More than 60 restaurants opened in Escambia and Santa Rosa in 2023. Here's the list:
New restaurant businesses were popping up in all shapes and sizes in 2023, from grand dining rooms to pop-up coffee bars. Here’s a look back at over 60 of the restaurants, bars, and food trucks and trailers that made their debut in 2023.
Tacos El Fluffy
707 N. Pace Blvd.
The first thing you will notice at Tacos El Fluffy is the hand-pieced mosaic that encompasses the indoor order window. The next thing you will notice is a warm welcome from 25-year-old owner Jodanny "Geo" Zlaya, beaming with pride over his family’s homemade tortillas and his mother’s famous tamales.
House of Pho
6245 N. Davis Highway, Suite A
The secret to creating a pho-nominal Vietnamese pho soup is in the broth, according to House of Pho Owner Minh Hoang. In the new restaurant that opened in January, the broth is the main attraction.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's newest Vietnamese restaurant bringing 'pho-nominal' and authentic flavors
Mariachi’s Navarre
8207 Navarre Parkway, Navarre
Sizzling fajitas, Mexican street tacos and larger-than-life California burritos have been staples at Gulf Breeze’s Mariachi’s Mexican Grill for the past 15 years or so. The new Navarre location has the same authenticity as the original.
Read the full story here: Gulf Breeze's longtime street taco spot, Mariachi's, is adding a Navarre shop next month
Lamonte Gelato
1010 N. 12th Ave.
A small batch artisanal gelato and coffee shop in the Old Sacred Heart Hospital on 12th Avenue, the eatery is from the folks behind TROUBADOUR and features 14-daily made batches of assorted gelato flavors.
Read the full story here: If you liked downtown Pensacola’s TROUBADOUR, you'll love what they have planned next
PJ’s Coffee
85 W. Airport Blvd.
Louisiana-based café PJ’s Coffee transports you to the New Orleans French Quarter with bold coffee flavors and freshly fried, hand-powdered beignets.
Read the full story here: Looking for a Pensacola beignet spot? New Orleans-based coffee shop is ready to deliver
Dirty Dough
85 W. Airport Blvd.
Dirty Dough, a rapidly growing West Coast franchise, sets itself apart with its cookies’ decadent, flavor-filled centers.
Read the full story here: This new Pensacola cookie shop is getting its customers down and 'dirty' in the best way.
Pensacola Smokehouse
232 E. Main St.
Pioneered by South Market restaurant owner Holly Hays, Pensacola Smokehouse is all about keeping it simple with juicy barbecue, piled-high handhelds and flavor-packed sauces.
Read the full story here: New downtown smokehouse is looking to put Pensacola on the map for best barbecue
Brother Fox
415 N. Alcaniz St.
Words like "charred," "coal-roasted" and "charbroiled" make frequent appearances on the Spanish-inspired Brother Fox menu in the Lily Hall lodging house, where many of the dishes are prepared over an open fire.
Read the full story here: Lily Hall's Brother Fox restaurant to bring wood-fired cooking to Pensacola next month
A Rustyc Spoon on the Green and Common Labor
2500 Oak Pointe Drive
The location at Marcus Pointe Golf Club has two concepts: a casual lunch service with a menu that resembles the Rustyc Spoon food truck, and the Common Labor fine dining concept rolled out on weekends and focused on more experimental dishes that change monthly with special wine pairings.
Read the full story here: This Pensacola fan-favorite food truck is opening a restaurant
Vibes + Smoothies
314 N. DeVilliers St.
Vibes + Smoothies offers smoothie bowls decorated with freshly sliced fruit, granola and drizzled with honey to appeal to those looking to take on the day with a sweet start, while freshly rolled wraps and sandwiches appease the savory seeking lunch crowd.
Read the full story here: New Belmont-DeVilliers shop brightens your day with smoothies, lunch wraps and good vibes
Andy D’s
8649 Gulf Boulevard, Navarre
Andy D’s Restaurant & Daquiri Deck offers outdoor seating and an overall vacation vibe, with Gulf seafood, handhelds and frozen cocktails.
Read the full story here: Goodbye Broussard’s, welcome Andy D’s. New restaurant and Daquiri deck coming to Navarre
Pizza Me. Pasta You.
2805 W. Cervantes St.
Taste of Jerusalem owner Ray Sehweil's new Italian restaurant, Pizza Me. Pasta You., has a look and flair that resembles the Mediterranean island of Sicily with an open-air courtyard with warm lighting, lots of greenery and a table full of divine Italian cooking.
