A HOPEFUL TOSSER GRABS A MULLET TO THROW OVER THE STATE LINE AT FLORA-BAMA
Visit Pensacola (Instagram | Website) invited Orlando Shine up to the Panhandle for the annual Mullet Toss weekend, and it turns out there’s a lot more to this historic Gulf Coast town than throwing dead fish across a state line. Even though it’s definitely a bucket list item for anyone who really wants to be a true Floridian.
I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Downtown (Website) at 101 East Main Street, which put me in the heart of the action. It’s a sprawling brick building that looks like it was a historic bottling plant or something to do with the adjacent waterfront, but it’s a fresh new build. In fact, it was so fresh, they were still laying the flooring when I stayed there, and there was a fine layer of drywall dust on everything in the main lobby. Not that it slowed down the staff, who were all real troopers. But it’s so close to everything downtown, nobody was really looking to hang out in the lobby anyway. Palafox Street, the award-winning retail corridor, was mid-transformation during my visit (just like the aforementioned lobby) but has since completed a $10 million overhaul featuring widened sidewalks, improved stormwater infrastructure, upgraded ADA accessibility, and some freshly-pruned palm trees to let all the tourists know they’re in The Sunshine State.
Pensacola calls itself “The City of Five Flags” because it’s been owned by Spain, France, Britain, the United States, and the Confederacy at different points in its history. It’s technically America’s first European settlement, established August 15 by the Spanish, which predates St. Augustine by several decades. That five-flag history shows in the architecture, which feels like New Orleans meets St. Petersburg meets rural Alabama (like a mustachioed cowboy wearing shorts and a couple strands of Mardi Gras beads). But regardless of all of that history, Pensacola is definitely Southern. You feel it in the air and the way the men tuck in their shirts and taste it in the way they cook their green tomatoes.
WHERE TO EAT
O’Riley’s Irish Pub (Website) has anchored downtown for 40 years, though it relocated to Main Street in 2013. The sprawling space includes a dart club, billiards room, and a main bar area where locals and visitors rub elbows talking sports. It’s the kind of place that feels like it’s been there forever. And they serve a mean Reuben sandwich (I also had the Boxties, which are fried balls of mashed potatoes, cheddar, and bacon, but just stick with their awesome fries and you’ll be fine).
The Burrow (Instagram), housed in the former Sacred Heart Hospital building, is a lively neighborhood bar and restaurant operated by Odd Colony Brewing Company (Instagram | Website), and one of the highlights of my entire trip. The main dining area is sunken into the ground a bit, with large vintage windows that give it a Gothic wilderness lodge vibe, and provide excellent views of the 8,000 SF outdoor beer garden. The space is filled with vintage finds and tiled flooring. I had the beet salad, which was fresh and rustic with long-sliced heirloom carrots, arugula, and watermelon radishes. I also got the boiled peanuts appetizer so I could bring them home to my partner as a little treat. Everyone loves the boiled peanuts at The Burrow. If you’re in Pensacola, you’d be dumb to skip this place (take note, Michelin).
Saigon Oriental Market and Deli (Facebook) is celebrated for its authentic and affordable Vietnamese food, particularly its banh mi sandwiches and pho. The classic cold-cut version is a staple, but their Vietnamese meatball banh mi and grilled pork varieties are pretty popular too. The restaurant is famous for its bread, which features a crisp exterior and soft, pillowy interior that you want to tunnel into like a Tauntaun and is well-regarded that other local sandwich shops source their baguettes from here and brag about it. I walked out with a banh mi and some pho that I slurped up after a long day of sightseeing, and man, was my tummy happy.
Flora-Bama Yacht Club (Website) sits on the beach overlooking the water, with most people arriving by boat. Picnic tables under colorful awnings are the setting for sandwiches and more than a few drinks in a more laid-back atmosphere than what you’ll find across the street at Flora-Bama proper (which I’ll tell you more about in a second). It’s located on Perdido Key, just outside of Pensacola proper, and is one of the only places to really grab a bite to eat outside of the smattering of food trucks that have popped up out there.
The Union Public House (Website) at 36 East Garden Street [GMap] was the see-and-be-seen venue of the trip, and was full of fancy young couples spending lots of money and looking like they all drove Teslas and played pickleball. I had a fancy steak and a delicious dessert of cherry cobbler, but the thing that stood out the most from the whole visit was their crunchy/crispy, decadent fried green tomatoes. They were absolutely perfect. The corn batter clung to the tomato perfectly, and it was expertly fried. I had to go shake the chef’s hand afterward, because my brain couldn’t handle how perfect they were. They kind of overpowered the rest of the meal, if I’m honest. I can’t wait to go back for more.
