This was my first visit to Mexico Beach, and we were staying right across the street from Toucan's, so it was inevitable that we would end up here. Â We visited twice, once on a Saturday night, after dinner for drinks and dancing, and once on a weekday. Â Saturday was a good time, the dance floor was moderately full and they had a DJ. Â The crowd was a little on the "mature" side, but they were playing classics that everyone enjoys, so we got out the floor a few times. Â The drinks were moderately priced, and a decent pour. Â
When we returned later that week, we sat upstairs in the bar area, so that we could see the sunset. Â This was a different experience. Â I had been craving oysters all day, so as soon as we sat down we asked the waitress for a dozen. Â She commented that they might take a while so she would go get us drinks, and come back to take our dinner order. Â I thought that it was odd, since we ordered steamed oysters (how hard can that be to make?) and we were 1 of about 4 people in the place. Â At least she was on top of it in telling us. Â When we ordered our main dishes, my boyfriend tried to order the scallops, grilled. Â Our waitress "suggested" that he get them fried, because when they are grilled they become chewy and most people send them back. Â Now, i know from experience that you can grill scallops and not make them chewy, so I am not sure what they are doing in the kitchen, but apparently they aren't seafood aficionados. Â My bf took the waitresses suggestion and ordered them fried; they were "ok" at best. Â I ordered the crabcake and shrimp sliders, and they were about on the same level as the scallops.
The saving grace of this place is that it is right on the beach and you can get an awesome view while dining. Â They are one of about 3 or 4 places on the beach to get seafood, so pickins' are slim in the area. Â Overall, I would probably go back for drinks, but skip the food next time.
So my family and I went here and were seated quickly. Right on booths by beach so great view! Great breeze!
Got the oysters Rockefeller and calamari for app. Oysters were huge and delish but the calamari was not. Dry and overdone not plump and crispy. Served with I think Prego jar marinara on side.
Then the entrees. We had the shrimp and scallop platter, shrimp platter and the shrimp and crabcake sliders.
Well lets just start out with NONE of the sauce is made there. Packages of tarter and cocktail suace. Over cooked, old oil, terrible scallop and shrimp platter.
Shrimp was edible cause I drowned them in sauce! The crabcake sliders were the hit! Who knew the 20$ item was not on par with the 12$ item!
Get the sandwiches! Don't pay over 15$ per entree here,simply not worth it. I say get drinks here and enjoy the view!
What would have been a nice afternoon lunch with friends was ruined by loud music, slow service, and questionable food. Â Management refused to turn it down. Â Mind you, this was a weekday afternoon and we were the only customers at the time. Â
Service was VERY slow and the food was pretty much awful! Â I ordered a Cesar salad with shrimp. Â I had imagined grilled shrimp but they were steamed and served cold. Â They were tasteless and had the strangest rubbery texture. Â They actually looked fake, as if made from rubber. Â I'm pretty certain that they had been cook days prior. Â The salad was covered in dusting of crumbled stale croutons that were impossible to avoid. Â Even though this salad was completely unappealing, I was very hungry, so I decided to pick at it anyway; the whole time wondering if I would regret this decision later... if you know what I mean.
After pleading with management twice about the loud music, we decided to finish our meal outside. Â We were attacked by biting gnats... referred to as "no see-um's." Â Preferring gnats over obnoxious noise we voted to remain outside. Â We finished quickly and left.
This place could be really neat, considering the location and view, but they just don't seem to give a flip. Â Pass.
So here's the thing, you seriously cannot beat Toucan's view! All ocean, all gorgeous. Drinks were delicious, our server was fab- but the food is very hit or miss.
We started with the sweet & spicy shrimp and it was really good. Hard to mess up fried shrimp, but this was good. I enjoyed it. Then my hubby & his buddy split some raw oysters, again hard to mess up- they're raw. They enjoyed them. I got a grilled chicken salad and it was awful. The chicken was tough and had zero flavor, the greens looked old and I really had about 3 bites. Not good. This is pretty much what I've heard from all the locals as well- they say they drink here, and eat at Killer Seafood. I've haven't been to Killer Seafood yet so I will review that one soon :)
So I would say go for drinks, views, and a couple appetizers. Don't expect a 4 star meal!
