#58 of 95 30A Restaurants

Stinky’s Fish Camp

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Stinky’s Fish Camp in Santa Rosa Beach: New Orleans-Influenced Seafood Shack
Local Expert's Rating:
4.5 / 5
The Bottom Line:

Don’t let the name turn you off: Stinky’s Fish Camp offers some mighty tasty seafood treats along Highway 30A. Flourishing a bit of New Orleans spirit, this seafood and wine bar offers a wide-ranging menu, friendly service, and a prime location just a stone’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico surf.

- The FloridaPanhandle.com Local Expert Team

Opened in 1997, the memorably named Stinky’s Fish Camp offers “Gulf to Table” seafood, and more than a few New Orleans culinary flourishes on its extensive brunch, lunch, and dinner menu. 

This “seafood and wine bar,” as it markets itself, sits right along 30A in Santa Rosa Beach, a short jog from the beachfront. (Next door, by the way, you’ll find Stinky’s Bait Shop, which not only sells bait and offers fishing charters but also boasts a full bar and quite the selection of Stinky’s Fish Camp merchandise.)

Fresh-catch seafood, scratch-made sauces, and sides: There’s a lot to explore on Stinky’s Fish Camp menu, which puts both the bounty of the Gulf and classic Southern cookery in the spotlight. 

There’s a whole smorgasbord of oysters on offer in different preparations—“All Day, All Ways,” is the oyster tag here—plus other raw-bar delights such as peel-and-eat jumbo shrimp and a fish-and-shrimp ceviche. Appetizers range from crawfish pie and fried green tomatoes to firecracker shrimp and Crispy Boudin Bites: rice sausage with meunière sauce, jalapeño rouille, and fire pepper jelly. Chicken, duck confit, and house-made andouille share the broth of Stinky’s Fowl Gumbo, and the kitchen makes a sturdy Seafood & Corn Chowder, as well.

Fresh catches of the day can be enjoyed grilled or blackened at market price. There’s an array of baskets available for both lunch and dinner, including fried oysters, fried or grilled shrimp, and Frog Legs Meunière. Every basket comes with a few of the signature Stinky’s Fish Camp sides: sidewinder fries, tropical fruit slaw, and crawfish hushpuppies, plus smoked tomato tartar.

Sandwiches include everything from burgers to Stinky’s Signature Po’Boys, including Surf-and-Turf, Fried Oyster, Catfish Meunière, and The Cuban. Dinner entrees, meanwhile, encompass such favorites as the Spice-Boiled Snow Crab Legs, Grilled Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta, and Stinky’s Stew, which incorporates fish, shrimp, mussels, snow crab, and more. Steak fans have a grilled 14-oz. ribeye to consider, while vegetarian diners can opt for a one-two punch of fried green tomatoes and a Cauliflower Steak & Angel Hair Pasta plate.

Sunday brunch at Stinky’s Fish Camp includes some of the main menu’s items as well as such delights as boudin hash, three-egg omelets, shrimp-and-grits, Stinky’s Bennies, scratch-made biscuits, and the Rock Star: a brunchified version of the restaurant’s crawfish pie that includes a poached egg on top.

A similarly varied dessert menu awaits your sweet tooth at Stinky’s: from Key Lime Pie and bread pudding to several ice-cream treats.

As an added enticement, Stinky’s Fish Camp hosts regular live music, including for its Sunday brunches.

Here are some specific menu items most definitely worth trying on your Stinky’s Fish Camp safari:

Crawfish Hushpuppies
These much-loved Stinky’s sides are altogether irresistible.

Oyster Log
If you’ve got a hungry crew with you at Stinky’s Fish Camp, consider launching your group dining experience with the impressively presented Oyster Log, which includes a cool 36 oysters for your slurping enjoyment.

Smoked Gruyere & Bacon Oysters
Bacon and cheese combined with fresh, high-quality oysters? Heavenly.

The Taste of Stinky’s
This delicious variety pack combines crawfish pie, shrimp-and-grits, and crawfish meunière: quite the trio.

Blackened Fresh Catch
You can certainly get your grouper, redfish, or whatever other daily “Gulf to Table” option grilled, but we think the blackened route is really the way to go. It’ll come nestled alongside Brabant potatoes and a fresh veggie stir-fry as well as a tasteful lemon leek sauce.

Stinky’s Fish Camp can get plenty crowded, particularly for dinner, and the place doesn’t take reservations, so try to arrive early and be prepared for a stomach-grumbling wait. But once you’ve settled into the first of maybe a couple of rounds of crawfish hushpuppies, your patience will feel well-rewarded indeed.

Insider Tip:
There are turtles in the pond out back of Stinky’s, and you can even buy turtle “kibble” at the restaurant to feed them with.