Emeril's Coastal Italian

Food & service was amazing and most of all General Manager Annie and the waiter & waitresses treated me and my family like ROYALTY.

Counter seating. Of the dozen seats available we had the worst two - directly in from today the 2 foot tall cotton candy machine, effectively blocking our view of the machinations of the kitchen staff- the supposed reason for sitting at the counter.

After being seated 10 minutes go by before we flag a passing waitstaff person inquiring who will be serving us. He took our drink order then passed us off to a food runner (very green) who was assisting our real estate waiter. Drinks delivered and some questions about the menu were shakily “answered” by the assistant. Bad vibes now, to the point where we contemplated just finishing our drinks and moving on.

Real waiter finally shows up, apologizes and presses us to stay. BTW, the way the counter seating is set up, not only is your back to the entire restaurant, your waiter is always behind you. Unlike anything we’ve experienced.

Service settled down, entrees were the enjoyable, but the free dessert will not be enough to get us back. Too bad our Valentines Day dinner date didn’t live up to our expectations.

We ordered an Italian red wine which we serve room temp. Ours was chilled. The pasta dishes were good, but not outstanding. The vegetables in my bucitini just didn't work with the dish. The Olive Oil Cake was wonderful. Service was great. Ambiance and service were worth the higher prices, but food just didn't wow me like I hoped it would.

Excellent service. Got our "Open Table Reservation Seating" in less than five minutes. Moderate menu selections including beverages and wine. One failing was the Seafood Combo with Jalapeño peppers that was WAY too breaded. Could not distinguish which type of the four fish you were eating. DAN

Emeril’s did not disappoint us. From greeting as my wife and I walked in to leaving. Customer service and food was outstanding.

Impeccable service, excellent food, inviting atmosphere. Everything you'd expect from a fine restaurant. Our 5th or 6th time here over the last 2 years, never disappointed.

Very disappointing meal. I asked for a glass of ice water with lemon. The waitress placed a bottle of water on the table for the two of us. No ice, no lemon. My dish was the pasta special of the day. It was so salty that the sauce really had no other taste. We ordered a side of bread that was served in a little skillet. It was delivered with the meal and came with no butter or oil. I was really looking forward to a wonderful meal and experience. I get neither. I have many much better meals in Destin over the years.

Outstanding staff, food and service! Thank you!

Great food! Very pleasant dining room. And knowledgeable service. If you enjoy flavor, you will enjoy Emeril.

The staff, amazing flavors of food & options were wonderful & they made our evening by assisting with gluten free options

Birthday dinner and we were not disappointed. Service staff were fun and on top of things. Definitely enjoyed our evening and will be back.

Exceptional dishes include the cornbread and olive oil cake, which are truly memorable. We really enjoyed the seafood stew and side order of Brussels sprouts as well. The Nero pasta unfortunately was too garlicky and spicy for the delicate crabmeat, and the sauce overpowered the dish. It would marry better with shrimp than crab. Overall, we found the food too salty for our tastes, but that’s commonplace in the US. The atmosphere is lovely - modern chic with a nice vibe - and service was spot on. We enjoyed watching the chefs at work in the kitchen. All in all, a very good dining experience.

We were seated in a party room that had been closed off for most of the day, so the AC had made it into a refrigerator. Our waitress was prompt to contact a manager to get the temp turned up in that room. We were also seated next to a larger table with a birthday party group, but they were not noisy as we feared.

Our food was served promptly and was very good. I had a clam chowder that was excellent, and my husband had the Tricolor salad but could not find the actual blue cheese. It turned out it was a “paste” on the bottom of the plate and the salad was placed on top of it. Maybe the menu should reflect it as having blue cheese paste as most people would expect crumbles on a salad that had blue cheese as an ingredient.

I had the skirt steak - it was fairly tender and very tasty. I asked for well done broccoli as I don’t like it very crunchy, and it was adequately cooked. I really couldn’t taste the seasoning on it though. My husband had a seafood platter that was all fried , which he enjoyed very much.
We stay in Destin when we are there, so a trip to Emeril’s is a bit of a drive, but it was well worth it. We will be sure to return in the future.

My wife’s birthday drew is to Emeril’s Coastal Italian. It was wonderful. The restaurant is fairly voluminous and open and was crowded since it was a Saturday bight but yet we could hear each speaking even in a low voice (as pointed out by my wife). I pointed out the acoustical tile ceiling as being a wonderful design addition. The food was fantastic from beginning to end as was the service. We even had two wonderful wines. We had appetizers, three meals, two desserts (and two bottles of wine) all for about $200 which was actually much less than I had anticipated. Apparently, the wine markup is much less than most restaurants. We both loved it and plan to return as soon as we can. Emeril has evolved with the times to deformalize the restaurant. You will be comfortable in jeans and casual attire. No tie or coat necessary and almost no one had these on. It was February 1st so shorts weren’t really a good idea due to the weather but are probably acceptable during warmer times. Everything was just great and I highly recommend it.

