Castaways

Ok place. Very busy though, too about an hour waiting since arrival, did’nt mind though. Shrimp and oysters were very good, but the fried fish was very bland, eggy, and soggy (like its been sitting fried and thrown in water for awhile. Onion rings ok, garlic bread bad. Hush puppies bland and coleslaw meh. Stuffed crab was all bread no crab. Overall very little seasonings. My dad said jumbalaya was great though, and homemade tarter was amazing. If I go again, Definitely wont order the trash basket like I did this time cause it basically was trash for 15 bucks. Only ordering shrimp and oysters.

Amazing food and a fun crowd. Definitely worth the wait to get in! Best boiled shrimp and fried oysters I’ve ever had. The sides were amazing. Next time I’m ordering the cheese curds too!

Fast, friendly service. Yoooooge shrimp at reasonable prices. Very close to I-​10 so if you are passing through and need to eat, stay away from the usual suspects and stop here. The shrimp here are better than other popular places in this part of the world.

Best shrimp anywhere. I live in Chipley and it’s worth the drive to Bonifay to dine at Castaways. I love their fried mullet and jumbo fried shrimp, everything is great, including the service. I highly recommend Castaways.

Traveling home and stopped at this local gem! The jumbo fried shrimp is delicious, tender melt in your mouth scallops! We cleaned our plates. The service was very friendly and polite, plus FAST!

Driving through Bonifay, FL on a family road trip, we almost stopped at Subway for lunch, but saw the reviews for Castaway and gave it a try, we’re glad we did. The Boat Trash meal was great, my wife thoroughly enjoyed her fried jumbo shrimp and our children got kids meals (shrimp & chicken tenders). Service was great– friendly, fast and accurate. We’d stop at Castaway again.

The shrimp is huge! Fair warning…9 pieces is a lot! The fried crab claws are really good and remind me of Montego Bay. I had the flounder which was done just right. The buffalo shrimp was also huge and very good. This place doesn’t look line much from the outside but it is really nice inside. It’s a hidden gem.

Wonderful food. The place gets crowded, but that is for a very good reason. They rock!

Fresh, hand breaded seafood. Fried fish, oysters and shrimp were top notch delicious IMO. I would stop here anytime with clients while in the area.

Second time there… excellent. You have to her the flounder… WOW. kids had the shrimp and it was great. Will definitely be back

Stopped here while driving along I-​10. The fried shrimp were huge and the batter was great. The batter (I think different) on the chicken was really good too! Staff was nice, it smelled nice in the dining area (scented candle burning) and the bathroom was very clean. Portions are big and priced very fair. I saw someone get the baked oysters with cheese, bacon, and jalapeños and they looked and smelled really good. There was someone shucking oysters the whole time we were there. We ate until we were full and had some togo. I would recommend Cataways because everything was good, down south cooking, nothing was bad, and also because the other choices around seem less than ideal.

This place is fantastic! The shrimp were huge! We got shrimp cocktail, boat trash and crab claws. All delicious! The batter for the fried items was light and airy. Service was attentive and super sweet. Definitely coming back.

Excellent Shrimp and Seafood! After a family kayak trip down Holmes Creek, we were ready to chow down and researched Unilocal for restaurants nearby. Castaway’s popped up with excellent reviews, so we decided to give them a try. We had to use the Maps Application to find it as it’s kind of tucked away and the building is pretty non-​descript. It’s small but all the tables filled up after we arrived and were seated and people were waiting for tables. My adult son and I shared an order of Buffalo Shrimp (Dozen for 10.99) and we LOVED them. They were jumbo size shrimp, lightly coated with the buffalo seasoning mixed into the coating, I believe. Served with Ranch Dressing they were hot and plump without being too spicy. We also shared an order of Boat Trash which was a combo plate consisting of lightly coated and fried fish, shrimp, oysters and stuffed crab. The plate came with two sides and we selected cole slaw and baked beans. Nothing terribly exciting about either but it was tasty, for sure. We also had a choice of garlic bread or hush puppies and chose the bread which was soft, warm and very good. My only slight complaint about the service was that our server did not know what the crab was «stuffed» with and that was a concern for me since I am allergic to scallops which are sometimes used in a seafood stuffing. Otherwise, our service was great. We will be back for sure!