Read the full story here: Taste of Jerusalem to open an Italian sister restaurant this spring. Here's what we know.
Super Chix
Cordova Mall, 5100 N 9th Ave.
Super Chix's Cordova Mall location marked the franchise’s first location in Florida. Super Chix is a chicken and frozen custard restaurant featuring chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and salads with, you guessed it, chicken on top.
Read the full story here: Super Chix in Pensacola is now open, see what the ’obsession’ is all about
Another Broken Egg
1590 E. Nine Mile Road
Despite being a national franchise, Another Broken Egg Café captured Pensacola’s heart with its mom-and-pop style hospitality in its downtown Pensacola location. The restaurant has grown its footprint with a new location at the former Village Inn on East Nine Mile Road.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's newest Another Broken Egg opens Monday. Here's how it will be different.
Kilwins
40 S. Palafox St.
The confections shop, Kilwins, has been prided since 1947 for its handmade, creamy Mackinac Island-style fudge, which is prepared in-house over a copper kettle and poured onto a marble slab to cool and loaf.
Read the full story here: Palafox is getting a tasty new tenant specializing in homemade fudge, hand-dipped sweets
La Barra del Taco
3811 W. Navy Blvd.
La Barra Del Taco, meaning "the taco bar," is all about creating a place where the street tacos are as authentic as you would find off the streets of Mexico. This means going the extra mile for items like the tableside guacamole, daily made tortillas, self-service salsa bar and juicy pineapple pastor sliced straight off the trompo.
Read the full story here: New Pensacola taco bar aims to stand out with 'original flavor from Mexico'
Chipotle
725 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze
The Mexican grill has been a long-time desire for Gulf Breeze residents, and is now open and offering tacos, burritos, salads, bowls and more.
Read the full story here: Burritos by the beach? Gulf Breeze Chipotle finally has an opening date.
Piazza Pizza
2 Via De Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach
This Pensacola Beach delivery and carry-out only pizza place is positioned inside the Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach hotel. The New York-style pizzas are drizzled with a house-made sauce, topped with high-quality ingredients before being loaded into a custom-made pizza oven to bake a thin, crispy crust.
Read the full story here: Pensacola Beach's newest pizza shop lets you enjoy New York style slices on the sand
Slick Lips
102 S. Palafox St.
A Sandestin favorite, Slick Lips specializes in fresh seafood and oysters and has a deep history of fresh catch that it's expanded to a new restaurant in the heart of downtown Pensacola.
Read the full story here: New seafood and oyster house opens on Palafox in former Tin Cow space
Locals Gon Greek
6654 Caroline St.
The new Greek street food truck, Locals Gon Greek, introduces diners to the authentic flavors of Athens through traditional fare such as tylikta pita souvlaki (pita wraps) and homemade tzatziki (a yogurt and cucumber dip).
Read the full story here: Looking for Greek food in Pensacola? New food truck gives local a taste of Athens.
The Lobster Cage
9218 N. Palafox St.
The new restaurant has a clear focus, as you'll notice "lobster” is the first word of 70% of the menu items, including crepes, quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, and the big one: the roll.
Read the full story here: Pensacola is in love with a new lobster restaurant. Where to try it for yourself.
Fistful of Dough
1449 W. Nine Mile Road, Suite 4
This family-owned “savory bakery” offers some sweets such as chocolate chip cookies, but focuses on more non-sweet items like stuffed, from-scratch bread rolls and bite-size baked lumpia.
Read the full story here: 'Sweets are boring.' Pensacola's first-ever 'savory bakery' coming soon to Nine Mile Road
Xian Noodle Place
6014 Ninth Ave.
Along with an array of hearty noodle bowls and favorites like steamed soup buns, Xian Noodle Place also offers a bubble tea bar boasting a rainbow assortment of 30-plus flavors like the orange Mango Cloud, purple Taro Smoothie and pink and green Matcha Strawberry Milk.
Xian Noodle Place: Craving some traditional Chinese cooking in Pensacola? Xian Noodle Place plans to please
Alla Prima Coffee
532 W. Garden St.
Former Sherwood Elementary art teacher Summer Sevi is combining the world of fast-drive-thru coffee with the intricate techniques that come with manual roasting, giving customers the best of both worlds.
Read the full story here: Pensacola coffee roastery to open café with art, paint nights and artisan goods
Tru Teas
960 E. Nine Mile Road, Suite 2
Strawberry matcha lattes with fresh pureed strawberries, salted caramel milk teas with ice cream, cold foam Vietnamese iced coffees and hibiscus rose iced tea with fresh orange slices are only a fraction of the delights waiting at East Nine Mile Road’s new café, Tru Teas.
