Highlands House

Wonderful B&B! Staff was super friendly and was extremely accommodating. The restaurant downstairs has an awesome environment that is extremely dog and kid friendly. They have great happy hour deals as well as a decent kid’s menu. We will definitely be staying here again!

What a gem! Found this place on Unilocal and could to wait to go. It did not disappoint for a vacation date night! We loved the cheese plate and the bacon wrapped dates. Great change of pace from your traditional vacation seafood joints. You can see the ocean from the patio and the atmosphere was trendier than you’d expect at a traditional B&B. Made me wish I had booked an overnight stay!

I walked away this evening feeling cheated and i don’t blame it on the cost. I have never tipped 10% on a $ 100 bill but as I left I had a profound send that it over represented the service. Our server spent more time inside on his phone, we had a clear view through the widow. During two brief moments of our 1.5 hour dinner he had additional tables. He picked up the check from a table right after we arrived and forced another couple to leave when he didn’t appear for 10 minutes after their arrival. When we had his attention it took a good amount of pulling to get an understanding of the menu as most items are catch of the day or chefs choice of the day.
Tonight, we ate out for only our second time in the area but last night we visited a much nicer establishment for about a lower price. Highlands House appears a little over priced but not terribly over priced for the area.
We liked the food. My wife rated her seafood risotto a 3.5 of 5. The chef prepared my steak well and it was a good cut of meat but then he covered it in a sauce which tasted good but not my preference. I will refrain from rating my meal as I prefer my steak served in a different manner.
Overall, the service ranks well below average primarily due to a complete lack of attention and common practice. The food ranked about where we expected but still over priced, even for the location.

I was very disappointed with the food here. Which is sad because I was expecting good things and everything sounded pretty good on the menu. It was very surprising to me that a chef would create 2 of the 3 dishes they way he did.
I got Steak with Green Chiles. I love green chiles since I used to live in New Mexico, and I’m also a bit particular because of that so I asked if there were lots of green chiles and was told «yes». Alright! It did not come out at all as I expected. It was plated as 6 slices of steak sitting in too much sauce with (I discovered later) some green chile skins on top. Now the steak was good but there wasn’t very much of it for the price. Also, I can cut my own steak, thanks. The sauce: I think the chef’s biggest downfall is his overindulgence in the amount of sauce (see dish#2). It looked like a bowl of soup. Entirely too much sauce! I want to taste the steak… with a little sauce, not the other way around.
The soup sauce was average. When I asked a waiter what was in it he told me peppers and «green chile peppers» (which is a dichotomy) — I hope he was misinformed. That’s when I learned about the green chile skins. Would not recommend.
The second dish was Pork with a Vanilla something sauce. This was plated in the same fashion with some pieces of pork absolutely swimming in sauce. I tried a bit and the sauce tasted like ice cream — I’m not kidding. And there was a lot of it. It turned me off.
I probably come off as haughty but those dishes were ruined by the sheer volume of liquid sauce accompanying them. I don’t know why I’m paying for meat if I can’t taste it through all the sauce. Very odd dishes, chef.
The service was polite but inattentive and it was not busy at all. Prices are too high.
Their happy hour isn’t too great of a deal either: $ 1 off beer and wine cocktails. $ 3 off a glass of wine.

This place was great! The atmosphere, staff and food was all top notch. We had a great waitress who was extremely accommodating. There was a live band and the burger and beer special was well worth the money. The waitress told us they had just won awards for their burgers. I had the goat cheese and bacon burger and it was delicious. To top the dinner off there is beach access behind the place, just a short stroll to paradise. Me and my 6 yr. old son enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Memories were made at the Highlands House.

Not impressed! Food wasn’t bad but service was ridiculous! We had a party of 5. Richard (I think was his name) was our server, he couldn’t answer any questions we had, and then never returned with any answers, he always forgot. Took forever for us to get drinks or anything. Had to remind him we ordered drinks or refills every time. Then other server, a lady, came by to check on us and helped us get our drinks, but never returned after that. Took us over an hour to get our bill. Had to tell Him what we had each ordered so he could separate checks because he had no clue and bills were still wrong every time he brought them to table. Finally asked for a manager and claimed he was one of the managers!!! That’s ridiculous for a server much less a manager! Another manager came over and fixed the bills! After all the attempts to pay for our food, when he returned with our cards and slips to sign, He hadn’t even ran my card!!! Made it really hard To enjoy our night when we had such bad service! I will not be returning here.

