A bit off the beaten track, Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant is popular among locals and in-the-know out-of-towners alike. It’s within shouting distance of Joe Patti’s Seafood on B Street, a wholesale fish market that also includes a sushi bar; it’s easy to get the two confused, but the market is on B Street and the Seafood Restaurant on C Street.
Open midmorning through late afternoon, Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant has everything you need for a super-casual lunch or early dinner of fresh fish and shellfish—mostly fried, though some grilled entrees are available.
Dinner plates—from mullet, flounder, and the Southeast Asian catfish called Basa or Swai to scallop, shrimp, and oyster combos—back up the seafood entrée in question with some of the restaurant’s fine sides. Platters (with the same generous selection of sides) give you an aquatic smorgasbord, while the seafood baskets—accompanied by two sides of your choice—range from Popcorn Shrimp and Lightly Blackened Salmon to Sea Bass and Grouper.
The sandwich options run the gamut from fish, oyster, and shrimp po’boys to crab burgers, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers. (Besides the latter two burgers, chicken tenders—available in the dinner, basket, or sandwich dishes—make another option for those whose tastes aren’t running toward the seafood end of the spectrum.)
Soups (including Shrimp Creole, New England Clam Chowder, and Seafood Gumbo) and salads help round out your options. Meanwhile, you can also order everything from fish filets to oysters, crab, scallops, and calamari a la carte.
Wet your whistle with iced tea, coffee, soda, and other non-alcoholic beverages, and consider winding down your Captain Joey Patti’s feast with a dessert—not least one of the housemade cakes.
Let’s dig deeper into the Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant menu by profiling a few of the highlights!
Seafood Gumbo
The restaurant notes that its recipe for Seafood Gumbo has been refined for decades, and it’s certainly among the most popular items on the menu. Nothing like a soul-satisfying bowl of gumbo, especially as part of a well-spent day beachgoing and sightseeing on the Emerald Coast!
Grouper Dinner
Taste the Gulf Coast with the Grouper Dinner, among the hottest-selling menu items. Your fried filets come paired with baked beans, hushpuppies, and coleslaw as well as your choice of either French fries or cheese grits.
The Captain Joey Platter
If you’re having trouble choosing among the menu’s seafood options, the Captain Joey Platter gives you an across-the-board sort of culinary sampler pack. Your spread includes two crab patties, six shrimp, six oysters, and a fish course of Basa (aka Swai), which you can swap out for Grouper, Sea Bass, or another alternative if you’d prefer for an extra charge. That’s not all, either: The Captain Joey Platter musters reinforcements in the form of baked beans, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and either fries or cheese grits.
Jalapeno Hushpuppies
We’ve mentioned them as a side in some of the above entrees, but such is the popularity of the Captain Joey Patti hushpuppies that we need to call them out all on their own. While the standard versions are plenty delicious, the jalapeno hushpuppies—which you can order as a separate side in the quantity of three or six—take things to a whole other level.
Rub shoulders with Pensacola locals at Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant, where you’ll be dining on the bounty of the brine just a seashell’s toss or so from Pensacola Bay!
Insider Tip:
It’s not uncommon for Captain Joey Patti’s Seafood Restaurant to be impressively packed around lunchtime, so if you’re coming with a larger party you might want to send someone ahead to reserve a table and place the order.