Too cold every time I have been there. Seated us in a back room even though we asked for a different table. I have been here about 15 times. Food was great!

This was not our first visit to this restaurant. However, sadly, the food was far below the standard. My husband’s guess is that the stone oven was not hot enough. Both the focaccia bread and the pizza were like something from a freezer; not special. We know it to be absolutely the opposite. Disappointed.

The food fell far short of our expectations. Would not go back.

Very delicious! But took a long time for food to be served.

Love everything about this restaurant.. we enjoy all of Emeril’s restaurants. You always know you will have a great dining experience!

It was amazing from the friendliness of the staff to our great server not to mention our dinners. Cannot wait to return.

A menu with so much variety ! Everything was delicious- be sure to try the chopped muffuletta salad. Excellent waitstaff also!

Great service. Both Amanda’s were very attentive to our table. I really enjoyed this Emeril’s.

The restaurant provided convince and delicious food.
The servers were courteous and truly attentive.
The location is a wonderful spot to get quality food close to home.

We love to go to this restaurant every time we are in the Destin area. We sat by the kitchen and enjoyed every minute of it! Service and food were both outstanding.

Great place!

Most meals were great but French fries were soggy and meatball slider was quite dry. Caesar salad was wonderful & red fish was excellent.

Was very supersized at the food on this visit. The pasta dish was swimming in oil. It was very off putting ... my husband had
The tripletail ... his experience was just ok. Not sure we will be back.

I ordered the Nero pasta with blue crab. The dish was probably the saltiest dish I have ever eaten at any restaurant. At our table of five business dinner, one other individual ordered the same dish and thought the same as me. Imagine if the Morton salt girl took her umbrella and pummeled you with it. This mental foreshadowing might prepare you for your journey with this dish. I only ate four bites before returning it and I still woke up thirsty from ingestion of salt. I normally do not write reviews unless I am extremely impressed or utterly disappointed and unfortunately this restaurant is of the latter description. Emeril might want to visit for some quality control.

We had and exceptional friend’s dinner event at Emeril’s! The service was top notch and the food was marvelous. I am celiac and their chef prepared a delicious gluten free meal for me with their homemade pasta. I have never been served homemade, gluten free pasta before, so this was a treat. And their black truffle sausage pasta was exquisite. All of my friends loved their meals. Emeril’s shaved Brussel sprout salad is a must-have! Try their shrimp and polenta, calamari, and olive appetizers, you‘ll be glad you did. Great wine selection, lovely atmosphere. Thank you, Emeril’s, for a wonderful evening.

Great restaurant and food, however, Open Table failed and our reservation did not show up at the restaurant. Five stars for Emeril's Coastal Italian and 0 stars for open table.

It started off slow after having to wait on our 7:30 reservation and wait for our waitress to show up after we had been seated several minutes. Very sweet young lady that may have been given a few too many tables as I did watch her running everywhere she went. Once she got to us, we were well taken care of. The food was solid and very good, lots to choose from. The wife went with the basic lasagna and was pleased. I choose the Tuscan Steak 8 oz. Ribeye, it was tender and tasty. I did not care for the deep fried potatoes, they should have come with some kind of sauce, dry and crunchy did not really complement the steak. Overall a pretty good place if you like a semi-noisy atmosphere restaurant. If you are looking for quiet romantic, move along, nothing to see here.

Brenna is amazing!!! Chef Frank is the best!! Love all the staff!

Delicious food and excellent service. Slightly overpriced but overall an excellent experience.

We really didn't know what to order so I ordered Number 1 on the menu and my wife ordered number 2. Both were very good with the lobster Bisque to start things off. It was very taste also. The next time we go it will be three and four.

We love Emerils! I appreciate the gluten free pasta. It is Devine!! My children love the flatbreads. It's one of our favorite places to dine when visiting Sandestin.

Very good experience. Food and service was excellent.

My glass of Mumm Champagne $18 was almost flat.
The table next to us arrived. 30 minutes after us and were served their 1st course before us.
We were 3 and all our plates were not warm and the food cold.
The fish of the day, the baked oysters and the scallops all featured fine ingredients but flavors buried under heavy accoutrement that overpowered rather than « mise en valeur »

We love Emeril’s! We dine there about 6-8 times a year.
Love that the menu changes seasonally.
Best service all time.

Emeril needs to kick this restaurant up several notches or close it. The food was mediocre at best, and the service was horrendous. The meal, if you want to call it that, took over 2.5 hours. Have crossed this one off my list. Never again.

28th Anniversary