Only about 6 patrons were inside when we walked in for lunch. We sat as far away as possible. Sign on door did say occupancy was limited to 23 patrons per CDC guidelines. No one had masks on, except for the young woman who gave us our menus. Our waitress, no mask, took our order: broiled grouper sandwich (said all fish is local) on wheat bun with side of coleslaw, and husband ordered fried popcorn shrimp with French fries. Our waitress was sweet, efficient, and good at her job. We used the bathrooms to wash our hands before our meal was delivered. Each is for one person. Mine had everything (toilet paper, soap, paper towels). Husband's had no paper towels. A roll of paper towels was outside both bathrooms. My grouper sandwich was outstanding! If you like grouper, do yourself a favor and get it here. I loved my sandwich. In fact, I ate most of it without bun and condiments. I wanted to savor every bite. The coleslaw was okay - watery instead of creamy - and it was good. I ate it all! Husband liked his meal. It was not as good as mine, but it WAS good. The mild tater sauce and cocktail sauce are the best we've had. They make it here. No wonder! Husband shared hush puppies with me. Very tasty. French fries tasted fresh and crunchy. Once again I'm withholding one star for pandemic precautions not taken. I'm venturing out even though I have pre-existing conditions, with fingers crossed that I stay healthy. Today's meal was definitely worth the risk of "no required masks." I'm going to be dreaming about this place tonight. read more

Tropical Trader - Entrance - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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My first time there and no complaints. There was a wait but it was a Saturday night. I had the fish tacos that were very tasty. Staff was friendly and others with me enjoyed what they ordered. read more

Food was great. Service was great. We had a large party, so that wasn't easy. They handled a fussy member of our party without complaint and made it a nice experience for all. Don't sleep on the Greek pizza! read more

The staff is very nice and pleasant. We had a Greek salad which had no protein but rather expensive at $18. We also had shrimp Mato which was new to us, delicious and unexpected. I found the prices a little high but in these times and where they are located, lack of competition it is what it is. I would come back. Mixed drinks $10-14. read more

Tropical Trader - Greek salad, large $18 - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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service was great, drinks were great, and food was fantastic. Tuna, shrimp tacos and gator bites are a must try.

Service from Tiff was great. Our friends and us had variety of food - blackened mahi sandwiches, fried mahi, scallops, various shrimp and great fries. The crab cake was only disappointment- to mushy on inside. Ordered a mule but had no ginger beer so no drink for us. Only thing keeping this from 5 star was the awful musician. He yelled rather than sang. We started outside but when he started howling we unfortunately had to move inside to hear. Would stop again only when there was no music. read more

After spending the day at Bald Point beach we were looking for a late lunch on the way back to tallahassee. I have to admit, we've always driven past Tropical Trader. You see we've been to Angelos (just down the road) and really disliked it. Aside from the patio, the food, service and ambiance were pretty bad. So when we saw that the name on the sign is "Angelo and Sons Tropical Trader Shrimp" we normally kept driving, assuming it, too, would not be great. Boy were we wrong. Based on a recommendation from another restaurant owner, we stopped at tropical Trader. And we loved it! They have an ok selection of beer in bottles and cans, including regional favorites. We started with a dozen raw oysters and they were delicious: ice cold and perfectly shucked. We also shared an order of fried mushrooms. They were amazing and I was surprised to hear that they are made from scratch on premises! I then had a traditional fried grouper sandwich all the way (lettuce, tomato, pickles, Mayo) with fries. It was outstanding. Tropical Trader will now be a register stop on our way back from the coast. read more

Tropical Trader - Perfect raw oysters. - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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Incredible seafood. I have been all over Florida and this is a top seafood restaurant by far. The triple tail special was ridiculously good. I can't recommend this place any more. read more

A table of only 6 was eligible for the mandatory 20% tip, the Grouper Sandwich was not likely Grouper and the bread was soggy. Prices with a single cocktail and Ice tea for a couple, plus the 20% non-negotiable tip and a $2.01 fee for using a credit card, topped out at over $85. We opted for outside seating since a previous experience while seated inside revealed that the new interior has no sound suppression and highly reflective walls. Thus normal patron conversations are overwhelming. Outside was good until the live music started up at which point normal conversation was again impossible. Attendance was good, the parking lot full. However, this table of 6 plus it's 20% mandatory non-negotiable gratuity and $2.01 additional credit card fee will not be back. read more

Best oyster shucker EVER!!!! Cuts them off the shell AND leaves some of the salty water. Best oysters!!!! Highly recommend

