classroom. Word of mouth proved them wrong; visitors began making the trip from across the country just for the food, and the little shanty was soon packed beyond capacity.

That original success grew into four locations across the Emerald Coast, including the Okaloosa Island shanty at 235 Santa Rosa Blvd in Fort Walton Beach, along with the Racetrack Road original, a Crestview location, and Stewby’s Steamer & Market just down Santa Rosa Boulevard at 231. The Okaloosa Island location keeps hours similar to the flagship, open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., extending to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The menu keeps its focus tight and Southern. Regulars gravitate toward the fried shrimp, grilled fish, and the combo platter that lets a table split several proteins at once, but the dish people talk about most is the Infamous Gumbo, a dark, roux-based bowl the restaurant itself calls “a rich and flavorful hug in a bowl.” Beyond the classics, the kitchen turns out fish tacos, grouper sandwiches, grilled amberjack, a nod to Sam Taylor’s original claim to fame, and fried oysters, plated with homestyle sides like hush puppies, green beans, onion rings, and potato salad. Seafood is sourced from Destin fishermen and local Gulf waters, keeping the catch as close to the dock as a sit-down restaurant gets.

Service runs counter-style: order at the register, grab a seat, and wait for your number to be called. Seating leans outdoor with limited indoor capacity, which keeps the shanty feel intact even as the brand has expanded to four locations. It is not a place for a quiet, formal meal; it is a place for peel-and-eat efficiency and generous portions.

The recognition backs up the loyalty. Stewby’s has been named among Florida’s Top 100 Restaurants and holds a 4.7 rating on Google across more than 5,000 reviews, an unusually high mark for a high-volume, order-at-the-counter operation. The restaurant describes itself as consecutively voted best seafood locally and nationally, and the family that built it, Stewby included, still works the business day to day.

For visitors staying on Okaloosa Island, this location sits close to the Boardwalk and the Okaloosa Island Pier, making it a convenient lunch or dinner stop between beach time and pier fishing. If a sit-down meal is not the plan, Stewby’s Steamer & Market a few blocks away sells fresh seafood to take back to a condo kitchen, and delivery through DoorDash covers guests who would rather eat on the balcony. The restaurant also caters events with an on-site Southern fish fry, useful for anyone planning a beach wedding or family reunion nearby. Call 850-374-3765 to check current wait times, especially on summer weekends when the counter line stretches toward the door.