Awful, the management sets a new level of rudeness. Â The food is bland, the drinks are mediocre. Â The only reason to go to toucans is because there is nowhere else to go. Â The only interesting part of the night was a bunch of guys who showed up and made the place exciting but it looked like they got ran out by the management. Â Skip toucans, until they have a major management/menu change.
Review Source:Great food, the raw oysters especially. Â They had a good variety of condiments availible to season them for a person's liking. Â The server was a bit overwhelmed by the size of our group, so the service was a bit lacking. Â The rest of the business offered typical Emerald Coast and Gulf tourist sovenirs. Â Mexico Beach is amazing, still small a bit more remote and untouched compared to the rest of the Gulf Coast. Â It's quiet, a bit sleepy but removed from more touristy places like Panama City or Destin.
Review Source:Awesome location right on the beach but that's where the positives stop. Service was horrible (on several different occasions) and the food is nothing special and extremely overpriced. I used to wait tables and am usually a very good tipper (even with bad service) but my service was so bad here I didn't leave any tip at all.... Save your money and go check out some of the other places on the beach.
Review Source:2nd time I've been here - the first time was many years ago, about 9 months after Hurricane Katrina. I remember being awestruck by this great beach shack (a rather huge one at that) in this sleepy town in the middle of nowhere, and that they had the best beachfront dining view of anyplace I'd ever been. It's like IN the sand. I remember food being "OK", and ditto service - but the location deserved about 10 stars.
This last time, my experience was much the same. This time with wife and kids in tow. Everyone enjoyed their food, service was friendly and quick enough. Food was not bad, but not great - your average beachy-dive kind of food - but maybe even one half a notch up from there. It's the kind of place where the tables are perpetually sticky, the music on the soundsystem is your average classic rock, the beer selection is basic Bud-Miller-Yuengling... and that's all perfectly OK. The tiki hut style roof and gorgeous view are the real draw here. Everything else falls into line. No attitudes here, just a good time, hanging out, scanning the horizon. Kids could run around in the sand right off the deck, and we could keep our eye on them - and the gorgeous blue water - the entire time.
This was about the only place open past 5 pm on Thursday... so it was Toucan's or McDonalds.
AWSOME VIEW! Right on the beach.
The food:
Baked Toucan Oysters--delicious
Victorian Grouper--very good
House Salad--good
The service was great, very friendly and attentive waitress.
I thought it was pretty cool that there is a playground on the beach. Really nice for those that have kids and want to play on the beach after lunch/dinner.
I think the food must of improved from looking at some of the most recent reviews. Â Sweet and Spicy shrimp appetizer was decent. Â Grilled shrimp were average at best. This place has great potential but they need to scale down the menu and figure out what they're niche is going to be. Â I'll give it another try next time were in town.
Review Source:Well by the outside you would think you were at the right place for Mexico Beach. Well if you want frozen seafood you are. Nothing fresh but maybe the over priced oysters. They blame it on the beds but you can go to Hunt's Oyster Bar 40 minutes north west on Highway 98 and get them for 3-4 dollars cheaper. So explain that when Toucans is 43 miles closer to the beds. All of the small places are much better and fresher seafood. Might go back for a drink at the bar on the beach and an appetizer but that would be it. Soory Toucan's you have lost the real deal and that is not to serve frozen seafood when the ocean is out your back door.
Review Source:We came here for lunch and although the server was unfriendly and slightly inattentive but the she crab soup was unbelievable. Unfortunately our oysters were microscopic, almost undetectable under the glob of cheese. This close to Apalachicola and your oysters suck? That's just embarrassing. Â What's more embarrassing is that we actually went back that night because we didn't know of another bar around. Our server was very nice, very friendly but also very inattentive. My gf's soft shell crab po boy came out on an awful hard, stale roll. The crab was very good but we told her about the bread, she apologized and offered to replace. By that point my gf didn't want to take a chance on more bread so she decided to just pick the good stuff off instead. It would've been nice for her to comp half the price of the sandwich but she didn't. Either way, the tuna dip, crab po boy and seafood pasta along with four drinks came to $80 with the tip. Way overpriced for the hit or miss food and lack of service.
Review Source:Had a group of friends go out for some drinks on Thursday night. Â The staff and bartenders were a blast. The food is not bad and they cheese grits!! Â Had a two person band playing an acoustic set, singer had a great voice and covered all varieties of music. Fun place to hang out without the whole "Tourist trap" experience. /would definitely recommend.