Read the full story here: New bubble tea shop wows with Instagram-worthy drink options
New Hong Kong House
5912 N. Davis Highway Suite C
New Hong Kong House brought the real-deal Chinese cooking to the Cordova area with a dim sum menu, which is a traditional Chinese meal made up of smaller plates typically eaten during lunch hours. As the cart rolls around the restaurant, diners can decide what items they want to pull off.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's new Chinese restaurant debuts 39 item dim sum menu
BarSteak
19 Palafox Place
The new downtown steakhouse serves breakfast, lunch and dinner made of finely crafted food with a touch of big-city ambiance. Offerings range from ribeye, to harder-to-find cuts like the tender teres major, marbled Denver, or boneless coulotte steak.
Read the full story here: BarSteak owner to bring new drive-thru salad and liquor concept to downtown Pensacola
Salty Pearl Raw Bar
13470 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key
From the “Hook & Cook” seafood platter that allows customers to bring in their own fresh catch to be cooked and loaded up with sides like fries, coleslaw and hushpuppies ? to the oysters purchased from nearby market, Gulf Coast Seafood ? this establishment is intended to be a place that exists for its community.
Read the full story here: New Perido Key restaurant looks to be the local spot for seafood and smash burgers
Carne Asada Darling
2600 E. Olive Road
Featuring many Central American staples like the Chancho Con Yuca (pork with cassava), Yuca Con Chicharon (cassava with pork rinds) and the Carne Con Tajada (meat with plantain slices and queso), this eatery takes customers on a trip across cultures, along with familiar favorites such as tacos, quesadillas and burritos.
Read the full story here: Love carne asada? Taste it the way it was intended at this new Pensacola food truck
Union Public House
36 E. Garden St.
Union Public House, now positioned on 36 E. Garden St., draws from Southern influences, but gives every menu item a "twist" to ensure you’ve never tried a dish quite like it before.
Read the full story here: Union Public House now open in Pensacola's East Garden District
Salt
12 Via de Luna Drive, Pensacola Beach
Salt replaced the H20 Grill inside the Hilton hotel, and was created with the idea that every piece of the meal should be fresh and full of natural flavor: fresh fish is pulled out from the water, vegetables are grilled to perfection, dressings and dips curated in-house and crab cakes are delicately hand-patted without fillers.
Read the full story here: H20 had a 20-year-run on Pensacola Beach. Its new restaurant promises even more.
Doncha Peruvian Food
3103 E. Strong St.
As a Peru native, Ramirez Flores set out to make the menu as close to a dining experience in Peru as possible. Inside you'll see greenery hanging from the ceiling, hear lively music and smell tempting plates of steak, red onions and sweet potatoes being carried out of the kitchen.
Read the full story here: Doncha Peruvian Food has opened its doors to Pensacola. Here's what you should order
Pearl & Horn
1504 W Intendencia St.
Pearl & Horn was a passion project for George Bistro + Bar owners, George and Luba Lazi, who first opened Pearl & Horn as a gourmet, fast-casual restaurant in the outdoor food hall The Garden at Palafox + Main in late-2021. This year they moved to the former Alice’s Restaurant at downtown Pensacola's intersection of Barrancas Avenue and Intendencia Street.
Pearl & Horn Take a look inside the new Pearl & Horn on Intendencia Street and see what's on the menu
Bear Fruit Bowls
260 S. Tarragona Street
Bear Fruit Bowls and Coffee won Pensacola Beach over last spring for its build-your-own-acai bowls and handcrafted cold brews. Now, the business is growing with a new permanent food truck in the heart of downtown Pensacola.
Company owners Ryan and Alexis Ford built their business off the idea of nourishing people’s bodies and souls by providing a space for people to “refuel, recharge and be encouraged.” The acai bowl bar is lined with fresh ingredients for a sweet treat that still maintains health benefits.
Read the full story here: Popular Pensacola Beach acai shop expands to downtown
Atlas Oyster House
600 S. Barracks St.
While not a new restaurant per se, Atlas has been reimagined and taken on a new identity with elevated small plates, entrees, cocktails, handcrafted sushi rolls, seafood towers and an expansive oyster program at the local, national and global level.
Read the full story here: Atlas Oyster House used to live in the shadow of Pensacola's Fish House. Not anymore.