Tucked into a small area right off of the beach but view from the outside bar in the back in very nice.

As a local I always enjoyed the tapas and extended happy hour specials during the week at Highland House. Great atmosphere and location.
My friend and I decided to pop in last week. Boy have things changed and not for the better. Doubt we will go back anytime soon. No more weekday Wed/​Thurs happy hour tapas specials. The appetizer we ordered were 3 seared diver scallops under glass with smoked lavender, rosemary and some other herb they burned and placed under the glass for the essence. The chef/​server was so impressed with himself, this dish and the presentation, he neglected to give us plates and utensils to eat with. I guess we were just supposed to sit there and admire it. Get over yourself HH! Also ordered a burger that was good but came with sad excuses for fries and only about 6 on the plate. I think this establishment needs to take a step back and quit trying to be so upscale and edgy. We’re at the beach, people. You had a good thing going and you ruined it.

The quality of the food here is top notch. The chef has cooked around the world. We had three appetizers that were fabulous. My favorite was the scallops individually infused with 1) rosemary 2) thyme and 3) lemon grass. You can tell they take pride in serving high quality, thoughtfully prepared dishes. The service was excellent. Don’t miss out on this hidden treasure.

By FAR the best burger in Destin, Miramar Beach, and Santa Rosa Beach! Awesome local beers and gourmet apatizers! I will definitely be back for their awesome happy hour and burger specials! Perfect place for locals and a great meal!

Excellent. The mood and tone of the place is speak-​easy. That’s an amazing mixture with the beachy location.
They don’t have a full liquor license, so they have done some pretty creative things with Sakai.
Management is top notch which shines through. Management also really cares about the place, and it shows in the details.
We also stayed in the B&B which is located directly above… quaint and comfortable– reasonably priced as well.
Hats off to the GM of the place. He makes a huge difference in the overall experience. Cheers.

Delicious! Small selection for brunch (only five dishes) but we all loved what we got (the burger and monte cristo). $ 15 for bottomless mimosas and it’s definitely worth it, quality prosecco and a selection of 5 or 6 different juices to mix with.

Amazing food! We decided to spend our last Sunday at the beach sharing small plates at several different restaurants in the area. In hindsight, I wish we had spent our entire meal here trying all the dishes on the brunch menu or that we had found this gem before the end of our vacation so we could have eaten here more than once.
First, let me start with the fabulous Bloody Mary bar. When I ordered, our server, Nate, told me the BM’s are combined with a glass of sake (huh?). Now, I’m not a big fan of sake but he promised that even though it sounded strange, the end result would be tasty. Wow! — he was so right. Since the restaurant only serves beer & wine, they are limited to alternatives to vodka. Delicious combination. I might make all my Blood Mary’s with sake from now on. He brought me a glass with ice, ½ full of sake, with a slice of skewered bacon on top, & said I was free to add anything else I liked from the Bloody Mary bar. With a large selection of fresh-​made juices — from house-​made vegetable juice to bar-​made tomato juice, hot sauces, Worcestershire sauces, spices, homemade pickled okra & green beans (which you can also purchase to take home), olives, celery & many additional sides, you can tailor your drink the way you like it. For $ 8, it was a bargain. The $ 7.50 BM at our next stop paled in comparison. My husband, the designated driver, was starting slow & ordered pomegranate juice.
For brunch, we decided to split one item. It was a tough decision since there were several appealing combinations — Creole Omelette w/​shrimp, pancetta, green peppers & onions; Southwest Skillet w/​eggs & chorizo gravy; Monte Cristo sandwich on French toast with roasted turkey, ham & brie; house burger w/​caramelized onions, etc. Tough decision. We went with the Fried Green Tomato Benedict — every aspect of the dish was incredible. The tomatoes were thick-​cut, lightly breaded & fried to perfection — crispy & tender all at the same time. They were topped with sweet chunks of crawfish salad & perfectly poached eggs. Over the top was a Sauce Choron (no idea what that is but it was delicious) & a sprinkle of fresh watercress. The side item was described as duck fat potatoes — not an apt description for these little nuggets of tastyness — it was a combination of par-​boiled, then fried in yummy duck fat, new potatoes & sweet potatoes. They cut the potatoes perfectly — the sweet potatoes, since they cook slower than white potatoes, were diced into smaller chunks so that both were cooked to the correct doneness. The portion sizes were generous & we ate every bite!
The atmosphere at Highland House is open, beachy & semi-​casual with both indoor & outdoor seating available. The service was excellent — kudos to Nate for doing a great job! My only regret is that I will have to wait an entire year until our next vacation to 30A, Santa Rosa Beach area before I will be able to eat here again.

