The Bay

Worth the drive from Seacrest. Great ambiance, outside view on the bay. Has prefect seating out on the sand for you to wait in nice wicker furniture. Pier is perfect for pictures. The food was great. I did the Kelli sushi roll. Very tasty.

SUNDAY BRUNCH! Hands down the best chicken and waffles in South Walton. Staff is professional and bartenders always happy. Must go place for brunch.

We are summer regulars to Santa Rosa but rarely venture off 30A. A friend recommended we check out The Bay. It was so good we went two nights in a row! The Faux Grits a YaYa were to die for! We loved the crab cake appetizer, the huge sushi rolls and the crème brûlée! My husband got the steak with collard greens and fries. It was tender, well seasoned and huge! I loved the faux grits a YaYa most of all. Wednesday we went out back for drinks and to listen to Josh and the 331 south band. We stayed listening to them for 3 hours. Great atmosphere with beach, tiki torches, fire pit, tables, Jenga and corn hole games and gorgeous water view. The only negative was that the outside bar had no sink or blender so all frozen drinks had to be made inside and one at a time. I waited a good bit (15 – 20 minutes) for my piña colada after paying and getting the beer I ordered.

Food and service excellent but too many flies. Don’t like to have to wave flies away while eating. Badly need those «over the door» blowers to keep flies out of restaurant. Would be a shame to let flies drive customers away, regardless of the quality of food.

The faux ya ya was excellent. Some of the best fish tacos. The Thai Molly’s were yummy!

I agree with other reviewers that this was kind of a surprise to me that this place is getting 4 and 5 stars. My friend and I both had the shrimp and our «accompaniments» were braised greens, green beans, and garlic rice. Everything was just okay. I imagine people come here more for the sushi, perhaps? The lettuce wrap appetizer was also disappointing. The shrimp comes in a jar with the veggies in some kind of sauce. We weren’t fans.
Unfortunately, the most disappointing thing was the attitude of our waiter, Michael. After ordering both items off the menu that she wanted, he responded in a way that was confusing to both of us. I think she told him the entrée first and then the appetizer, but he was sort of dismissive. Then when he brought our checks, she told him she wanted the appetizer put on her bill and not mine. His response was «Well, why don’t I just split it down the middle?» and she said «No, I want it on mine» and he says «It would be easier.» That’s just poor service. If someone requests their bill to be done a certain way, you don’t suggest an alternative. The views from outside really aren’t anything to write home about either. I wouldn’t recommend this place.

Was once a really good place. Had lunch today– Saturday 6÷11÷16. Chicken sandwich cold dry not even microwave quality. My wife had fish tacos. Cold, over spiced — she forced them down.
Off of my list for now until I start hearing good things again
BT

Service was terrible. We’ve been here before and loved it. This time was different. 45 min to get drinks. 1 hour and half still no food.

I feel terrible giving The Bay 3-​stars. What is everyone else seeing that I don’t see? I’ve been wanting to eat at The Bay since we drove by in March. We didn’t have much time during our Spring trip, but we have plenty of time now. I’ve heard such great things, even my local yoga teacher mention The Bay as being good — actually she said «pretty good» now that I think about it… It is cute, the bay view is cool, their outdoor seating is lovely. Unfortunately, their parking lot fills up before the dining room is full so we had to walk across the highway — no biggie. However, and you won’t believe this, my biggest gripe is that I’m NOT obsessed with this Faux Ya Ya y’all keep raving about!
I think the problem is that they (and everyone else on Unilocal) calls it a take on shrimp and grits. With that description, you expect smokey, flavorful, but it isn’t that. It’s more alfredo than cajun, more buttery than smokey, and more peppery than cheesy. Basically, it has a butter, heavy cream, salt, and pepper flavor. The portion is small, but man does it stick in your stomach like a rock. It’s one of those dishes where you get home and think, «I wish I wouldn’t have eaten that.» Also, their take on an Old Fashion didn’t give me a lot of faith in their bar service. I think they put Sprite in it? The highlights of the meal included the key lime pie, the interesting cherries at the bottom of the Old Fashion, and the service. Our server was awesome, the dessert was good, and my husband’s pesto snapper was actually pretty good. Plus one star for atmosphere, one star for great service, and another for some highlights in a meal that was a little disappointing. Would I go back? No. No I would not.

The food is great, but more important… the people are super nice. Great service. Too often I go to places with 4 – 5 star food and bad service. I think this is 4 star food and 4 star service.
Faux Ya-Ya…ordered it two days in a row. I recommend it.
Spiciest «Spicy Tune» sushi roll I ever had. They don’t lie.