Mr. Pollo
4275 Woodbine Road
Pensacola fan-favorite Mr. Pollo has expanded its charcoal chicken empire with a new Pace location that opened this summer. The owners hold their food to the highest standard due to their Venezuelan roots and make everything from scratch, from the garlic cilantro sauce to the melt-in-your-mouth grilled plantains.
Read the full story here: Mr. Pollo opens second location in Pace, with potential for more locations down the road
Covington Mercantile and Coffee Co.
5675 Highway 90, Milton
Milton’s new coffee shop, Covington Mercantile & Coffee Co., was opened this summer by owners Sid and Flax Covington, who dreamed up the shop through decades of cross-country road trips with their children and taste testing coffee shops along the way.
Read the full story here: New Milton coffee shop pays tribute to slain 19-year-old PCC student
What the Cluck Ever
Location varies
The owners of the Pensacola fan-favorite What the Cluck Chicken Truck launched a new ventures that goes beyond poultry to offer third-pound burgers, ribs, Cubano sandwiches, New Orleans debris, crab leg seafood boils and pork belly BLTs and more.
Read the full story here: What the Cluck Chicken Truck is launching a 2nd truck with burgers, ribs, crab legs and more
Scoops Ice Cream and Sweets
5830 Dogwood Drive, Milton
Scoops Ice Cream and Sweets made a triumphant return to Milton in a new location after a two-year hiatus, now serving up ice creams and desserts at 5830 Dogwood Drive.
Read the full story here: What's that new ice cream shop in Milton? We have the scoop
Something Asian
Location varies
Donnie Deluna's cooking is a built around love and a book full of passed down family recipes. Some of the core menu entrees on the food truck include the Korean beef and the sweet and smoky Asian barbecue chicken.
Read the full story here: The City Limits rolls out first food truck, counting down to Cervantes food truck park
P’Cola Bistro
3102 E. Cervantes St.
Pensacola's East Pensacola Heights neighborhood has a new restaurant, P’Cola Bistro, which is aiming to be the family-focused, neighborhood diner where customers feel more like family.
Read the full story here: P'Cola Bistro is now open in East Pensacola Heights. Here's are the must-try's of the menu
Cejo’s Corner
5472 Stewart St., Milton
Featuring street food items like the Hot Cheeto Mexican corn, Philly cheesesteaks, chamoy pickles and pulled pork hot dogs, the fan-favorite food truck now has a brick and mortar location neighboring Milton High School.
Read the full story here: New street food restaurant coming to Milton this month based on popular food truck
Beach House Social
8375 Gulf Blvd., Navarre
Navarre’s Beach House Social has become the restaurant to watch for its cotton-candy cocktails, bourbon burgers, beer towers, seared grouper, shishitos and Gulf of Mexico sunsets.
Read the full story here: Cotton candy cocktails, bourbon burgers and Gulf seafood on the menu at Beach House Social
Mrs. Jones Cold Brew
1449 W. Nine Mile Road, Unit 17
Stephanie Jones has been bringing her handcrafted cold brew coffee elixirs to the Pensacola area since late 2016. With over 40 unique cold brew flavors under her belt like Red Velvet, German Chocolate Cake and a butterscotch-caramely Butterbeer, she now sells a variety of her rotating flavors by the glass at her very-own cold brew bar.
Read the full story here: Cotton candy cocktails, bourbon burgers and Gulf seafood on the menu at Beach House Social
Gud Vybz
3012 N. Ninth Ave.
The Pensacola Gud Vybz menu should feel familiar to the Milton restaurant that customers have fallen in love with, offering Jamaican fare like rice and peas and the hot-and-ready handheld beef patties. But it added a new line of pizzas with twists such as jerk chicken and oxtail as specialty flavors.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's Pizza Kitchen has closed its doors for good, but a local favorite is moving in
Green Thumb Wines
9 E. Gregory St.
Owner of The Nest, Justine Gudmundson-McCain, is taking flight toward a new specialty wine shop that solely focuses on wine sold by the bottle or by the glass, with six rotating varieties at a time for those who opt to try a glass in the shop.
Read the full story here: The Nest is no more, but the owner's branching out with a new downtown Pensacola wine shop
Casks and Flights
1449 W. Nine Mile Road
Pensacola's Casks and Flights Wine Tasting Room is broadening its brand with an additional location named the Perfect Pour Wine Tasting Room – billed as a more “intimate” and relaxing wine tasting experience – which opened on Nine Mile Road this fall.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's Casks and Flights is adding a second location. Here's what you need to know
B Side and Proper Burger
11 E. Garden St.
Vinyl Music Hall’s new outdoor concept, combines a craft cocktail bar, B Side, and Proper Burger, which serves juicy smash burgers, signature sauce and tallow fries.
