Destin, Florida has no shortage of entertainment, activity, and dining options, and wading through all of them can be daunting. An abundance of choices is admittedly a great problem to have, but sometimes you just want someone to recommend a few great places and save you some of the legwork required to research every potential option.
Here, we’ve assembled a list of some of the best places to get pizza in Destin. These five favorites offer quality pies, interesting flavor combinations, fun atmospheres, and more. Come with us as we take you on a tour of Destin’s best pizza joints.
Merlin’s Pizza
Located on Airport Road in Destin, Merlin’s has been a local institution since its inception in 1999. This place isn’t about frills, grandeur, or pomp and circumstance. Instead, they focus on what matters – great flavor combinations and delicious pizza.
The menu here, in this unassuming, understated eatery, is, in a word, gigantic. They offer a hearty assortment of appetizers, including breadsticks, chicken parmesan poppers, and even a ½ pound meatball. They offer nearly a half dozen salad options, as well as wings that can be made in 10 different flavors. We’re here to talk pizza, though.
Between six classic pizza options and over 15 house specialties, there should be a pizza to suit every palate. If not, there’s also an option to customize a pizza with the sauce, cheese, crust, and toppings you desire. Even the classic and house specialty pizzas allow guests the opportunity to choose between hand-tossed, thin-crust, and gluten-free crust options.
We love the Greek Pizza at Merlin’s. A classic cheese pizza is topped with sliced tomatoes, feta cheese, spinach, black olives, banana peppers, red onions, and roasted garlic. Equal parts Greek and Italian, this pie is 100% delicious.
Vinny McGuire’s
If you’re looking for great food served with a side of old-school ambiance, this is your place. Recently remodeled, this pizzeria sits on Harbor Boulevard, just feet away from the ocean. The unassuming exterior gives way to a moody interior complete with classic booths, a checkered floor, and vintage movie posters lining the walls. Countless dollar bills hang from the ceiling and adorn the walls, giving this establishment the feeling of a well-loved classic.
A full-service outdoor bar serves up drinks that perfectly complement your pizza, as well as a small selection of starters and desserts.
Rather than offering a list of pizza combinations, Vinny McGuire’s gives the customer ultimate control of their pies. Diners can choose between a small or a large pie and smother it in all of their favorite toppings. Options include seven types of cheese, 12 meat and seafood toppings, and another dozen non-meat toppings. We kept our pizza simple, opting for mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, and pepperoni, but with toppings like goat cheese, artichoke hearts, pineapple, prosciutto, and smoked prime rib, the possibilities are endless!
Pazzo Italiano
For delicious pizza served in a refined, elegant setting, Pazzo Italiano can’t be beat. Located on Emerald Coast Parkway, this restaurant and bar is more than “just” a pizzeria. With a full menu of salads, starters, pasta, desserts, and traditional Italian entrées, Pazzo Italiano serves up a sampling of the best Italy has to offer. While could go on all day about some of their house specialties, like the homemade lasagna, decadent fettuccine alfredo, and light and savory chicken piccata, we’re here to talk about the pizza.
With more than a dozen pizza varieties, this menu swings from the traditional, like their delicious cheese, pepperoni, and Margherita pizzas, to the more exotic. Some unusual, and surprisingly tasty flavor combinations include the Porchetta, which combines ricotta cheese, porchetta, artichoke, smoked gouda, and extra virgin olive oil, and the Bianca, consisting of mozzarella, mushrooms, prosciutto di Parma, parmigiana Reggiano, and truffle oil.
Pazzo Italiano expertly takes a traditional favorite and uses fresh, high-quality ingredients to elevate it to the next level of flavor and refinement.
Mimmo’s Ristorante Italiano
Upon stepping into Mimmo’s Ristorante Italiano, the first thing you’re likely to notice is the giant brick oven, which serves as a majestic focal point in this stylish and airy eatery. A combination of red and stone walls, high, industrial ceilings, and rustically elegant tables and chairs give Mimmo’s an air of elevated comfort.
Located on Highway 98 in Destin, Mimmo’s was built from the ground up by the owner and founder, Mimmo himself. In addition to pizza, their extensive dinner menu offers appetizers, salads, and a huge variety of pasta and meat dishes.
With more than a dozen pizza varieties on the menu, it can be difficult to choose, given the number of mouthwatering options. We love the namesake pie, Mimmo’s Pizza, which is topped with prosciutto di Parma, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese. For vegetarians, we urge you to try the Vegetariana pizza. The combination of spinach, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, tomato sauce, and mozzarella is just too good to pass up. Best of all? All of the pizzas at Mimmo’s come out piping hot, with that slightly charred taste that can only be accomplished by cooking in a traditional brick oven.
Buffalo Jack’s Legendary Wings & Pizza
What’s a better combination than pizza and wings? If you’re lucky enough to find yourself at Buffalo Jack’s Legendary Wings & Pizza, not much. An institution on Emerald Coast Parkway in Destin since 2006, it’s not hard to see why this eatery has such a loyal following.
The ambiance is relaxed and welcoming. The expansive bar, wood paneling, and abundance of televisions give it definite sports bar vibes. This would be a great place to watch a football game on a Saturday or Sunday.
And while the vibes are great, the food is even better. The menu offers a substantial selection of starters, burgers, and other entrées which we’re sure are also delicious, but the main draws here are definitely the pizza and wings. Since we’re here to talk about pizza, we won’t go too in-depth about the wings, but if you find yourself at Buffalo Jack’s, just trust us and try them. We doubt you’ll be disappointed.
In addition to nearly a dozen pizza combinations to choose from, Buffalo Jack’s also offers a “create your own” pizza option. Our personal favorites? The Buffalo Chicken Pizza, and the BBQ pizza. Both come perfectly drenched in sauce, cheese and a hearty serving of chicken. These simple but tasty combinations are instant classics.
There’s no shortage of pizzerias and Italian restaurants in Destin, but from ambiance to quality, to flavor combinations, these five rank at the very top of our list. Let us know which restaurants and pizzas you liked best!
