Explore · Gulfport · Food & Dining
Where to eat in Gulfport, from someone who covers this Coast.
Gulfport’s food splits into two easy categories: the downtown spots clustered around the aquarium and Fishbone Alley, and the beach places strung along Highway 90 with the Gulf in view. You’re on the coast, so seafood is the move — but the downtown scene has filled in nicely. Here’s where I’d send you, no flip-flops judged.
Downtown
Walkable from the aquarium and Fishbone Alley — lunches, date nights, and a drink with the murals.
Half Shell Oyster House
The reliable downtown pick. Chargrilled oysters if you want them hot, raw if you’re a purist, plus a solid gumbo and New Orleans–leaning plates. Easy walk from the aquarium and busy on weekends.
Salute Italian & Seafood
A local favorite since 2007 that blends Italian classics with Gulf seafood. Fresh pasta, an open kitchen, and a patio that’s good for a relaxed dinner downtown.
Patio 44
Upscale-casual with a big patio and a Louisiana-influenced menu — shrimp and grits, gumbo, blackened fish, catfish, steaks. A handsome bar and a deep bourbon list.
On the beach
Right on Highway 90 with the water in view — casual, loud, and exactly what a Gulf Coast lunch should be.
Shaggy’s Gulfport Beach
A Coast staple for outdoor dining. Peel-and-eat shrimp, crab cakes, tacos, cold margaritas, and an open-air deck looking at the Gulf. Family-friendly and lively.
White Cap Seafood
An old name on the Coast — it ran out of Jones Park for years before relocating. Fried platters, gumbo, and Gulf views. Note it’s closed Tuesdays; call ahead to be safe.
Coffee & breakfast
Start the morning before the aquarium or the ferry.
Boozer’s Brew & a Cafe Too
A Gulfport institution that pulls double duty — house-made coffee, bagels, breakfast wraps, and a relaxed sit-down café downtown. There are a couple of other locations around town too, including a drive-thru.
The deal
Gulfport isn’t a tiny art town you eat your way across in an afternoon — it’s a real city, so the food is spread out and a car helps. Downtown around 13th Street and Fishbone Alley is your walkable cluster; the beach drive is your view-with-your-shrimp option. Casual everywhere, and the seafood is the through-line. When you’re done eating, the things-to-do guide and the outdoors guide pick up from here.
Eating your way down the Coast?
I track new openings, pop-ups, and the spots worth the drive across all three counties in The Seawall, my twice-weekly Coast newsletter.
Rob Recio lives in Ocean Springs and is in real-estate-licensure training in Mississippi. This is informational visitor content, not real-estate advice or a solicitation.