Read the full story here: Viny's new food and beverage duo, Proper Burger and B Side bar, slated to open in September
Beardless Brewhaus, Pace
5642 Woodbine Road
Beardless Brewhaus owners Steve Dobbs and Nick Holmes are taking over the former 5 Flags Brewing Co. on Woodbine Road, expanding the footprint of their popular Milton brewery to the growing community of Pace.
Read the full story here: 'We can be this neighborhood's little brewery.' Popular Milton brewery expands to Pace
Pollos El Gordo
3670 Barrancas Ave.
Giovanny Lopez Nava, the son of Taqueria Olgy’s founders Pedro Lopez and Olga Nava, opened up a restaurant of his own, which dishes out meals like Michoacán style charcoal chicken cooked on the grill and the 16-inch machetes, which are massive handmade quesadillas served with queso fresco and sour cream.
Read the full story here: Like hand-pressed tortillas and al pastor off the trompo? You'll love Pollos El Gordo.
Craft Bar
4970 Bayou Boulevard
The Craft Bar has made its debut at 4970 Bayou Boulevard, and there’s a lot to love about Pensacola’s new gastropub, including over 30 craft brews to choose from, locally inspired dishes and craft cocktails.
Read the full story here: Pensacola's newest gastropub is now open. Here's what's on the menu that you need to try
Thai Salads & More
2950 N. 12th Ave.
Thai Salads is East Hill's newest food truck nestled in the Geci & Associates Engineers Inc. parking lot serving Thai food and boba. Some examples include som tum, Thai chicken salad, laab gai, nam sod, gyozas, dumplings, egg rolls, Thai iced coffee, Thai iced tea, boba with tapioca and mango sticky rice.
Inca Maya
2015 N. Ninth Ave.
Inca May is a new food truck serving Mexican cuisine made with fresh ingredients and cooked to order menu items. Some examples include birria dipping tacos, tortas, carne asada plates, spicy shrimp and breakfast items including scrambled eggs with chorizo.
BAM Coffee
100 S. Navy Blvd.
A new trailer named BAM Coffee named after the owners’ three children Bradley, Alexis and Madalynn serving specialty coffee, smoothies, Italian soda, Lotus energy drinks, infused Red Bull, matcha, chai, black and green tea.
O.G. Lola’s
Location varies
O.G. Lola's is a vegan Filipino food truck offering 100% plant based Filipino cuisine and more. Some examples including vegan lumpia, vegetable pancit noodles, kimchi burger and dragon-fruit mango sorbet. The truck can usually be found somewhere in downtown Pensacola but is starting to hit markets all over Pensacola and surrounding areas.
Cactus Flower Café Food Truck
Location varies
California style Mexican cuisine, some of which including quesadillas, burritos, street tacos, rice bowls, burrito bowls and Mexican salads.
The Smokin’ Jokers BBQ
Location varies
The Smokin' Jokers BBQ is located in the Pensacola and Gulf Breeze areas and is typically posted up on Burgess Avenue across the street from West Pensacola High School. The truck offers barbecue meats in the form of tacos and also offer catering services.
Redneck Hibachi
10870 Lillian Highway
The food truck is regularly found at the Barnacle Bobs Bait and Tackle Shop, and takes a new spin on Japanese hibachi. It offers burgers, steak and chicken wraps, burger quesadillas, steak and chicken quesadillas, loaded fries and more.
Rain Sleet or Snow BBQ
311 Massachusetts Ave.
This food truck specializes in barbecue, offering pulled pork, ribs, chicken, sausage and more. The famous sides are their baked beans, collard greens and homemade macaroni and cheese and homemade potato salad.
Sweet Love
Location varies
A sweet new food truck offering soft- serve ice cream cones, shakes, floats, sundaes, popsicles, banana splits, malts, soda floats, frozen chocolate fruit, pup cups, lactose free soft-serve, sugar-free and dairy-free options. Often you will find them on the west side of Pensacola, Cantonment, Beulah area, but they go to Milton and Pace when asked.
Royal Bowls and Smoothies
Location varies
A local, veteran-owned food truck offering Acai and smoothie bowls and smoothies that travels everywhere from hospitals and car dealerships to churches and banks.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: New restaurants opened in 2023 in Pensacola, Escambia, Santa Rosa
