Compass Rose Restaurant & Bar

This place is not open on Sunday as advertised for brunch. Wasted a 30 minute drive.

Ambience excellent. Upscale look. I wanted to like this place but the food is always mediocre, which would be typically ok, but being on the pricey side I just expect better. It’s not horrible food but just ok. Value just not there. Tried many, many times, but won’t be going back.

Closed for good! Compass Rose was the best brunch in the area; they are now only hosting events

I know you’ve heard this before but I honestly think that Compass Rose is the best Sunday brunch place in the whole area. The only downside is that it’s not on the ocean and there’s not much of a «scene.» BUT! That is more than made up for. The food is amazing! They have everything. My favorites are: prime ribs, various types of egg benedicts, sliced salmon, yum! It’s a buffet so you can put together your own brunch selection. They also have bottomless mimosa for about $ 10 extra. It comes to about $ 40 a person total which is a bit pricey for brunch I suppose so don’t do it everyday. Indoor seating is dimly lit, though they have nice furnishings, but it always feels sort cold, like you’re in a bar somewhere in Chicago. There’s outdoor seating and I usually prefer that. The view is overlooking a lake and a shabby restaurant next door. It’s not like getting brunch at Harry T’s where afterwards you can drunkenly wobble around the Harbor Walk or at Angler’s where afterwards you can drunkenly pass out on the beach. Here, you will leave really full, not wanting to do anything for the next four hours, and hopefully have a responsible driver to drive your drunken ass home where you can pass out.

Extremely overpriced for the food. The temperature was freezing inside the restaurant. The facilities were clean and the outside porch with acoustic entertainment was nice. Won’t return.

Frequent visitor here. I’ve had the Cuban sandwich and the fish tacos. Fish tacos are by far my favorite dish here. They have lots of other attractive dishes on the menu but I always seem to go with my regular every time we visit. My kids even love the food too. My office regularly holds luncheons here and they do a great job accommodating large groups when given advance notice. Have yet to hear anyone complain about the service or quality of their meals.
opinion, this is one of the better eateries in the area of Valparaiso, Niceville, and Bluewater Bay.

I’ve tried to like this restaurant but I’ve never had a good meal here, food was horrible in 3 tries but the location, bar and ambiance are great though.
I might add I have friends that love this place.

Step up from your local restaurant. Upscale décor with a nice view. Good for a business suit luncheon or a dressy date night dinner. The prices are a little higher than average. The food is a step up from your average local restaurant.

I came for brunch over the Memorial Day weekend. Food was mediocre. It was expensive to just eat buffet style breakfast (eggs, waffles, bacon, sausage). Our waiter was not attentive, we had to ask him to fill up our waters and take away the dirty dishes. The only thing I enjoyed was the view on the balcony. I would come back to try out the dinner menu. Maybe it will be better the second time around.

I went again on Sunday and the girl at the front desk was welcoming and pleasant. My waiter did a great job too. I was happy to see a huge improvement in service.
Brunch was delicious like it always is :)
$ 3.50 house bloody Mary’s were and added bonus too!

Went for brunch today. The décor was great. The food was decent. It was exactly like the free breakfast at a good Comfort Suites, with an omlet station and pasta station, except this cost $ 50 for two people.
Scrambled eggs formed to the pan, dethawed sausage patties and links. Bacon was ok, biscuits, etc. Log Cabin syrup (no real maple?) for waffles… go to Cracker Barrel instead, the food is much better.

Compass Rose has without a doubt some of the best tasting food on The Emerald Coast. Compass Rose has without a doubt some of the worst service on The Emerald Coast… hate to say it; but right now this is reminding a lot of another place that used to be right down the road; Willie Kates ;that had excellent food; but the horrendous service ran everyone off and it eventually closed. the same unfortunately may be happening to this place; because we were there on a Thursday Night and there were only three other tables occupied in the huge space which made the lack of service even more perplexing. first off, the restaurant has a prime spot with an outdoor patio overlooking one of the area’s many bayous… lots of fancy sculpture and artwork greet you when you walk inside. there is a nice bar to your right with lots of top shelf options and then a huge dining room on the other side of the wall; so the restaurant itself inside is well done. the food we had was spectacular… a Filet cooked to a perfect medium rare with a nice sauce over Yukon Gold Potatoes and fresh cooked Asparagus… Shrimp and Grits were some of the best ever. loaded with Shrimp. Andouille and a quite spicy sauce over Smoked Gouda Grits. if I was just rating the food I would give this place 5 stars all the way. the problem was our waiter… he just did not seem interested in waiting on us. he did the bare basics… took drink and food orders and brought drinks and food… dropped our check… took our payment. and that was it… he never asked if we wanted more drinks (we did).he never asked how everything was… he never asked if we wanted dessert (we did)…it’s a good thing were low maintanence, because I am sure a lot of Diners would have blown a gasket for service this bad at this price point… we actually found the whole thing kind of humorous ;because it kept our check down, thus his tip down… you see it a lot where a guy can cook great, but is terrible at the service and business side of running a restaurant. hopefully they hire a good Manager for the front of the house before it’s too late and this place joins Willie Kate’s in The Big Restaurant Graveyard In The Sky. a regrettable only 3 star rating for now