Great lunch food. Not a huge fan of fish tacos but these were awesome. Blackened grouper and the fish was falling out of the tacos. Will definitely be back.

Food Glorious Food!
The food and atmosphere are amazing! As a local, this place reminds you that you are indeed sitting among one of the most beautiful areas the universe offers! We sit outside to enjoy the bay views and we celebrate these views with our favorite foods, including the Vietnamese wings, edamame hummus, faux yaya, the sushi rolls (heart), peanut butter pie, a margarita, a daiquiri.
We have a big, big love for Tish!!! She provides us not only with excellent service but also a beautiful wit. We look for her every single time for she has always been an enormous part our wonderful experience here.

Went for atmosphere… nice location. Had the bomber burger, miso Caesar (tasted like a regular Caesar) and the peanut butter pie. Those with me had the red snapper, and a rib eye. All tasted pretty good but after spending over $ 160, probably not enough of an experience to justify going back. Left me feeling meh.

Very impressed with our first trip to this restaurant. Beautiful setting, nice outdoor bar to have a glass of wine at while waiting for a table. I tried the Faux Ya Ya, Their take on shrimp and grits. It was excellent. My wife had the Panko crusted red snapper, she loved that as well. We will definitely go here again.

This place is a nice hangout with a beautiful view but that’s about it. Service and food is mehhh. For the prices and looks of the place I expect better food and drinks. Lousy beer selection and no fancy cocktails (like ginger martini or fresh fruit) and don’t serve drinks or food outside where the band is playing. They have nice lounge seating and fire pits but no one bringing service. I don’t care if I’m sitting outside, don’t serve my $ 12 dollar drink in cheap plastic cup. I’m just saying, it could be a much better experience. If I’m paying out the $$$ I want the service and fuss. Don’t give casual service and charge the max.

Worst meal ever… Only time I remember having to return a menu item that was unedible… Meat so tough you couldn’t cut it… No flavor at all. Never should have made it out of the kitchen.
So over rated… Won’t be back.

Glad we came back. Even so we had to wait 1.30′!!!
It was a nice experience. The waiting is not that back when you are in good company, some drinks and an nice view. The fact that you can hang out in the patio next to the bay while you wait for your table makes a big difference so don’t get discourage. The food is worth waiting for
The service was good, they were a little tired, it was close to the closing time when we finally got our table but they try to stay polite and give a good service.
The food was excelente.

Like others here, I had heard good things about The Bay. We decided to go on Wednesday so we could enjoy the live music & bonfires on the beach.
I had the Faux Ya Ya and it was terrific which us the only reason I didn’t give them 2 stars. It was a great twist on the usual shrimp & grits. However, the service was really slow and the desserts we had did not taste homemade & if they were they would be better off buying pre-​made ones.
The music was noted to start at 6 or at 7 (saw 2 conflicting social media advertisements) didn’t start until 7:45 and they didn’t start a bonfire until then either despite all the outdoor seating being full. If they knew the entertainment would be late they should have at least started a few fires to get things going.
Overall somewhat disappointing experience despite the good entrée. I doubt we’ll be back especially as the season gets going & it gets more crowded.

So let me start off by saying I was looking SO forward to coming here and trying this place! It was our first stop on our vacation here along 30A. We are huge foodies and the other Unilocal reviews pulled me in. I was sold before I hit the front door and it was such a disappointment.
The good:
— My daughters food came out with in 10 mins
–Friendly staff
–Beautiful set up on the bay
The bad:
–My husbands Bloody Mary was awful, it claimed to be a home-​made mix it was off BIG TIME, he didn’t even finish it and that’s saying something for him.
— It took well over 45 minutes for us to get a salad & wings. There was barely anyone in the restaurant so we couldn’t figure out what took so long.
— My salad had a very odd odor to it and smelled almost as if it had soured, against my better judgement I ate it. I was starving and it was a choice I later regretted. My stomach was sick the rest of the day. (I’m being nice with my description)
–I had ordered bacon on my salad they informed me they were out, which is fine but the still charged me $ 5 extra for it on our bill. They fixed it but it was really at this point the last straw.
I am writing this in hope that the management takes these issues seriously. I really was so disappointed! This place has SO much potential and my family and I wanted to like it so much!

The coldest beer you will ever get! Great for bigger groups, and great hangout spot. The pig skins as a side is a must! Also the sweet potato chips was great! My dad loved the chefs signature hot sauce! Fish and chips was the special and we loved it! Service is the only reason I’m not giving 5 stars