Cheap draft pitchers of Yuengling!
I cannot believe this got 5 stars ever, at least not recently. Â I hate writing bad reviews but it is necessary. Â We never seem to learn that the spot ON the beach means the food is crap. Â We should have eaten on the other side of the street.
on to the review:
The staff was all very nice. Â Our server was on the ball even if he was stoned out of his gourd (allegedly). Â I think this because he came across like Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted. Â Whaaat bro? Â Yeah, totally.
So, the food. Â I ordered a cup of gumbo as my side and they never told me i could sub that. Â So i ended up paying for that and not getting a side with my meal. Â no biggie, these things happen. Â The gumbo had WAY to many spices. Â Not in a good way but in the way that you feel like you are eating a bouillion cube. Â Too much celery salt and not much seafood. Â But it was okay. Â I ate half of it. Â
For entrees, well, you can have your food fried or sauteed. Â My 20 dollar scallop dish was not really sauteed in butter. Â I think maybe they were boiled. Â There were about 100 tiny little flavorless pencil erasers in some milky watery substance. Â no real butter flavor or wine or anything. Â I did try eating some more in my gumbo, and i was able to get them in my stomach but there was no enjoyment.
My fiance had the scallop po-boy because he "didn;t want to be pissed off when he saw what his 20 dollar entree would consist of".
On the plus side: Â they're on the beach. Â They have a volleyball net and swings for the kids. Â They have live music (if you like that). Â Um, they have a lot of beer (but it isn;t even remotely fancy).
Maybe they deserve 2 stars. Â I wasn't poisoned or anything. Â But really, their food was worse than i make and I dont cook. Â Oh, and they parked their truck in the first spot and they fill it with stinky fish trash. Â Really? Â Maybe put it in the farthest spot so EVERYONE doesn't have to pass it on the way in. Â I should have seen the warning sign clearer.
This place has really gone downhill. Â I have been going to Toucans for 10+ years on vacation, and I was really disappointed this time. Â The prices were very high for the quality of food. Â The 20+ scallops were just cooked in butter, not seasoned at all, Â the fries were super greasy, crab claws were small and not plentiful for 13. Â The grouper sandwich was good, but they jacked up the price about 5 bucks. Â Also, get some better beer. Â When Heineken is your premium beer, you have lost touch with the beer drinking world. Luckily, there are more options around, included down in PSJ.
Review Source:Food was good and service was good. We only had two complaints - the first was that the calamari that was ordered as one person's meal came out cold. The waitress very quickly took that off of the bill. The second complaint was that my crab cake was burned on the bottom. I didn't mention it to the waitress because the unburned parts were still very good.
Price was reasonable for the Combo type platters, but seemed over-priced for single items (like the grilled grouper).
So, back to Toucan's we went again this year. We hadn't planned on it, but Boon Docks in WindMark Beach happened to not be open the night we showed up there. Our server was great (Kayla?) - very friendly and attentive. I ordered the pimiento burger, which was a nice alternative to the regular hamburger I had been eating all week (I don't eat seafood). My husband ordered the grouper. He thought the grouper was fine, but thought it was a bit pricey for what he got (that's saying something seeing we live in DC). I always enjoy going there just to eat on the beach and it's kind of a touristy-theme beach restaurant.
Review Source:It's been quite a while since I've been here, and given that Mexico Beach is one of my favorite places for sunbathing and swimming, there must be a reason, right?
I think Toucan's continues to survive and do well because there is simply so little competition in the area. Mexico Beach is rather isolated, with the Air Force base on one side and rural areas and (at some distance) a state forest on the other.
The food consists of your basic fried seafood platters, burgers, and so forth. It's never been BAD, that I can recall, but it's never really been memorable or worth the touristy prices either.
I guess you are paying for the view, as their back deck has an awesome view of the Gulf. The things is, such views are worth more in Panama City Beach than Mexico Beach, because the good people of Mexico Beach have not seen the development and "condoization" that has been seen on the rest of Bay County's beaches. You can get great views all around Mexico Beach. You can also get better food than Toucan's.
Visited here for lunch, the drive is not far from Tyndall if you work near there.  Just by sitting next to the beach and listening to the ocean wave already made half of the meal taste delicious.  They have a similar wooden décor as most restaurant by the beach.