For a small town, this restaurant caters to the people with money. The food we had was GREAT but we can't afford to eat here so we won't go back. We've lived in a few different towns and neighborhood "bars" always had a good deal on something to get the locals in, like a great burger and fries for 10 bucks. This place seems to focus on fancy more than basic good food. It used to be that the price of a meal was based on the food costs making up 30% of the menu price.....so if it cost 5 bucks in food costs, we'd pay 15 dollars for the meal. I feel like some places are jumping on the inflation bandwagon and are artificially inflating prices to get exuberant profits. I was happy this restaurant opened but now, not interested..... read more

sat down with plenty of empty tables, restaurant was not busy. waited almost 30 minutes to get our drinks and over an hour later food still hasn't came out of the kitchen. waitress was too busy tending to the tables full of men prioritizing them over the families. watched 3 tables sit, eat, and leave before we decided to pay for our drinks and leave. read more

I know there is a few kinks to work out since they just recently opened, however my food was terrible because I expected more that catfish and cold scallops for a seafood restaurant. I plan on giving them a second chance down the road. Food can't be this bad fowever . The server was friendly and thanked me for coming in and never asked me how I liked it read more

Fantastic fresh caught seafood, great service and down home atmosphere. Highly recommend.

As of March 2024, renovations have been started but no reopening date announced. We are all hoping to see this happen soon! read more

Yum! Cool atmosphere With seating indoor and outdoor. Friendly hostesses and there are two aquariums inside to watch the fish and have your meal. Cool decorations inside to look at and the food was great. The Shrimp kebabs with the Yum Yum sauce really hit the spot! read more

Great food Great atmosphere Great drinks Great local place 10 out of 10 Shrimp and Grits are my fav! read more

We had the fried green tomatoes with their special concoction of cheese, and other yummy things on top, the pepper jack Shrimp app was outstanding, the grits are outstanding, the fries are like battered or something so crispy and good. Flounder diner was amazing. Food is so great as well as usual!! Unfortunately I ordered the shrimp and grits which was the only downer. I found only 6 of the smallest shrimp you have ever seen and 4 slides of sausage. It was hidden under the grits. I know why because it is shameful to be a shrimp house and serve that sad serving of shrimp. The grits were very good though. However the raw oysters were terrible. They are light gray in color and huge. They are farmed raised they said but are not local. They have a weird taste. We only ended up eating a few. The smoked mullet seafood dip has an intense flavor and not really enjoyable: read more

I was in Panacea for 3 days and ate/drank at Tropical Trader 4 times. The food was spectacular. My wife ordered a dozen oysters each time and swooned over how clean the oysters were. You can watch Edward shuck each oyster and inspect each to make sure no shell or mud was in the oyster. The Head on Shrimp seemed like a safe bet until you taste the sauce they add, which elevated the shrimp beyond expectations. Mullet was available so I ordered the Fried Mullet platter with coleslaw and was not disappointed. The tacos are large so opt for 2 tacos instead of 3 tacos unless you have a big appetite. The coleslaw and Yum-Yum sauce complemented the tacos so you can't go wrong with the fish or shrimp tacos. The Gator Bites were seasoned just right. I always enjoy Shrimp and Grits and was not disappointed. The sauce on the shrimp was tasty, the Grits were perfect, and there was plenty of cheese. Compliments to David as the cook since all 4 meals that I had were exceptional. One of my servers was Celeste, and she was attentive and very friendly. I would definitely recommend the Tropical Trader over all the local restaurants. read more

Love the food and the atmosphere, the prices are decent and the service is beyond awesome! read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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We loved this place so much we came both nights that we stayed at the Wakulla Lodge. The service is so friendly, the drinks are strong and the food is fresh. We tried the local oysters, which are hard to find these days! They were briny and delicious. Don't miss the onion rings or the fried grouper sandwich. We tried the fresh caught flounder simply blackened and also Greek style and couldn't decide which we liked better! The fried grouper sandwich was crispy outside, flaky inside. The Greek style potatoes were another highlight. Our only disappointment was the fried green tomatoes. The tomatoes were great but they came with too much stuff on top. We would have preferred a simpler dish. The pizza smelled and looked fantastic! We will try that next time. read more

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Another great dinner at Tropical Trader! Friday night and this place was hoppin'! Very busy but we got right in. Tropical Trader reminds me a little of a biker bar from the outside. But if that's not your thing, don't let it deter you! The food and service was great as usual. This time we tried fish dip and onion ring appetizers - both were delicious. I shared the "O We Go" fish platter with my honey. It included deviled crab, scallops, shrimp and grouper. It was more than enough food for the two of us and we actually took some home! This is one of the favorites for locals and you know what that means!! read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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Came for lunch. Ordered the fish chowder soup. Tasted very good. But came out warm. Soup should always be hot. Also had the Cuban sandwich. It was ok. Wasn't much on it for the pulled pork and a slice of ham. Service was good. ( sat at the bar ). Came back a couple weeks later. Had the gumbo. Young lady at the bar informed me it was spicy. Ok I like spice. Really couldn't tell if it was spicy or not. The salty flavor covered it up. They need to lay off the salt in it. I the had the bacon wrapped scallops. Kitchen was a little backed up. Scallops came out lukewarm. Overall 2nd visit was similar to the 1st. Notices there is no one assigned to the bar. When people come in next girl gets them. Service is good. Any issues are in the kitchen. Maybe a little help in the supervisoral Position. read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