Went to the Highlands House during the summer for their half price tapas and drinks special — food was excellent, great service
Loved it so much that when we came back this week with friends from Europe we were determined to return, we spent 5 hours from Atlanta telling them how great the place was, service was excellent, food fabulous.
When we arrived, first thing we did was pull the menu from the dispenser out front and Yaay — still doing the happy hour,
Came up from the beach later than usual, got showered changed etc and walked to the restaurant for the event — only to find it deserted, went indoors and spoke to the Chef who in turn got the GM to come out.
Younger fella in an FSU hat eventually appeared and told us that the place was not open until 4 and that they had changed the schedule because of the season…3 days before.
We mentioned that we had literally picked up one of their menus the day before which had brought us here today. At which point he argued with us that (1) we must be mistaken and (2) we must have picked up the menu last week (we arrive on Monday) because he had personally replaced all the menus.
Clearly this fella was not Interested in us, customer service in general or pretty much anything but his iPhone — we left
Got to the front of the restaurant and — mainly for sanity — I looked in the dispenser and lo — and actually — behold, the menus there all still stated that the Wednesday tapas and happy hour was from 2 pm to 7 pm.
Because I was pissed, we had raved about the place to our European visitors and because FSU-​boy was so disinterested, I took a menu back into the restaurant, found the guy and showed him,
At this point, he started to look at all different sides of the menu apparently unable to find the part that mentioned timing. With some disbelief I drew his attention to the very section in front of him that I had handed to him,
Ow — yeah, guess that you are right, need to change these, thanks.
Seriously dude — WTF
I left, we ate at Perfect Pig — awesome BTW — review forthcoming.
For a place that is trying to find its niche, pissing people off that are actually bringing new business your way — not ideal

This place is amazing local and slow food and a brunch venue that was very much needed in the 30A area. This is also a bed and breakfast and a wedding venue with beach weddings available a block away. The burger was organic and hand patted, fries were extraordinary. Loved the bottomless bubbles display: a canoe lined in red and white table cloths, with different juices to make belini, mimosa, or your own mix to add to the server poured Prosecco. Breakfast and lunch items offered at brunch. Menu changes often. We sat outside under the sail cloths while an Ed Sheeran sounding musician picked away and sang. Gorgeous day, wonderful food, large portions, and bubbles.

Popped in with two great friends on the 30A. Absolutely loved it. My one friend is vegan and I’m just picky but they were very accommodating! Great food and drinks.
We also spent some time on the beach!

Super place… had diner… drinks…apps…
Service was incredible… Kat (spelling?) & Kevin we’re awesome severes… also…Aimiah (spelling?)…was great bar tender. ALL FOOD WAS REALLY OUTSTANDING. will be back next year for sure.

This place hit the spot — casual atmosphere but great food without the $$$$!! So many favorites from the night ranging from from the duck crepes to the fried artichokes as the starters. We ended up going with the lamb and the seafood medley — both were superb with the lamb perfectly cooked to order.
If you have a chance, go on Wednesday– happy hour goes until 7 and the small plates are half price along with the usual drink specials!

Came for an anniversary meal and it was perfectly casual yet delightfully tasty! Will definitely be back because the service was excellent and the food was the best we had on our trip! Definitely a new favorite. They are doing it right!

The best «discovery» of our trip! Just a shame we didn’t find it until our last day. We walked over for brunch and enjoyed the atmosphere so much we went back for happy hour. The service was wonderful and the food delicious. Highly recommended!