For appetizer, we got a dozen of loaded oyster with cheese and bacon bites on top, and we all know nothing can go wrong when bacon is in it. Â With two combined, it gives you that mouthwatering flavor from oyster. Â For entrees, I ended up getting the Grouper Fingers, which tasted ok, and I thought the grouper pieces were a bit small, since that makes the fish less moist inside. Â The fries were ok too. Â Others who go the shrimp basket looks very good, as the shrimps are pretty big.
Toucan is an ideal luncheon location if you seek a quiet place to enjoy the beach view and sound of waves. Â The service was all right.
Overpriced. That's the first - and really the only - word that comes to mind. The food is ok, but definitely not worth anywhere near the prices they charge. Clearly this place is geared more towards the summer tourist crowd that doesn't know any better, which might also explain why the place was fairly empty and why the waitress was trying to give me the check before I had barely finished my meal. Would not recommend.
Review Source:Toucan's was exactly what we were looking for on our first visit to Mexico Beach. Right on the water with a fun, kitschy tiki bar beach atmosphere. They have indoor dining with a bar, plus dining on a covered deck, and a great outdoor deck for dining and drinking.
It's a really fun place with a nice menu offering. We had crab claws, my daughter's favorite - which were really pretty good - a grilled grouper sandwich - yum - and sweet and spicy fried shrimp. All were good. The helpings were perfect and the side items were totally yummy (cole slaw and fries). Â The margaritas were a little watered down, but we didn't care... they had everything else going for them, including a super-sweet, personable waitress who couldn't have been better at her job (Lacey!). Also loved the swing set on the beach and the volley ball. So much fun! This is the place to be in Mexico Beach. We traveled over from Seagrove to check out the area, and Toucan's made it a really fun and worthwhile little outing. And the waves on the beach were gorgeous to watch from the deck (Tropical Storm Lee was just leaving the area). I would definitely go back.
Oh, lastly, they also had a cute gift shop on the property - got some cute flip flops and a hat. :-)
Well, it started with being seated on flimsy plastic chairs. The staff were friendly but it took for ever to get our meal. The meal itself came with some Styrofoam plates and plastic bowels.
They charge premium prices for medicore food. I would just give this place an OK, but they are kid friendly.
We had lunch at Toucan's on a Sunday afternoon. We had been at the beach all morning and it was really convenient to leave our stuff in the sand and walk up to the restaraunt. We went up to the upper level tiki bar area and sat along the open-air windows so we could keep an eye on our stuff down on the beach. The view was fabulous!
Unfortunately, the service was pretty bad. There was only one other party up there other than ours, and the waitress just sat and talked while we waited and waited and waited. Twice we had to get up to summon her for something. It was annoying.
The food was mediocre. Our party ordered the baked oysters, which were good but we'd had better ones elsewhere in the area. The fish taco wraps were decent-tasting, but there wasn't much fish in them and they could've used some cabbage. The grilled chicken sandwich was really dry, but with a little mayo was edible. The fries were okay.
The margs were disappointing... weak and obvi made from a mix.
Perhaps because the location is convenient to beachgoers and the views are so great, the management at Toucan's doesn't see a need to have good service, good food, or good value. If you're not concerned with anything but getting off the beach quickly and for a short period of time without having to pack up your stuff, you'll enjoy Toucans. The location and view definitely can't be beat, but the food can.
Been a couple times for lunch, food was good but nothing special. Â Both times I was here, on weekdays as it is near where I work, my service experience was pretty good and the food was served promptly, different from experience some reviewers have had. Â Have tried the baked oysters with jalapeno, the fried oyster poboy sandwich, and the gumbo.. Â Bowl of gumbo was a generous serving. Â Baked oysters came with lots of cheese and spices. The view is very nice if you sit out on the patio, kind of a nice laid back beach bar atmosphere but a fairly clean place unlike some of the beach bars in Panama City Beach. Â Prices are somewhat high, one is paying for the view.
Review Source:I am still unsure about this place. Â I love the location and view but the food was just Okay. Â I had high hopes for this restaurant!
I ordered the Grilled Grouper Sandwich and it was over seasoned! Â I hated the seasoning that was on this fish. Â I would have liked a good tasting fish with a little seasoning or lemon juice. Â The menu did not state that it would be doused in seasoning.
