Review of The Village Door Restaurant

Just flew into Destin/Miramar Beach and was looking for a GF-friendly place for dinner. Went here based on positive reviews and I wanted good seafood (something not easy to find in Minnesota). Very gluten-free friendly menu and (they say) a dedicated fryer.

My crab boil was just ok; shrimp were overcooked and I’ve had more flavorful crab, but the sausage was sweet and tasty. But overall, not worth the price, imo. My youngest daughter had the BBQ chicken wings and those were spot on; very good and a good amount (all dummies). I’d get those again in a heartbeat. My other (celiac like me) daughter had the butterfly fried shrimp basket, and I didn’t get to steal one of those, but she said they were really good. I sampled a few of the kids’ fries and they were tasty too.

Now, I’m not sure if it was something I ate earlier, or just my stomach being overly sensitive after a day of flying, or something I ate at the restaurant, but 30 min later while we were picking up groceries for our Airbnb, I did get a bit of an upset stomach and had to run to the bathroom. Nothing serious, but hard to tell what caused it. But wanted to write an honest review.

I’d still recommend this place, and it’s located in a super cute pedestrian mall with lots of fun shops. (You have to go through a security gate before you reach the mall area and tell them where you’re dining; not sure if that’s standard procedure, but it threw me off a bit, so be prepared.) Parking could be a little tricky in busier times of the year (we were here in January, and it was practically a ghost town), but there’s a parking ramp nearby. Note that the restaurant is not heated, so if it’s chilly, this might not be a good place to go (there was a windchill of 32° outside when we went, and the indoor part of the restaurant wasn’t much warmer! We kept our coats on the entire meal.)

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Dedicated gluten-free fryer
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Average