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Fullish Bar. Do not hesitate to go here. This is not a chain seafood restaurant. This is much better. They claim their shrimp tacos are the best anywhere. I'd have a hard time disagreeing unless you were expecting Mexican shrimp tacos. These were lightly breaded, cooked to perfection, with lots of sauces. Maybe you want 3 if you are a big eater but 2 were huge and overstuffed with maybe 10-12 small shrimp. The wife had grouper tacos. Came with 3 big fillets. Those came with cups of sour cream, salsa, guac, cheese and slices of tomatoes/ lettuce. Hush puppies were great. By 6 pm on Friday the place was packed. No view, but the food is the star here. read more

Tropical Trader - Shrimp tacos - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Superspreader central. Food was decent but not worth dying for. No masks on staff or most patrons. No effort to limit capacity. Just one giant virus party. Takeout took an hour, not the 25 minutes we were told. I would never go back until I'm vaccinated. read more

I came here twice on my vacation, and it was not disappointing. I tried the yum yum ahi tuna, and the seafood platter. The tuna and fried flounder were awesome, but the rest was only average. For desserts I had the chocolate and key lime cake. They were both good, but not exceptional. Overall it's a good seafood restaurant with nice waitresses, but the service is slow and the prices are high. read more

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This is probably my favorite spot for a cheeseburger and best post beach meal. We typically stop here on the way back to Tallahassee from the beach and the food/service is always excellent. Seating: plenty of indoor seating that includes a bar top with only a few outdoor tables. I wish there was more outdoor seating. On the weekends they open up a side bar for drinks while you wait and serve complimentary crawfish. Saturday afternoon can get very crowded and a bit chaotic, but the servers still manage to seat everyone in a timely fashion. Food: Get the cheeseburger. The cheeseburger comes with a "cheese skirt" but you have to request it nowadays. You definitely want to ask for it if you love cheese! The menu itself is a mix of seafood, sandwiches, and salad (their homemade salad dressing is delicious). It's an oyster bar and mainly seafood. I don't eat seafood and find plenty of options here. This place will also cook your catch in a variety of styles and seasonings. Beverages: it's a full bar and not too pricey. read more

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Food was good. Wife ordered the fish and chips, but the fish wasn't in a beer batter - just looked like seasoned bread crumbs. I ordered the AYCE fried mullet. That was pretty good. My two kids both ordered fried popcorn shrimp - but here's the rub: one ordered the kids meal for $6, the other ordered the adult meal for $12. Guess what? Same meal / portion size, but the adult meal came with one additional side. Most expensive ear of corn ever! The restaurant wasn't very busy when we entered, but began filling as we ate. There were two servers to work the entire restaurant, including the bar, so service was quite slow. May come back, but there are other places to try in the area. read more

Tropical Trader - AYCE fried mullet. - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

Great vibe here, small but cozy. Very nice fish aquariums lovated in restaurant, bar was just added a few years ago. The bartender was so cute and innocent looking but good!! Had a lovely time! Will go back if in the area. read more

Tropical Trader - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

After a long day of fishing we decided to check this place out. For starters they give you plenty of food. You definitely get your $ worth and then some. Big proportions with many options! I had trouble trying to decide what I wanted to eat because there were such a variety of items and the all sounded absolutely delicious. For an appetizer I went with the "Shrimp maters" - Fried green tomatoes w/blackened shrimp and bacon sautéed in a light sour cream & marinara sauce, garnished with three cheeses, parsley and onions. For My entree I had popcorn shrimp and scallops with fries & slaw as my two sides. Everything was cooked perfectly. read more

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It's nice to have options in the area. The deviled crab was not well liked and the grits barely eaten. Hushpuppies were devoured. Coffee was cold. The fries fully consumed and the sandwich too. The waitress was friendly. The meal at $40.00 seemed a bit high for a lunch for two. read more

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It has been a very long time since we have been to a restaurant that had such bad service! We were there around 5:45 on a Thursday night and didn't get our food until after 7pm. I asked to speak to a manager twice and never saw one. We saw at least three tables seated after us and fed before us. Two of the tables seated after us finished and left before we got our food. When we finally did get our food it was barely warm! My only conclusion on why our request for a manager went unanswered was that our waitress was either management or directly related to it. Another strange thing was the waitress just smiled to our complaints and never offered an excuse other than they were crowded. When we left they did have people waiting to be seated, however when we arrived we had our choice of a couple of different tables. We are from out of town and visit the area for a couple of weeks every January so our lack of support will not be noticed, however I assume the locals must experience the same subpar service and will soon tire of it. The sad part of it was the food was ok but it was over shadowed by the service. read more

