Susan is the best waitress in Florida. This restaurant is awesome. The atmosphere is fun. The food is fantastic especially the Greek dressing. Family friendly. read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Have frequented this restaurant before and was pleased with food quality and service even if it is pricey for a casual seafood shack. Plan on $20+ per person, without alcohol. The flounder was a disappointment, not flacky, had a bitter fishy taste. This past weekend I was stunned to see that the staff was not wearing masks, elderly customers and customers with children old enough to wear a mask were not doing so. There was little attempt to social distance and no written sign anywhere giving expectation to social distance. I think it is important for waitstaff to set the example of safety expectations. I will say that once our waitress saw our concern she tried to keep a distance and allowed us time to put our masks back on before she approached us. read more

We were just driving around looking for a place to eat. When we past by this place, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot so figured it must be a good place to eat. I am so glad we turned around and went back because we had a great meal. My husband had the shrimp and grits and he said it was very tasty. The only thing he mentioned was that the grits seemed to have some sort of film on the top but that it didn't take away from the taste. And I would say it didn't as there was not one bite left on his plate. He had coleslaw as his side. I had the 2 way with my choice of shrimp and scallops. I choose to have the shrimp fried and the scallops grilled. My first bite was of the scallops and I was in heaven! Not sure what all they grilled them with, but they did have some sauteed onions and I am not sure what else, but they were delicious. They came with a garlic butter to dip them in, but I just sort of poured the butter all over them. Yum.. The shrimp was lightly battered and deep fried. They were perfect. This came with two sides and I choose the coleslaw and cheese grits. The slaw was good even if it had quite a few BIG pieces of cabbage that could have been cut a little smaller so it would be easier to eat. The cheese grits are what kept me from giving the 5 stars. There was not enough cheese for me. But then, when ever I make cheese grits at home, I always add about twice as much as anyone else would. They were rather bland. I wanted to try a piece of their peanut butter and chocolate pie, but didn't have room. I was really surprised to read someone else's review that said they didn't have much a selection of seafood, but they also said they ordered a hamburger????? They had shrimp, clams, grouper, mullet, scallops, triple tail and oysters (and probably some else that I can't remember). I can't really think of any seafood that wasn't on the menu so was a little confused about how they could say there wasn't much choice of seafood. We would definitely stop here again and hopefully try their blue crab and artichoke dip as that sounded yummy. read more

The service is fast! Even though people say you shouldn't eat oysters during summer months, they were very fresh, farm raised and delicious! I would defiantly recommend the oysters! read more

Great little joint!! The serving of food compared to price is great. Crab cake wow probably the best I've ever had hands down. The yum yum sauce is amazing, great service also. The wife and I spilt a seafood platter and 1/2 dozen oysters and that was more than enough food for the 2 of us to leave stuffed. Great little dive what more can I say just all around great place to eat and relax. read more

I was traveling & stopped for a bite because they had good reviews. The pepper jack shrimp were over cooked and loaded with a sweet sauce. The oysters on the half shell were bland and not cold. In addition, they were served on a plastic tray. No ice. No rock salt. Just . . . Oysters in a tray. I've been eating oysters over 40 years. They weren't good. Saltines were stale. Smoked Mahi Dip was good. Service was slow, but friendly. I won't be back. read more

Had another great dinner at Tropical Trader! Had bang bang shrimp appetizer and fried oysters. Great food and fantastic service!

Becoming an institution among locals and visitors, casual spot w fresh daily caught seafood and cocktails. I spent all day on the plane from San Francisco fantasizing about a meal here: the gumbo, the fresh fish, and the ahi tuna salad with the yum yum sauce. read more

Been a fan of Tropical Trader for several years. Always fresh food. Down to earth place. Friendly staff and great owner. Live music on the deck during the spring and summer. Worth the trip to Panacea. read more

We were staying in the area and looking for a special place to celebrate our 45th Anniversary with a nice meal. Our host at Ho Hum RV park suggested this restaurant. We ordered a seafood platter and it was amazing. My husband couldn't stop saying how delicious the food was. He usually drowns everything in some kind of sauce but today nothing was needed! I would say if your looking for good seafood give this restaurant a try. By the way, we shared the meal and we were both full. Great service and great food! read more

We read the other reviews before coming here and most were accurate. (I loved the cheese grits unlike one post I read and It does look like a dive). The food was good. In fact, My family thought the blackened grouper sandwich was great. Service was fast and efficient. We will be back when we come through this area again. read more

What a find! Started with Greek salad with great homemade dressing & Peel and eat shrimp were so fresh, huge and delicious! Took home 2 pounds to cook for dinner too! read more

Yes ! Such a find we returned back for a second night. I got a small order of shrimp and between two of us we could not eat them all. Prices are astounding! We arrived there after a day of kayaking and we fit right in. Sit at the bar if you want to get to know the servers. No it's not pretty - pretty basic and it can get crazy when it's busy. But if you want to eat where the locals eat - try it out! read more

