Julie Garisto
,
Laurie K. Blandford
,
Diana Biederman
,
Brittany Misencik
,
Helena Perray
,
Chelsea Long
,
Tom Szaroleta
,
Kendall Little
,
Wade Tatangelo
,
Lucia Viti
,
Amber Olesen
,
Sara-Megan Walsh
,
Robyn George
Leesburg Daily Commercial
Patrice McCabe of ‘RV There Yet?’ shares her Lake Harris Hideaway experience
Suffice it to say, she loves the grouper bites at the Tavares boater hangout.
USA TODAY Network food writers spotlighted their favorite local hidden gem restaurants across Florida.The list features a variety of cuisines, from barbecue and seafood to Italian and Mexican.These establishments are praised for their authentic atmosphere, quality ingredients, and memorable meals.Restaurants highlighted include casual spots like Lake Harris Hideaway and more refined options like The Blue Door.
Florida’s dining scene has everything from famous waterfront restaurants to special-occasion steakhouses — but it’s also powered by the hidden gems locals return to again and again.
Lake and Sumter County are no exception. In Lake County, there are too many to mention, but two standouts that impart an off-the-main-drag, “what locals know and love” vibe are Lake Harris Hideaway in Tavares and Big Bass Lake Panasoffkee’s Big Bass Grill and Big Cypress Lakefront Pizzeria.
Lake Harris Hideaway | Tavares
Details: 11912 Lane Park Road, Tavares; call 352-343-3585
Located in Tavares, the Lake Harris Hideaway is that wood-paneled, casual, Florida waterfront restaurant that Instagram-snappy tourists seek out only to wind up dining at some fabricated overpriced version of it. The Hideaway is the real deal, laid-back and accessible by land, boat or even seaplane. It’s biker-owned and offers family- and pet-friendly accommodations and an expansive outdoor deck, where you can enjoy dreamy views of the water.
Obviously, the Hideaway is also a great spot to experience the sunset, and expect to catch live country bands and other live music there. Hideaway’s menu centers on comfort food and classic bar fare, with price points typically ranging from $10 to $20. Regulars love the Messy Burger, open-faced and smothered in homemade chili, the grouper bites, cheesesteaks and the Trifecta Salad. Popular signature cocktails: the Lake Harris Lake Water and Hideaway Punch.
For the most current schedules and daily specials, visit the official Lake Harris Hideaway website or follow their Facebook page for updates.
Big Bass Grill & Big Cypress Lakefront Pizzeria | Lake Panasoffkee
Details: Big Bass Grill is located at 965 County Road 439, Lake Panasoffkee; Big Cypress Lakefront Pizzeria is located at 907 County Road 439B, Lake Panasoffkee.
Here’s not one but two out-of-the-way restaurants that provide a great alternative to fast-food while traveling north-south through Central Florida (you’re welcome). Just a short drive from Interstate 75, Big Bass Grill and its sister establishment, Big Cypress Lakefront Pizzeria, are both owned by William Morey and Danielle Lofley and provide a casual escape in old painted postcard trappings.
Big Bass Grill has that “Old Florida” fish camp vibe, with motorcycles on display and a lively atmosphere complete with weekend live music and karaoke. Order fresh seafood classics like fried catfish, grouper, and gator tail while there.
Big Cypress Lakefront Pizzeria, just down the shore, offers a more refined “rustic-classy” vintage Italian restaurant-meets Florida vacation lodge vibe with grey tones and natural woods, promoted as a date night spot or family-friendly destination since its grand opening in October 2025. The Haven for pizza, pasta and subs focuses on a more chill scenic experience featuring family Italian recipes, scratch-made pizzas, and panoramic sunset views over the lake. With a fountain and lighted patio and landscaped grounds, it’s easy to imagine why the establishment doubles as a wedding venue.
To find the very best, USA TODAY Network food writers from across Florida — living and working in communities large and small — spotlighted the places where they take friends and loved ones for meals that are truly worth the time and money.
Florida’s top 12 hidden gem restaurants worth the drive
Discover Florida’s 12 hidden gem restaurants with strong personalities and unforgettable flavors. From rustic seafood shacks to craft pizza spots, these must-visit eateries offer memorable meals and experiences worth the drive.
No hype. No nonsense. Just memorable meals, strong personalities and flavors that linger long after the check is paid. The kind of places you don’t want to pass the next time you’re traveling through the Sunshine State.
12A Buoy | Fort Pierce
Details: 22 Fisherman’s Warf, Fort Pierce; 772-672-4524; 12abuoy.com12A Buoy has been a staple of Fisherman’s Wharf near the Port of Fort Pierce since owners Katie James and Owen Hartley opened the small seafood restaurant in 2009.
It’s described as a rustic dive with exceptional eats, highlighting lunch and dinner options from its small kitchen on paper menus.
Popular appetizers include lobster mac and cheese and hanging extra thick-cut black pepper and maple glaze bacon.
Menu favorites include fresh catch fish, raw bar options, fried shrimp, Florida Black Angus burgers and homemade desserts. — Laurie K. Blandford, TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers
The Blue Door | West Palm Beach
Details: 5700 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, 561-360-2064, thebluedoorwpb.com
The Blue Door might be the most quietly glamorous restaurant on this statewide list. Hidden behind a plain concrete wall on South Dixie Highway, its arched blue door opens to a breezy Mediterranean courtyard with whitewashed walls, sun-washed neutrals and lush greenery that feel worlds away from West Palm Beach.