We went to check out the new menu items tonight and were impressed! Lots of new things I want to try.
My husband ordered the duck breast and I had the shrimp and grits. The shrimp is from Willingham Seafood right down the street. I love that. The flavors were spot on, great sauces. Service was wonderful, food came out hot, the house pinot grigio went well with my meal.
We like the Sunday brunch, and now they will be serving breakfast on Saturdays. Will have to try that.

I love this place. …always great food. The shrimp and grits are my favorite! ! We always go there for special occasions, they offer a great menu for holidays such as Valentine’s Day.

I’ve never had a bad meal here. For this trip we started with bacon-​wrapped scallops and an assortment of martinis. The scallops, which were cooked perfectly and covered in an onion beuere blanc sauce, were a perfect start to the meal. Dinner included the shrimp and grits (their smoke Gouda grits are to die for), shrimp and andouille pasta, and a grouper special. Their seafood is always well prepared. A glass of the Sauvignon blanc was a great complement to the seafood fare.
While all of this was wonderful, the biggest surprise was the dessert. They have a local lady come in and make their desserts from scratch each week. The key lime pie rivals anything I’ve had in the Keys or anywhere else for that matter.
Overall, this meal was as delicious as any other meal I’ve had at the Compass Rose. I really enjoy this place and try to make it there every time I’m in the area.

I’ve been to Compass Rose for lunch only, on several occasions, and I’ve always enjoyed it. Then I heard about the Sunday Brunch and tried it recently for the first time. I was very impressed, this Sunday Brunch is fabulous! I’m going to admit that I like it even better than I did the one they used to serve at Big City Bistro in downtown Fort Walton Beach, and I was a huge fan of that one. I guess that I need to try them for dinner sometime but for now, I am hooked on the brunch!

Best brunch around. Worth the drive from any other local area including Destin.
We had so many amazing choices and each had its own unique flavors and was very rich and delicious. My favorites were the chicken lo mein, garlic encrusted prime rib and the pasta station where I had them use mushrooms, chicken, tri colored peppers and garlic with homemade Alfredo sauce. They also had things you could order from the kitchen. They were included in the price of the buffet. That was unexpected. We tried the crab benedict. It had a perfectly poached egg. SO GOOD. You could also get build your own pancakes and french toast.
There was much much more like sushi, an omelet station, lamb, along with all the usual breakfast bets.
There is a patio with an outdoor bar and a great view. They also have private dining rooms and banquet rooms for rent upstairs.
I hear they also have trivia night on wednesday. We plan on hitting that up one night. The prize for the winner is an up to $ 150 bar tab! Nice!
Down below they have an amazing little oyster bar with a beautiful patio overlooking the water.
This place seems too good to be true but it is legitimately an awesome place with everything to offer!!!

Hats off to the server that remembered me and my son on Sunday Brunch. It’s only $ 22/​adult and kids 5 and under are free for the brunch. Their smoked gouda grits, smoked salmon, and salads are delicious, enough for me to come back for me even though a majority of their menu isn’t gluten free I still manage to find plenty for myself. Plus they have fresh fruit available for those who can’t scarf down the pastries. My sons favorite is the waffle war and of course the meat area where they cut up the meat for you. It’s soooo good. Great place to take family after church, going aways, in general, or a date night. Décor is intimate and warm.

Great place for lunch, friendly staff! The shrimp n grits was a great choice for lunch, wish they added more grits because there was lots of sauce.

I absolutely loved the lunch menu I couldn’t decide what to have. I finally had the yellowtail tuna steak served rare and it was to die for. It was cheap too $ 9 for that and black beans and rice with sweet potato fries. I was in heaven.