One of my absolute favorite places to eat while at the coast. This is a locals dive and the food is great. The service is laid back and attentive. The prices are well matched for the experience. Not much more you can ask for! Bring a friend or the family, sit back and relax. I highly recommend the sangria! Here's secret tip: ask for the boiled peanuts. They aren't on the menu, but when they have them, they are the best you'll ever have! read more

We have traveled all along the coast from New England down to here and this was by far the best. I had the local platter (fried). The seafood was fresh and perfectly fried. The platter had shrimp, deviled crab and mullet. Many people said the mullet was a trash fish. I gave it a try and liked it. My wife had a fried grouper sandwich. She immediately said "Mmmmm! Now this is grouper!" The service was extremely friendly. Somebody always checked on us. At the end of the meal we got in a discussion with our server on their oysters. She told us the varieties but they only had alligator harbor oysters. She said "You need to try them!" She ran to the kitchen and got us two to try. My wife said we were coming back on Friday and just ordering oysters and peel n' eat shrimp. Sounds great to me! Highly recommend! read more

Outstanding southern cooking. We got the lunch special. Wow, what a meal. Fried pork steak, black Eyed Peas, collared greens, sliced tomatoes,jalapeño corn bread and the best ice box pickles I've had since my Grannie passed. Service was great and everything was very clean. Wife said the Ladies room was tiny but clean. Can't wait to go back. read more

We were so excited to eat at such a highly rated restaurant, the staff was attentive and the service was fantastic. For appetizers we had calamari with yum-yum sauce and shrimp queso dip, both excellent dishes. For our main courses we had bacon wrapped crab stuffed shrimp which was served with an excellent garlic cocktail sauce. However it tasted like it been prepared earlier in the week and not fresh. The next item was the flounder tacos. The flounder was very dry or overlooked and tasted old. The shrimp poor boy was alright but the shrimp I'm sure was frozen. Next, we had a platter with grouper, scallops, shrimp, and deviled crab. All was good except the crab, just wasn't our taste. Lastly I think the price should get three $ instead of two. read more

Cold onion rings, rubbery steamed shrimp and a seafood linguini that might have been more aptly named cheesy linguini. Would not return,nor recommend. read more

Ordered the Mullet Lunch, fries, cheese grits. Way More mullet than I expected. Excellent customer service. Reasonable cost (I don't want to say cheap, but for $10 you can almost feed two adults. Enough for lunch and dinner. Great value read more

Great gulf coast/panhandle seafood spot. The oysters were atypically large and very flavorful. The sautéed crab claws were awesome!!

Pretty good food and great service. Had a low key and casual atmosphere, which is a plus when leaving the beach. Had Mahi Mahi sandwich fried, which was okay. Raw oysters were good, but from Virginia and weren't local. All and all it was a good experience and we'll go back. read more

We choose Tropical Trader Shrimp as we were passing through town since it appeared to be a well rated local restaurant. We weren't disappointed. The staff was friendly, the place is clean, the service was good and the food was delicious! All for a fair price. read more

There were three people in our party and we came mid afternoon to eat when there were not many people there. The onion rings with yum yum sauce were really good. Two of us ordered two different seafood platters to try a variety of seafood. The battered shrimp, deviled crab and grouper on my platter were really good. Unfortunately the sea scallops and shrimp and grits were room temperature when the order came and the slaw was not flavorful. The other platter contained blackened seafood which was flavorful but not too spicy. It however had some hot and some lukewarm items on it also. The server was a lot of fun and very helpful. Suggestions: Something to keep parts of the meal hot while others are cooking and a little horseradish in the slaw. read more

The best place I ate at the whole time I was in Panacea. Had the fried flounder and it was delicious. However, did not like the fish dip I got to go. ...ended up throwing it in the trash. I would recommend it. read more

Best seafood I've had in years! The seafood is freshly caught and the portions are huge. The staff was super friendly. I'll definitely stop by anytime I'm up in the panhandle. read more

I had decided to take my family out to eat on Mother's Day and we were told about this restaurant from several friends. I was extremely disappointed with their food and service. The only food we actually tried was an order of fried calamari as an appetizer. After we had ordered our food we waited for over an hour and a half and then decided to leave. I thought it was strange that there were two families that was served their food before us when they had just arrived. I had three hungry children; my wife and my mother waiting for their food and unfortunately we had to go to another seafood restaurant called Coastal (which was good). read more

Love this place. Fried shrimp taco. Excellent. Friendly service. Going to be a favorite.