Omg this was the best restaurant! We stopped on our way to Destin for a lunch break. Would definitely recommend this little jewel! The fried shrimp is the best I have ever had. Neat clean friendly environment. I never write reviews but just had to take the time to put the word out!

Listing shows then open until 9pm on Saturday. They actually closed at 8 pm, so no food for me. :-(

We were traveling on I10, pulled off for gas, and found Castaway next to Exxon. I wasn’t expecting much but stayed to try the fresh oysters and shrimp. We were told that the oysters were caught that morning, so we had them raw and preferred them without any sauce. We also had fried shrimp, which was better than average, but I would have preferred them without breading. The service was fast and friendly, and the clientele seemed like locals who knew each other. 4 stars instead of 5 just because the rest of the meal didn’t stand out like the seafood. It’s a great option over fast food for while you’re on a road trip. I look forward to stopping in next time I’m in Florida.

We picked this restaurant to eat purely from the Unilocal review, and it was time for a break from driving on I10. This is a very good restaurant. Most of the items offered are fried southern style, but the breading was light and it wasn’t heavy with oil. (They said they change it daily.). And the SHRIMP! Holy mackerel! They were huge! My wife ordered only six, the smallest order, and could hardly finish them. Their garlic bread was exactly as I like it: soft, buttery, and lots of garlic. I suspect that everything is hand made, including the stuffed crabs.
We had to stand in line for a few minutes to get a table, and there were a bunch of locals behind us. This is a popular place. They have been open only four years.
Only one negative: the coleslaw was a bit sweet for my taste, but that is a very minor thing. The service, the food, the cleanliness of the rest rooms, I really can’t find anything wrong with this place.

I will start by saying the service was excellent and the location very convenient to our hotel. Quick access off of 10. However, the food did not live up to the reviews I read, which fellow Unilocalers are not usually guilty of that often. The seafood was fresh, I will give them that. But fried shrimp was overly bready for my taste. Coleslaw was chopped into micro pieces and not that flavorful. My husbands French fries were over cooked. The hush puppies were bland. Maybe we came on an off day, but I would not go out of the way to go back.

This is a very good little seafood restaurant in Bonifay, FL, right off I-​10. It’s a little hard to see from the Interstate exit, so don’t blink when you get off the highway because you’ll miss it. My family and I ate there for lunch on a Friday. The parking lot was full of locals’ cars and pickup trucks (always a good sign). The restaurant is small. It has approximately twelve tables plus some bar seating. Service was very fast and polite. I believe the restaurant is family-​owned and operated. I have four children, the youngest of whom is a baby, and they were able to accommodate us easily and without any trouble.
This restaurant clearly specializes in fried seafood, and it does not disappoint. The fried shrimp were outstanding: JUMBO Gulf shrimp, cooked perfectly in a very tasty batter so as not to lose their sweetness or tenderness. They were served to us directly out of the fryer and were darn near perfect. I wouldn’t say they were the best fried shrimp I’ve ever had, but they were the best I’ve had in about 5 – 6 years. FWIW, I grew up spending a lot of time on the MS and FL Gulf Coast, so I feel pretty confident that I know what really good fried shrimp taste like. Trust me on this, these are the genuine article.
Their prices are very reasonable too. IIRC, you could get a 6-​shrimp platter including 2 sides for approx. $ 10 and a 12-​shrimp platter two sides for approx. $ 15. Two adults could share a 12-​shrimp platter for lunch and be quite full because their shrimp are JUMBO and very filling. Kids menu is also very reasonable, e.g. $ 5 3-​shrimp platter + 1 side.
Grades for the food we had are below (A+ = best I ever had. A = outstanding, B = good; C= average):
Fried Shrimp: A
Fried Oysters: B
Onion Rings: A
French Fries: B– (a little better than average)
Cole slaw: F
Garlic Toast: C
My only real complaint about this place was the cole slaw. It’s a minor complaint, but it was really bad. It was completely bland and tasted like it had been almost pureed in a blender. They need to improve this recipe since cole slaw is a typical ’”fixin’” served with fried seafood. Patrons will expect good cole slaw to accompany these dishes.
All in all, this is an excellent little restaurant, which we’d recommend to anyone. It’s a real gem, with a convenient location right off I-​10. Note, however, that they have strange hours. IIRC, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Amazing buffalo shrimp, we shared the fish po“boy coleslaw and onion rings, we don’t usually eat fried food, but when in Rome :-)Great southern hospitality