For a lot of visitors, Pensacola is as much a culinary destination as it is a geographic one. It would be unthinkable to come to Pensacola and miss out on the near boundless options of fresh seafood available, literally, in our backyard.
Whether you want to make a memorable meal for your traveling companions, pick up some prepared seafood dishes for an afternoon at the beach, or get something on ice to enjoy after you head home, a stop at one of Pensacola’s local, fresh seafood markets is a must to complete your Pensacola experience:
If there were such a thing a seafood “super center,” Joe Patti’s Seafood market in Downtown Pensacola would be it.
Joe Patti’s is situated on the shore of Pensacola Bay in front of the dock where a fleet of boats brings in a lot of the catch. The Patti family has a long history in Pensacola, starting in the early 1930s, when Joe and Anna Patti started selling fish from their front porch in Downtown Pensacola. The family’s operations grew to include fishing boats, delivery trucks, seafood markets and restaurants, as well as a ship-building operation. One of Joe Patti’s sons, Frank Patti, Sr., still runs the downtown market today.
In addition to the fresh fare, Joe Patti’s includes Amangiari’s Deli & Specialty Food Market, home to some of the tastiest ready-to-eat sushi in town.
The specialty market also offers endless supplies of side items, desserts and various mealtime accoutrement. There’s a coffee bar with a cold case that includes bananas foster cake, tiramisu cake and Florida sunshine cake. Another cooler boasts crab and artichoke dip as well as yellow fin tuna dip. Yet another cooler offers prepared cold seafood salads, including shrimp and scallop ceviche.
No meal is complete without a proper bottle of vino, which you can select from Anna’s Wine Shop, also located within Joe Patti’s Seafood.
You can even get Old Bay Seasoning and hushpuppies.
When you walk into Maria’s Seafood, one of the first things you see is a sign detailing all of the top-notch Pensacola eateries that serve their seafood, including some of the best restaurants in town, like the Grand Marlin, Jackson’s Steakhouse and Peg Leg Pete’s.
But Maria’s offers this whole-sale quality straight to consumers.
“Maria’s Fresh Seafood Market is proudly serving over 130 of the area’s finest restaurants and offers seafood for both wholesale and retail,” according to the market’s website. “Our wholesale division delivers to restaurants, hospitals, military and many other vendors. We specialize in fresh local whole fish cut to order and offer the freshest local fish fillets.”
Best known for its seasoned steamed shrimp and tasty blue crabs, snow crab, Dungeness crab, king crab, and Maine lobster, all fish at Maria’s is purchased and fileted daily. The market also offers, local shrimp, scallops, squid, and seasonally available amberjack, cobia, flounder, grouper and more. If you need to get your fish home, they offer nationwide overnight delivery.
Maria’s also offers a selection of preparation and side items, including prepared scampi butter and lemon butter, as well as smoked tuna dip and lobster dip. It also carries a selection of frozen Cajun specialty foods from Pensacola’s Broussard’s Bayou Co.
This is a true local’s favorite that offers no-frills, tasty, local bounty of the sea.
The market features a counter of iced-down fare, including various types of shrimp and oysters, offerings like blue crab dip and crab queso, as well as lot of fresh fish like grouper, snapper, trigger fish, salmon and much more.
A business that also draws its lineage from the Joe Patti family, this combination seafood market/seafood restaurant just recently got an unplanned upgrade. The whole facility was replaced in 2023 following a fire.
“At Gulf Coast Seafood, we pride ourselves on having the freshest seafood you can find,” the market’s website says. “From mullet to shrimp, grouper and much more - you can be sure to find it fresh here.”
Gulf Coast Seafood’s bounty always includes several sizes of shrimp and lots of oyster options, as well as fresh fish like tilapia, catfish, flounder, trigger, mahi mahi, tuna, amberjack, salmon, snapper, grouper, cobia, haddock, cod, swordfish and more.
In Pensacola, seafood is sushi, too…
Naturally, Pensacola is known for our delectable local seafood bounty. Just imagine coming to town and not enjoying a platter of golden-fried butterfly shrimp, crab-stuffed grouper or grilled snapper. The same natural abundance that makes Pensacola ideal for a traditional Neptune’s feast also puts us at center stage for the sea fare feature of the far east: sushi.
Dining Outdoors in Pensacola
Between Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, and Perdido Key, there are plenty of outdoor restaurants to satisfy your hunger and bring a smile to your eyes.
Ode to the Oyster: How to Cook and Eat this Slimy Delight
Unfamiliar with oysters? Just think of them as the chicken livers of the sea. We're getting to the bottom of this slimy delightful Pensacola Bay Area staple.
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