If you haven't eaten here you are missing out. It's some of the best made and priced seafood in the area. The Ahi tuna steak and the bacon wrapped shrimp are both my jam. read more

At first, our server forgot about us sitting outside (it was near closing and it was busy) but I am a server myself, so I let it slide. After that, she was very attentive and a good conversationalist. My boyfriend and I ordered the fish dip as an appetizer (phenomenal, and they added a nice touch with the multicolored chips.) We then split the crab boil, some of the best I ever had and we were even able to take half of it home after that. This will definitely be our next spot after going to the beach. read more

Tried this small roadside restaurant on the last evening of our vacation. TRULY WISH we had tried it sooner. This was the BEST MEAL of our entire vacation. My husband had the Greedy Grouper sandwich and his word to describe it was FABULOUS! He always orders grouper if its on the menu and he said this is probably the best he's had anywhere. I ordered the Low Country Boil. OUTSTANDING! Loaded with food. Mussels, Clams, Craw fish, Blue Crab, Snow Crab, Gulf Shrimp, Sausage, Potatoes and the Biggest and BEST Royal Red's I've ever encountered. Truly enough food for two. Thank goodness my husband was there to help me eat all that food. Appetizer of cheese sticks and a slice of Key Lime Pie to go, both were very tasty. The service and the food were excellent. If we were ever back in that area we would most definitely eat there again read more

This restaurant has an excellent variety of seafood and very friendly staff. The raw oysters were great and the fish was fresh. Be sure and save room for homemade pie (I didn't)!!! read more

We stopped here for lunch on a beautiful drive along the coast. Prior reviews were wonderful but I would rate this place no more than 3.5 stars. The staff was friendly and restaurant appeared clean. We both ordered the Grilled Flounder Tacos. It took quite a while to get our order but we weren't in a hurry so didn't mind. The food portion was adequate and the hot things were hot-they just didn't have much flavor. The coleslaw was good (sweet, for those of you who don't like that kind). The "Greek Potatoes" are home fries with Greek seasoning on them. The place was quite busy and seems popular with the locals. read more

Went here for lunch on a weekend. Ordered raw oysters & saw them being shucked. They were good. Ordered the mullet. It was awful. The grease they used needed to be changed. I paid a forty plus dollar bill for one person and will not go back. read more

Really good food & friendly atmosphere, even for kids. We went for a late lunch & had to get to go boxes because it was more than plenty. Everything on the menu sounded good & there is a variety that isn't seafood. (I had to get fried shrimp since it's vacation). Shrimp were great and the cheese grits & green bean sides were amazing....reminded me how my grandmother made them. Kids ate all of their chicken tenders & fries as well as the key lime I took to go!! Also, there's a cool fish tank & the fish in the market area was well priced & very fresh. I'll for sure recommend it and would like to go back for supper. read more

Stopped there for lunch. Not very busy. Nice menu. Ordered lunch special shrimp and grouper. Requested fries instead of cheese grits (hubby doesn't do grits). Waitress said no problem but came back and said kitchen wouldn't do substitution. Told her to keep the grits and bring order of fries. She was back with our orders in less than a minute. Fries were cold. Hush puppies were very over cooked and bland. Shrimp were good. Won't be back read more

We are locals, we only eat out here and now, well, this night I guess we should have stayed home. Ordered a platter that is on the menu, pretty popular choice, well, I know for a fact that was NOT grouper on the plate, also as soon as my plate was delivered to us, you could smell a extreme fishy smell. cheese grits and coleslaw was awful, and all the other items on my plate were mediocre, need less to say, I had to stop and vomit on the way home....sad, its a hit and a miss depending on who's cooking. but lets just say I will not be going back unless I just want a beer and a salad. I let the wonderful waitress know what happened, would hate for tropical trader to serve that to anyone. never had an experience with food like that before. read more

This is our favorite seafood restaurant in the area. The seafood is fresh, properly cooked, and reasonably priced. Wait staff are fantastic! Every time we get a chance we dine at Tropical Trader Shrimp. PBerne read more

Great food & friendly service. The shrimp & grits & fish tacos are as good as any I've had. Great stop on our way home from the coast.

A friend and I stopped in hoping to get some decent food for a late lunch. The mullet was dark brown, OLD and lousy. We barely touched it as it was INEDIBLE. The fried mushrooms were coated in so much breading and tasteless after peeling off the breading we did not eat those either. Both items were fried in old grease ( old grease affects the color). The salad was comprised of wilted, limp l lettuce & it was the Greek salad for three dollars extra! We did not eat it either. YUC! read more

Well, this is not someplace I'd go out of the way for at all. I ordered the shrimp and grits and there's just WAY too much stuff on it that just isn't necessary. How about just SHRIMP and GRITS and leave off all the other crap. There was nothing spectacular about any of the food. Tiny scallops, super thick fish dip that was sent back by the person ordering it because it was over-powered with chunks of onion and almost too thick to even spread on a cracker. If there is a next time, I'll just get some simple grouper and nothing smothered in sauce or too many toppings so you can actually taste the food. read more