Best Milton restaurants: Nine restaurants that do Southern cooking (and more) right
We write about food a lot in Pensacola. With new restaurants popping up every week and tons of hidden gems, it's hard not find a nearly limitless amount of places to discover and highlight.
But what about some of Pensacola's surrounding areas?
As it turns out, Pensacola isn't the only place with plenty of good eats. The city of Milton, with a population of just over 10,000, has plenty of good ol' Southern home cooking. The kind many of you probably grew up eating.
Biscuits and gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens, creamy macaroni — Milton is bursting at the seems with restaurants that will satisfy those cravings.
Keep reading to find nine Milton restaurants that do Southern cooking right.
Blackwater Bistro
5147 Elmira St.
Blackwater Bistro is located in a period house over a hundred years old on Elmira Street in downtown Milton. The home the business is located isn’t the only historical part of the restaurant, though. It also played a role in making a push for allowing Sunday alcohol sales in the county in 2017, paving the way for “Sunday funday” brunches in the county.
But what about the food? They, of course, have that, too. Blackwater is one of Milton’s more upscale restaurants, but the menu doesn’t betray its Southern roots.
For lunch, they offer sandwiches like New Orleans-style muffaletta and a Rowdy Reuben, an assortment of pizzas and burgers, too. Entrees include seared sesame seed ahi tuna, Creole grouper and shrimp, Mom’s meatloaf, chicken pot pie, triple threat Cajun pasta and more.
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Masons
5153 Dogwood Dr.
The mantra at Masons is “good food, good people.” The environment is quaint as it fully embraces what most would imagine a Southern diner to look like. Seating is arranged in a cafeteria style, with four chairs at a table and seating at the bar. The walls are covered in wall art displaying affection for coffee and all things vintage. But the food is where Masons shines.
The menu is made up of homemade meals and soups made from scratch — all using locally-sourced, fresh veggies. The theme is traditional American breakfast and brunch. Breakfast serves up eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy and breakfast sandwiches. Lunch has options for burgers, sandwiches and salads. Everything here is made with the Southern charm you’d expect.
Ace’s Restaurant
6583 Caroline St.
Ace’s is a longtime Milton staple that has served the area for a hair over 20 years. As you walk up to the yellow and red block and brick restaurant, you’ll be met with a wall of license plates hung outside from all across the United States. You’ll find that same theme inside when you see that the menus are also made from license plates.
The food is good ol’ Southern cooking many of us grew up with. You can get everything from biscuits to country fried steak smothered and covered in gravy. Breakfast serves up traditional egg dishes like omelets, bacon, sausage, waffles and French toast. Lunch and dinner features several burgers, sandwiches and seafood options like a buffalo chicken sandwich, a “katfish” dinner and John’s chop steak.
Boomerang Pizza Kitchen
5227 Willing St.
Established in 2014, Boomerang Pizza Kitchen is one of Milton’s only locally-owned pizza restaurants. Featuring a retro '40s and '50s style dining room and serving from-scratch New York-style pizza, boomerang isn’t afraid to get inventive.
Specialty pies include classics like meat lovers, supreme, Margherita and others. But you’ll also find things like the meatball pizza, which has mozzarella, meatballs, red onions, minced garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese. And the Thai chicken, which has a peanut sauce, grilled chicken, carrots, fresh sprouts, red onions, red bell pepper and more peanuts for good measure.
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Cosse’s Place
5365 Stewart St.
Cosse’s Place is a restaurant that serves New Orleans seafood, po’boys and oysters. The décor inside of Cosse’s feels like a modern take on an old country diner, with rustic wooden and metal chairs, hardwood floors and homey wall art. Owner Mike Cosse created a menu that features dishes right out of his native city: po'boys, muffaletta, baked macaroni, turtle soup and stuffed crab. You’ll also find frog logs, alligator and red beans and rice.
Fishing Hole
3974 Avalon Blvd.
The Fishing Hole might sound like a place you’d get some bait and tackle from but it’s far from it. The Milton restaurant is known in the area for having some of the best seafood around. The more upscale nature of the interior of the restaurant betrays the fact that it sits inside a strip mall on Avalon Boulevard.
Popular dishes include things like the grouper sandwich, fried mullet and shrimp and crab chowder. But the restaurant’s culinary talents don’t end at just seafood. Non-seafood lovers can enjoy pasta dishes like fettuccine alfredo, tacos, buffalo wings and more.
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Gud Vybz Jamaican Grill
4352 Avalon Blvd.
Gud Vybz Jamaican Grill is a new restaurant that offers a wildly different cuisine than what you’ll typically find in the area. The Milton spot is first of two restaurants opened in the Pensacola area, with the second located at 7999 Pensacola Blvd. Both restaurants maintain the same island feel and hold themed events for the community like date night and game nights.
The menu has a little bit of everything, from ribs, to conch to shrimp — all served with some Jamaican flair. Many of the staples include rice and “peas,” which are typically kidney beans. Curry chicken, jerk chicken, jerk pork and goat curry are among some of the most popular dishes of the restaurant.
The Cutting Board
5701 U.S. Highway 90, Milton
The Cutting Board is another modern take on Southern home cooking that has probably the most expansive menu on this list. Located in a strip mall on Caroline Street, the inside of the restaurant opens up to wood paneling walls, tiled floors, rustic wooden tables and wall décor with sayings like “it ain’t food if it ain’t fried.”
What can you expect on the menu? Some fried food, for sure. But there’s more than that. The menu is broken up into several categories: oysters, pasta, seafood, chicken, steaks, po’boys, burgers and awesome potatoes. What are awesome potatoes? Dishes that offer some serious takes on spuds, like the Pile-Up on a Potato, which has grilled or fried chicken tenders on top of a potato, topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions and drizzled with melted Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese.
The Cutting Board has closed for the holidays and will reopen in 2023, so you'll have to wait to check this one out.
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McKinely's Sandwich Shop
5262 Stewart St.
McKinely’s Sandwich Shop is a local lunch favorite in Milton, located on Stewart Street. The restaurant is located in a standalone building with a contemporary and clean interior. It’s only open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, so you’ll have to get while the getting is good.
The menu is small and focuses, of course, on sandwiches. If you’re a Publix fan then you’ll find some familiar faces on this menu. The Ultimate Club features Boar’s Head smoked turkey, black forest ham and applewood bacon — a possible homage to a similarly named sub called the Ultimate Sub from the popular Florida grocery chain but swapping roast beef for bacon.
The turkey and cranberry, which features cranberries, pecans and a hint of nutmeg with whipped cream cheese, served on top of smoked Boar’s Head turkey and lettuce is another sandwich similar to Publix’s turkey and cranberry holiday sandwich. Similarities aside, the quality of each handcrafted sandwich will have you coming back for lunch.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton restaurants that Santa Rosa County foodies shouldn't miss
