MomSkoop
Florida offers more than just beaches and theme parks – it’s home to some of the most extraordinary dining experiences in America. From underwater adventures to historic mills, the Sunshine State boasts restaurants that transform eating into unforgettable memories. Ready to discover places where the setting is just as amazing as the food? These nine Florida restaurants will make you rethink what dining out can be.
1. Mai-Kai Restaurant: A Polynesian Paradise
Step into a tropical wonderland at Fort Lauderdale’s historic Mai-Kai Restaurant. Recently reopened after extensive renovations, this 1956 landmark transports guests straight to the South Pacific without leaving Florida.
Authentic fire knife dancers perform heart-stopping routines while you sip from an extensive menu of rum-based tropical cocktails served in tiki mugs. The interior feels like a movie set with nautical artifacts, thatched roofs, and waterfalls creating distinct dining areas.
The Polynesian-fusion menu features specialties like Peking duck and crab rangoon that have remained favorites for decades. It’s like visiting a Polynesian village, museum, and restaurant all rolled into one unforgettable experience.
2. Old Spanish Sugar Mill: Flip Your Own Flapjacks
Hungry travelers at De Leon Springs State Park discover a breakfast revolution – tables equipped with built-in griddles where you become the chef. This historic mill-turned-restaurant invites families to pour and flip their own pancakes right at their table.
The server brings pitchers of homemade regular and stone-ground wheat batters, plus toppings ranging from blueberries to chocolate chips. The sizzle of batter hitting the hot griddle creates an interactive meal that kids particularly love.
Between bites, guests can gaze out at the natural spring through large windows or read about the building’s 100-year history as an actual sugar mill. The restaurant’s motto says it all: “Come and cook your own!”
3. The Bubble Room: Christmas Every Single Day
Holiday magic never ends at Captiva Island’s whimsical Bubble Room. Founded in 1979, this three-story wonderland celebrates Christmas, Halloween, and every other holiday simultaneously in a riot of color and nostalgia.
Vintage toys from the 1930s and 40s dangle from ceilings while model trains chug along tracks above diners’ heads. The waitstaff, dubbed “Bubble Scouts,” wear Scout uniforms and serve enormous portions of comfort food on brightly colored plates.
Don’t miss their famous orange crunch cake – a dessert so popular they sell thousands of slices monthly. The restaurant’s name comes from the bubble lights on the Christmas trees that stay up year-round, creating a perpetual celebration that defies Florida’s tropical setting.
4. Shark’s Underwater Grill: Dine With Ocean Predators
Surrounded by 660,000 gallons of seawater and dozens of circling sharks, dinner at SeaWorld Orlando’s premier restaurant becomes an underwater safari. Floor-to-ceiling aquarium walls create the illusion of dining beneath the ocean while sand tigers, blacktips, and nurse sharks glide silently past your table.
The menu appropriately focuses on sustainable seafood options like miso-glazed salmon and seared scallops. The blue glow from the massive tank bathes everything in ethereal light, creating a dining atmosphere unlike anywhere else.
Reservations are essential at this popular spot where marine biologists occasionally make appearances to answer questions about the magnificent predators swimming just inches from your breadbasket. The experience combines marine education with upscale dining in perfect harmony.
5. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater: 1950s Drive-In Magic
Remember drive-in movies? Disney’s Hollywood Studios recreates this vanishing piece of Americana with remarkable attention to detail. Under a perpetual starry night sky, guests slide into authentic-looking convertible car booths facing a giant movie screen.
The entire restaurant mimics a 1950s outdoor theater, complete with vintage advertisements and sci-fi movie clips playing continuously. Carhops (servers) deliver classic American comfort food like burgers and milkshakes right to your “car” while you enjoy clips from Attack of the 50-Foot Woman and other B-movie classics.
The dim lighting and retro ambiance transport diners to a simpler time. Parents love introducing kids to this nostalgic experience that combines movie watching and dining in a uniquely immersive setting you won’t find outside Disney’s creative universe.
6. The Wreck Bar: Mermaid Shows With Your Meal
Sailors of old told tales of enchanting mermaids, but at Fort Lauderdale’s Wreck Bar, these mythical creatures perform nightly. Located inside the B Ocean Resort, this nautical-themed establishment features large portholes looking directly into a swimming pool.
Professional mermaids perform choreographed underwater routines visible through these windows while guests enjoy seafood and tropical drinks. The bar itself resembles a shipwreck with weathered wood, fishing nets, and maritime artifacts creating an immersive atmosphere.
The MeduSirena Underwater Show has been a local tradition since the 1950s when the hotel first opened. Adults can even catch a more risqué “Aqua Burlesque” show on weekend nights – a uniquely Floridian blend of vintage entertainment and modern aquatic artistry found nowhere else.
7. El Rey de las Fritas: Cuban Burger Heaven
Tucked away in Miami’s vibrant Little Havana neighborhood, this unassuming family-owned gem has been serving Cuba’s answer to the hamburger since 1976. The frita cubana – a spiced beef patty topped with crispy shoestring potatoes on Cuban bread – draws locals and tourists alike.
Colorful Cuban memorabilia covers the walls while Latin music plays softly in the background. Founder Victoriano Gonzalez brought his secret recipe from Havana, and today his descendants still prepare each frita by hand.
Pair your burger with a batido de trigo (wheat shake) for the authentic experience. The restaurant’s name means “The King of Fritas,” a title well-earned through decades of perfecting this street food staple that represents Miami’s cultural melting pot in a single, mouthwatering sandwich.
8. Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Cafe: Bavaria in Central Florida
“Gemütlichkeit” – the German concept of coziness and good cheer – fills every corner of this authentic German restaurant in historic downtown Sanford. Owner Theo Hollerbach, a German immigrant, created a slice of his homeland complete with servers in dirndls and lederhosen.
Weekend nights transform into raucous celebrations as live accordion players lead the entire restaurant in traditional drinking songs. Massive beer steins filled with imported German brews clink together while platters of schnitzel, sausages, and sauerkraut make their way to wooden tables.
The restaurant has expanded three times since opening in 2001, now occupying much of its block. The Magnolia Square location becomes a mini-Oktoberfest every weekend, bringing unexpected Alpine charm to this Central Florida river town that feels worlds away from nearby Orlando.
9. Satchel’s Pizza: Dining in a Vintage VW Bus
College town quirkiness reaches its peak at Gainesville’s beloved Satchel’s, where the dining options include a 1970s Volkswagen van permanently parked inside the restaurant. Owner Satchel Raye, a local artist, transformed a former industrial space into a folk art wonderland using recycled materials.
The outdoor seating area features a junk museum called the “Lightnin’ Salvage Lounge” with thousands of oddities from toys to license plates. Hand-tossed pizzas emerge from wood-fired ovens topped with locally-sourced ingredients, while the homemade sodas come in mason jars.
Cash only and perpetually busy, Satchel’s has survived a devastating fire to remain Gainesville’s most eccentric eatery. The restaurant’s motto – “No Suits” – perfectly captures the laid-back, creative spirit that makes dining here an adventure beyond just great pizza.