Tropical trader was one of our favorite places at one time, they however have lowered the quality of the food and increased the prices for no good reason. Nowadays eating there is a crap shoot. Many times you get yesterday's shrimp that had already been steamed which become really mushy, and they mix them up with new ones. Just found out tonight, they now charge a "non cash" fee on top of charging more than the other local restaurant. This in order to avoid DEDUCTING that amount on the servers tip. And it's legal in Florida. Never going back there again. Recommend going to Posey's down the road. They are cheaper and better food. So disappointed! read more

So very disappointed to be here again this year and looking forward to those shrimp tacos.... the best I've had.... only to find out the restaurant had a catastrophic fire and is closed.... Hope they can get things rebuilt and get back to making that wonderful, fresh seafood! read more

This place can really get popping on weekends and evenings especially when they have live music. I'm a local to the area and I have been a few times since moving here. Each time has had its ups and downs. The waits can sometimes be long and it seems like some of the staff don't want to be there but I can understand that. The food is pretty decent but some of the seafood doesn't seem as fresh as it states. The best thing by far ;don't come at me for this; is the mozzarella sticks. You can tell they are hand cut and battered there. Not just the frozen from a bag kind. read more

We ordered 4 lbs of headless shrimp for $11.99/lb. In the top bowl, you will see the heads that we had to pull off our "headless" shrimp. In the bottom bowl, you will see the actual shrimp we are able to eat. At this point, we were concerned..did they sell us bait shrimp and not shrimp for people to eat?!? We tried to call, & it was very difficult to get anyone on the phone. When we finally got through, the manager refused to speak on the phone & left the situation to a server. They confirmed these shrimp are for people to eat. However, our option was to eat these or drive a 1/2 hour to return them. We are boiling them and praying for the best. Give us your best wishes that they sold us edible seafood. Update: We did not get sick, however, the shrimp were not very tasty and had a mushy texture...we were told this was the "freshest seafood from the gulf." If that is the case, I will stick to the frozenest seafood from Publix! read more

Tropical Trader - Our "headless" shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Panacea, Florida

This is a little biased, since we have just driven up the coast for about an hour trying to find a restaurant trying to find a place that's open for an early lunch on Monday. We finally found this place and boy howdy it is DELICIOUS. I got the bacon wrapped shrimp with a Greek salad and both were flavorful and fresh. The shrimp were stuffed with crab. YUM. My son got the chicken fingers and my husband got an enormous chicken Parmesan sub. Everyone was starving and we still left food on the plates. They sell the Greek dressing and the Yumyum sauce (which came with my shrimp) and I can see why. Generous quantities, tasty dishes and great service. Thank you so much for the great food and friendly service! Restrooms were tidy and everyone was super friendly. Can't say we will be back (we live in ABQ), but will definitely try if we are ever back on the coast! read more

Out waitress was fabulous. She shared her jacket that was in her car with my 80 year old mother in law. She was patient as we read the menu to almost blind MIL. We ordered onion rings for a start and they were thick and well cooked served with a special "yum yum" sauce that we asked for on the side. Very good. MIL ordered lightly fried shrimp, cheese grits and slaw. She announced that everything was good. Hubby had shrimp and grits. He said there were a lot of raw onions on them and they would have been better cooked. I had the the bacon wrapped stuffed shrimp with a side of potatoes and a very spicy gumbo. I like hot and spicy and this was pretty good. It had scallop, shrimp, sausage rice. I would have it again. The bacon wrapped shrimp were a bit burned on the bottom but the stuffing had a good flavor. You can also buy shrimp, flounder and other fish at the small market. I would come again if in the area and hungry but I wouldn't make a special trip down for it. read more

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Great food, Great Staff, Great Drinks at Great Prices! Bartender was for sure generous with her pour! We loved it here!

This place is an oasis! There is not much in this area, but this place is a no-frills, casual hangout with great local (and some imported) seafood! A cold beer and onion rings (really, they are to die for) is my favorite day off treat!! The only negative is that popcorn shrimp (imported) come on most of their dishes like appetizers, tacos, and Poboys... I learned this the hard way... BUT... for 3$ more, you can substitute fresh, ahhmazing local shrimp to any dish that comes standard with popcorn shrimp! Of course, their $20 shrimp dinner (and such) already includes these local bad boys! So no need to sub. The shrimp poboy on a burger bun (they are nice and soft and brioche-y) with extra pickles, fries, and cheese grits are a REAL treat! Just GO FOR IT! You won't regret it! read more

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