Flounder’s Chowder House (Website) at 800 Quietwater Beach Road [GMap] in Gulf Breeze (just across the bridge on Pensacola Beach) is a beachfront seafood institution known for fresh Gulf catches and an expansive waterfront backyard where diners can take in the pretty coastal views while stuffing their faces. They’re particularly known for brunch, as evidenced by the lack of parking if you come too late in the morning. When I arrived on Sunday, I found myself in the wake of a beachside church service, with a couple hundred attendees departing as I tried to saddle up for my morning coffee and eggs. The menu features Gulf seafood favorites alongside other options, and the beignets are worth ordering too. The restaurant also features live entertainment most nights and offers both dine-in and takeout options, and there are boats and nautical things hanging all over the place to keep your dad entertained.
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
As far as I’m concerned, the Flora-Bama Interstate Mullet Toss is the main event of the year, but Pensacola offers plenty beyond fish throwing. They’re also known for throwing a pretty bangin’ Pensacola Crawfish Festival (Website) which takes place every April, with live bands and more crawfish vendors than you can shake a fork at.
Straddling the Florida-Alabama state line, you’ll find probably the most famous beach bar in the country, Flora-Bama (Website). Built in 1964, it started as a small bar and package store created by the Tampary family before Joe Gilchrist purchased the bar in 1978 and made live music a daily staple. In 1986, Pat McClellan joined as a partner, and together they created legendary calendar events like the Interstate Mullet Toss and the Frank Brown Songwriter Festival. In 2009, John McInnis and Cameron Price became co-owners. Today, Flora-Bama is known as the only honky-tonk on the beach, and yes, you can see cowboys and cowgirls enjoying the sand … in their boots. Check out our video to see it for yourself.
Pensacola’s natural attractions also draw plenty of visitors looking to experience the Gulf Coast ecosystem firsthand. Big Lagoon State Park and Tarkiln Bayou State Park offer opportunities to explore diverse habitats, from coastal marshes to maritime forests. The area’s proximity to pristine beaches, state parks, and protected waterways makes it a destination for kayaking, fishing, birdwatching, and hiking for visitors of all levels of fitness. Pensacola is also a prime birdwatching destination due to its geographic location in the armpit of the state on the northern Gulf of Mexico, and its abundance of natural habitats.
OTHER FUN THINGS TO SEE AND DO
The Graffiti Bridge (Website) on N 17th Avenue is an outdoor canvas where local artists and visitors leave colorful messages. It’s one of Pensacola’s most photographed landmarks. The bridge is continuously painted over and refreshed, making each visit a unique experience as new layers of color cover old ones.
Perched at 1304 Panferio Drive [GMap] in Pensacola is one of my favorite rare architectural oddities: a Futuro House. Built in 1966 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, the structure was originally designed as a portable ski cabin made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic. Only about 100 Futuro Houses were ever built worldwide, and fewer than 60 remain today. The Pensacola example, with its distinctive elliptical portholes and supporting legs that give it a flying saucer silhouette, embodies the space-age optimism of the 1960s. The structure has withstood multiple hurricanes since it was erected, proving Suuronen’s original design intent for durability. There’s another one in Tampa sitting on top of a strip club where you can get lap dances.
The 309 Punk Project (Website) at 309 N. 6th Avenue [GMap] in Pensacola is the only artist-run nonprofit organization in the South dedicated solely to archiving and celebrating punk culture. Founded in 2016 as a collaborative house and archive, 309 Punk Project has grown into a nationally recognized organization supporting artists, musicians, writers, and organizers working at the intersection of punk ethos, contemporary art, and lived experience. The space operates as both an archive and a cultural center, preserving the region’s punk history while hosting ongoing events, artist residencies, poetry readings, and performances. The 309 Punk Archives are open to the public by appointment and document decades of regional punk creativity. Beyond archival work, 309 Punk Project hosts regular programming including fundraisers, workshops, and collaborative events like performances at PensaPride, and produces “PUNKSACOLA,” a monthly audiozine of punk art, music, and culture. When I was there, they had just hosted an out-of-town traveling puppet show that looked weird, and amazing, and amazingly weird.
I still don’t really know what I saw when I visited T & W Flea Market (Website), but I know it was something different. Something uniquely Pensacola. It’s open every Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and features over 60 indoor vendors and 400 outdoor vendors (during busier days) selling everything from vintage collectibles, clothes, and furniture to fresh produce, tools, and household items. When I was there, it seemed like a mix of things that had fallen off a truck, were left over from a random estate sale, or had come in from some pyramid scheme company that had folded. So, I think I loved it.
