10 Great Restaurants in Cape Canaveral

Seafood Atlantic does not disappoint. True to its name, the restaurant offers some of the best local seafood. Oysters in the half shell, clam bowls, and the fish tacos are all worth a try. If you’re dining with a bigger party, the family-style buckets of crab or shrimp are perfect for sharing. Or get a feast platter for sharable sides, snow crab, mussels, shrimp, and clams.

If you’re not dining inside the restaurant or out on the scenic patio, you can still get your freshly caught fish to-go from the on-site fish market. The market also stocks prepared items like crab cakes and tuna salad.

Papa Vito’s Italian restaurant has a reputation for serving delicious homestyle Italian dishes. Their pizza dough and sauces are made fresh daily. The menu is full of Italian favourites like stromboli, lasagne, and ravioli. It is also full of local fare – with an Italian twist – like shrimp a la vodka, frutti de mare (clams, mussels, and shrimp in a garlic plum sauce), or spicy clams fra diablo.

Papa Vito’s is a welcoming space for happy hour cocktails or to bring the kids out for a family dinner. You’ll want to come back just for the friendly, professional staff.

Rising Tide Tap & Table is a lovely setting for a Space Coast dining experience. The patio overlooks the port and the large garage doors open the view to indoor diners as well. The menu is diverse and interesting with items like whiskey-glazed salmon, street tacos, pork belly burger, and stone-baked pizza. Complement your meal with a signature cocktail or perfectly paired wine.

Pop by on Sunday for Rising Tide Tap & Table’s special brunch menu. Start with cast-iron cinnamon rolls for the table and a prosecco mimosa while you wait for your entrée (think breakfast burritos, omelettes, waffles, and biscuits and gravy). Stick around for live music every weekend.

Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar is more than a restaurant. It’s an island experience – open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with live music most nights. The lunch and dinner menu is especially impressive with 3 pages of delectable seafood creations. Noteworthy dishes include poke, grilled fish of the day, and shark kabobs. And take heart plant-based eaters, there is a dedicated space on the menu for vegetarian dishes.

Grills is located in the same Marina as Sunrise, a tackle and gift shop that also charters deep sea fishing boats. Grills is the ideal dinner spot after a day of fishing.

Ellie Mae’s Tiki Bar is a family-owned dive that is a genuinely fun place to hang. With a dog-friendly patio, live music, Thursday night trivia, and lawn games like cornhole, bocce ball, and giant Connect Four, you’ll be enjoying more than just your meal in this Polynesian-style tiki bar.

The menu is small, but carefully curated. Ellie Mae’s specialises in a la carte slider sandwiches (try the shrimp salad slider and baby steak burger with a tomato and watermelon side salad). The drink menu is also crafted to match the tropical Polynesian vibe with citrus fruit flavours and top-shelf rum.

Coaster’s Taphouse offers filling pub food, perfect after a day spent fishing or playing on Cocoa Beach. The restaurant is centrally located between Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier and Bayview Park and has a warm ambiance and modern aesthetic.

Like any good sports bar, the menu revolves around their selection of craft beer, sandwiches, and hamburgers – made from high-quality beef and served on a locally-made Kaiser roll. The totchos (loaded tater tots) and breaded shrimp tossed in a zesty curry sauce are also worth a try.

The family that owns Rusty’s Seafood has been serving food in the Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral area for three-quarters of a century. Rusty’s Seafood and Oyster Bar, more specifically, has been a staple since it opened in 1992.

The open-air, water-side dining is a romantic spot to watch the sunset, while the tiki bar is an ideal hangout to catch up with friends over cocktails. Raw or steamed clams and mussels on the half shell, oysters Bernard, oysters parmesan, and the catch of the day are not to be missed. And for dessert, a slice of local key lime pie is divine.

Crackers Island Grille has a relaxed, old school beach town vibe. In their words, the restaurant is “where the islands meet old Florida.” The space is small, but you won’t miss the robin’s egg blue building on the other side of the road from the Cocoa Beach Visitor Centre and Golf N Gator putt-putt.

Try the unique-to-Florida fare like gator po’ boys, gator eggs, Key Largo coconut shrimp, or fresh catch fish ‘n’ chips. Finish the meal with a house-made dessert of piña colada cheesecake, mango key lime pie, or buttermilk pie.

Head to Sage Bistro for a true culinary treat. The family-owned restaurant serves fresh, healthy dishes in an upscale environment, perfect for a date night or special occasion. The menu is still true to its Florida roots with seafood tapas, lobster pot pie, and grilled scallops. Don’t miss an opportunity to try the mushroom risotto or escargot.

Ask about the wine tasting options, which are a great way to get a taste for Sage Bistro’s impressive wine list.

What should you have at Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings? The wings are a definite must. The choice of sauce is a trickier decision. There are more than 150 sauces and rubs available. Not knowing where to start is a good problem to have. Try the gold fire (hot gold BBQ), Uncle Rico’s (sweet spicy garlic honey mustard), or Frank Sinatra (buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and parmesan).

BSB’s repertoire is more than wings, with burgers, sandwiches, hoagies, and salads filling out the menu.