I think I will stick to the onion rings and a good drink and watch the waves come in on the deck. Â I think that I will stay away from the other food :-( Disappointed!!!
Well apparently Toucan's RAISED THEIR PRICES AND got a crappy chef. Â This used to be such a precious lil gem stashed away in good ole serene Mexico Beach. Â
ummmmmm.........
It hit a vicious decline. Â We went here after walking on the beach.....*yes, I know....We're Hallmark commercial/match.com lovers. *
anyhoo....YOUR GIRL WAS HONGRAAAAY! Â lmao! Â
You know that type of starve when you see those black and white dots and your stomach growls loud to embarrass you begging to feed it. Â Well that's what it is for me at this point. Â Lemme tell you....My oysters were DRYYYYYYYY and over cooked!!!!! Â My drink was slow getting to the table and they WERENT BUSY. Â I even decided to go out on a limb and try a grilled grouper sandwich for the first time (that's a big deal for me, for real) Â It was rubbery like an old piece of chewing gum...AGAIN WAS HARDLY SEASONED...and the fries....the fries ya'll.....CHEWY, TOO!!!! Â
hooooooowwwwwww do you mess up FRIES???? Â Please let meeee know. Â
On top of all that....the bill. Â WHAT???? Â my eyes popped out of my head!! Â $44 hard cold american dollars for lunch? with these dry oysters, slow a--waitress and fake fish sangwich? Â And its 20 minutes out the way.....
I will not be going back anytime soon. Â I feel violated...
Great for oysters, grouper, calamari, fries and late night drinks!!
We ate a Toucan's several times while on vacation & went for late night several different times as well. I personally think that the food at Toucan's outweighs the service by a hundred times. The oysters (Toucan's, Rockefeller & Mexicali) are fabulous and I highly recommend each of them. The calamari is great (and won't last long on the table) and the grilled grouper sandwich is yummy & HUGE and can be split. The fries are perfect!!
The wait staff at Toucans is by far one of the worst I have ever seen or experienced. When the waitress was asked what was in the crab soup the response given was "Crab". After explaining that we were interested in knowing what the actual base of the soup was ( i.e. is it a cream soup), she said she didn't know but that she really only eats the gumbo soup. After the credit card machine was broken on the level of the restaurant we were on she asked us while standing at the machine from across the room if we "had money on these cards" with a truly snotty tone when the credit card machine was unable to connect to be authorized; there was no apology granted when she was told that the machine upstairs was the only one working in the restaurant at the time; which, ran our card with ease. The other servers that we had within our trip were in no comparison as horrific as the one just mentioned, but there was a sense that some training of the servers should be required since many basic things were overlooked, forgotten, or neglected. I don't think Toucan's should be skipped because of the service but you should be prepared.
Late night at Toucan's is great when it's busy. When there is a good crowd that staff is pretty good about getting everyone up and dancing. Karaoke is typical as it would be anywhere, but the upstairs bar doesn't cool off enough to encourage you to stick around. There are fans everywhere but you are too high up to catch the ocean breeze and it's hard to stay longer than 20 minutes. The tiki bar downstairs is open air and right on the beach and all the elements combined make for a great place to hang out and drink. Drinks are pretty cheap for the area but the well liquor is cheap quality (I saw several that I have never even heard of) and they didn't carry a lot of brands when you want a better tasting drink. When Toucans is slow they will close early and you may want to call ahead if it's off season or mid week because they closed 5 hours early one night because the crowd was too small.
We enjoyed dining at Toucan's Memorial Day Weekend. It's a relaxed laid back atmosphere. Dine outside and you"ll have a great view of the gulf and a lovely breeze. The broiled shrimp and fried oysters were excellent. Finish off the meal with the key lime pie, very tart, excellent presentation. The server was friendly and the food arrived quickly.
Review Source:Really enjoyed this place, one for the atmosphere, and two the food was pretty good. Â The Seared Ahi Tuna appetizer was one of the best i've had, but my husband didn't like the gumbo. Â But who goes to Florida to eat gumbo and not seafood? Â But the oysters were YUMMY! (Apalachicola to be exact)
Review Source:It's not the same as it used to be years back. All the burger style food is served on stale wonder bread rolls. Soups are cold. Fried food is really salty. Just get the oysters as they seems to be fine. I won't be going back until I see some good reviews. Just Drink cold beer and look at the nice views.
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