marina cafe

came here to celebrate our engagement while on vacation. we were greeted by friendly staff and seated without having a reservation. first off let me say the food was outstanding! i ordered the pasta with sun dried tomatoes and chicken and my fiance ordered pork ribeye. our food was cooked perfectly and my wine was fresh. when they heard of our engagement they gave us ice cream on the house! very friendly, outstanding food, beautifulviewof the harbor. its pricey but well worth every penny! be sure to stop here while your in town!!!! you won't regret it!!!!

happy hour and wonderful harbor view. we came for happy hour and enoyed half price martinis ans sushi. we ordered 4 sushi rolls that were all outstanding and fresh. the sunsetviewfrom our table was beautiful!


-----06 may, 2013-----

great happy hour and amazing view. we came for ahppy hour and enjoyed a nice tabhle over looking the harbo. we wnjoyed half price martinins and 4 sushi rolls! the sunset was amazing from out seats!

the food is wonderful the service is great and it has aviewto die for, when in destin don't miss marian café. we try to go  several times when we are in town and they also have a wonderful happy hour in the bar

excellent food and service with a greatviewof the harbor. it has a quiet atmosphere which was good for conversation. calamari appetizer was very good. sushi menu has a good variety. we had samari tuna sashimi which was superb. there were four of us dining and each of us chose a different fish entree...all were excellent. we had the brownie with cinnamon ice cream for desert. awesome!

i took my girlfriend to destin with plans to propose. i had called around to several different restaurants and tourist attractions in the area to decide on the perfect location. all of the places i called were dismissive and not very enthusiastic ... in fact one restaurant i called said they wouldn't take pictures during/after the proposal because they thought it was "distracting to other customers". then i came across marina cafe. when i called i told them i wanted to propose at their restaurant and immediately the office manager (i believe her name is judy... i might be wrong) was super excited and began to list off ideas of where in the restaurant would be the perfect place to do it. i did not ask about pictures, but due to her enthusiasm i immediately booked a reservation. in the upcoming week to our trip to destin i spoke to her again and asked if they might be able to take pictures and she said that they would do anything i wanted to do. once we arrived at the restaurant the hostess informed our waiter (freddie) that we had arrived and he personally walked us to our table where the manager (michael) was waiting to greet us. they really pulled out all the stops, even greeting me by name, pulling out my girlfriend's chair for her, and just making us feel like celebrities in general. i had told them that i was going to propose after ordering the entree and as soon as they saw it was happening they made sure to take pictures and a video on their cell phones and afterwards came up and got my number so they could send them to me. apart from helping out with the proposal, the service was phenomenal. freddie (our waiter) was incredibly friendly and attentive. the food was excellent (best steak i have ever had!!!!) and my fiancee's swordfish was to die for. after the meal they brought us complimentary ice cream (which was also delicious) with a decorated plate that said "congratulations"! apart from the service and the food, theviewis beautiful - looking out at the boats in the marina. we were both just blown away by the whole experience and they helped create a night we will never forget for as long as we both live. this is a restaurant that we will visit every time we come back to destin (which we will, because we have family that owns a condo in the area). whether or not you have a special occasion, you definitely need to try out marina cafe!!! it is our new favorite restaurant.

first time here and it turned out great.  seems to be a little off the tourist path which is a nice change for locals.  the atmosphere is great with an awesomeviewof the harbor.  the wine list is extensive.  sushi isn't the main focus here but it is great, the kaboom roll was very good.  the jumbo lump crab on panko crusted eggplant medallions and herb crusted yellow fin tuna with yellow tomato coulis were both extremely good appetizers.  the grilled fish (wahoo) with summer vegetables and roasted red bliss potatoes was perfect.  excellent portion size for a piece of grilled wahoo.  the s’mores martini and crème brulee were great after dinner.  our waiter chris and the rest of the staff were very professional and extremely helpful.  dinner was a little expensive but well worth it for the experience and great food.  wish we would have found this place years ago.

great place for dinner. we ate here on march 10, 2015 and we had a great experience. our waiter, chris, was prompt, friendly and knowledgeable. the dishes my family had were all delicious but our favorite had to be the red fish. the only small complaint was that the kids meal pasta with marinara was way too spicy and zesty for her. they offered another option but my daughter was content with the potato side dishes so we didn't bother. the ambience was great and theviewwas beautiful. overall, a great experience and we would dine at marina cafe again.

happy hour spot. i love the happy hour here. they did make some changes for hh but not enough to stop coming. overall very good, bestviewand good price. thurs night ladies night. wine under two bucks! service can be slow in bar during hh but so are most places. see you next time marina !

my husband wanted to take me somewhere nice, we have never eaten before..so we decided on this establishment .
theviewwas nice, the waiter was great..however, they were scimpy on the food, although the little sample they gave is was delicious . we spent $75, got an entree , water and diet coke, then had to leave there and go through mcdonalds drive thru to stop our stomachs from growling. 2 stars is all i rated this place..they are more concerned about making a tiny piece of fish looking artistic and over pricing it. if i am gonna pay $75 for a meal, i don't expect to pay for a piece of art sample bite .

great food. first time at marina cafe. it had a beautifulviewof the harbor and the food and service was excellent. the crab cake small plate was the best crab cake ever with a remoulade sauce that was a perfect complement. the grouper was light and tasty -some of the best fish i have ever had. the macaroni and cheese was an excellent side and not too heavy. service was outstanding and we had a very memorable experience. definitely a go back to place.

excellent in every way!. my beau and i went to marina cafe last night. the decor andvieware stunning. the food is beautifully presented and delicious and the service was exceptional. i would highly recommend marina cafe for a special night out.

very professional place. by far the nicest restaurant i've eaten at this week in destin. we made a reservation and had to wait about two extra minutes because the manager wanted to ensure we had the bestviewin the whole restaurant. from start to finish he checked on us and made sure everything was satisfactory. not overbearing though. staff was incredibly friendly and was guest oriented which is very important to me. we started off with the calamari. before i go on i must make not that the food was creative and refreshing to see that kind of creativity. the calamari was topped with shredded banana peppers, nice touch! i had the swordfish special over some sort of garlic roasted mashed potatoes, topped with braised spinach. that was fabulous! very enjoyable. she got the filet topped with jumbo lump crab meat. talk about food envy! that was over roasted potatoes. we then decided the vanilla crème brûlée. wow! that was the right choice. that was fabulous with the cup of coffee i had. pricey but worth every penny! server was a gem as well. he did an extraordinary job. i will be back next time i am in destin!

awesome food! everything that was brought to our table was cooked to perfection. theviewwas fabulous and it service was impeccable! this is must if you are visiting the destin area.

we have been wanting to try out marina cafe, but wanted to make sure we got down to destin before 6pm so we could get the bogo entree. we were shocked when we showed up at 515pm how full they were. obviously this is the only place in town where you need to make a reservation to eat before 6pm off season. the only reason we got a table, is because there was a no show.

i ordered the filet tenderloins and my husband had the pork chops. we also had salads, but passed on desert. i really wanted something chocolate - and a brownie doesn't count. but really everything was excellent. theviewwas nice - sunset on the harbor. service was fine. not sure what all the recent complaints are about. at about $30 per plate (salad not included), this is somewhere we'll only go for early bird special.

excellent fine dining with a greatviewof the marina. the service was impeccable - the minute my wine glass was empty our waiter was there to fill it. the andouille crusted redfish is divine! will go back for our next vacation "date night."