Executive Chef Nano Crespo draws inspiration from France, Italy and Greece, crafting ingredient-driven dishes that are as effortless as they are memorable: grilled whole branzino, lamb chops, house-made pasta and flat-iron chicken, a dish so perfectly executed it borders on obsession.
Since its 2024 debut, The Post praised Crespo’s “sensationally simple” cooking, and the regulars agree. On any given night, the intimate dining room hums with a recognizable mix of sports legends, music icons and locals who treat it like their own hideaway.
Polished but never pretentious, The Blue Door feels like a true discovery, one you’ll only find because someone who loves it (me) points you there. — Diana Biederman, The Palm Beach Post
Buenos Dias Cafe | Pensacola
Details: 911 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze; 850-733-9054, buenosdiascaferestaurant.com
This daytime café opened an untapped market in Pensacola: the traditional Mexican breakfast. Though it’s not too difficult to find a delicious burrito or quesadilla in Pensacola, breakfast staples like the creamy chicken chipotle chilaquiles, which are fried corn tortilla pieces cooked with salsa and topped with queso fresco, crema, red onion and cilantro, are a little harder to find.
The daytime café reflects Mexico even down to the interior, with the majority of decorations sourced originally from Mexico to give the restaurant a “pueblo feel. Like if you’re eating inside a little Mexican breakfast store,” co-owner Byanka Ramirez said in a previous interview.
Buenos Dias specializes in hard-to-find treats such as molletes, open-faced sandwiches with melted cheese and refried black beans, or an assorted sweet bread basket. Some of the other menu standouts include the chorizo breakfast tacos mixed with egg, cheese and pico de gallo, and the specialty café de Olla, brewed in a pot with piloncillo (cane sugar) and cinnamon. —Brittany Misencik, Pensacola News Journal
Osteria Rustica Italian Restaurant | Bunnell
Details: 4750 E. Moody Blvd., Suite 108, Bunnell; 386-437-2000
Step through the doors of this softly lit osteria and the feeling is immediate — not of some polished, post-card replica of Italy, but of something quieter and more sincere. With just eight white-clothed tables, hand-lettered chalkboards and walls dressed in scenes of Venetian alleyways, Osteria Rustica feels like the type of hidden gem you stumble upon once and hope to keep secret.
With a warmth as rich as his accent, the restaurant’s owner, from the Venetian island of Burano in Northern Italy, greets guests personally, guiding them through the menu like a well-traveled storyteller. Everything here is made in-house, from the pastas and breads to the mozzarella and hazelnut chocolate mousse cake ($12) — so good it’s not uncommon for me to order a second slice to take home.
Starters blur the line between appetizer and entrée. Case in point: the bocconcini — plump, purse-shaped pastas filled with caramelized pears and sweet gorgonzola and topped with crumbled pecans. The Mezze Maniche Amatriciana ($27) has cemented its place among my menu top picks, pairing soft, tubular pasta with a lightly sweet plum tomato sauce, finished with a splash of pinot grigio, imported pecorino Romano, caramelized onion and crisp bacon. — Helena Perray, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Pearl Country Store & Barbecue | Micanopy
Details: 106 NE U.S. 441 A, Micanopy, 352-466-4025, pearlcountrystore.com
When Gainesville natives David and Peggy Carr bought Pearl Country Store along the Scenic U.S. 441 in 2002, they’d only hoped to preserve a piece of North Central Florida heritage. They ended up with one of the best barbecue spots in the region.
The Carrs were unaware that local cook Jim Whitten was selling barbecue out of the store when they purchased it but embraced the idea and expanded his small storefront into Big Jim’s Barbeque — a move that drew diners from across North Central Florida.
Passing through town, it’s easy to miss the unassuming restaurant tucked inside a small gas station and convenience store, which hasn’t changed much over the past two decades. Even after Whitten’s death, cooks continue to follow his recipes, and regulars continue to praise its generous portions, flavorful food and friendly staff. — Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun
Rodrigo’s Craft Pizza | Jacksonville
Details: 1029 Park St., Jacksonville, (904) 367-3112, rodrigoscraftpizza.com
Rodrigo’s Craft Pizza opened in the Five Points neighborhood late in 2023 and quickly became one of Jacksonville’s favorite pizza places. They do it by simultaneously making the city’s slowest and fastest pizzas.
The slow part is the dough, which ferments for a minimum of three days before it ever sees a sauce; the fast part is the cooking, which is done in a super-hot oven and takes about five minutes, tops. The 12-inch pies come in 10 varieties, and you can buy a ball of dough to take home and create your own pizza. ― Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times Union
Slicers Hoagies | Naples
Details: 13040 Livingston Road, Naples; 239-280-0703; slicershoagies.com
This out-of-the-box sandwich shop was one of the first spots I tried when I started visiting Naples years ago. Locals love it, but tourists haven’t discovered it yet. The staff is always having fun with each other and the customers, all while crafting the most outrageous hoagies you’ve ever seen. The interior of Slicers is just as fun as its hoagies, with every wall being covered in graffiti.
Slicers offers a build-your-own sandwich option, but I always pick off of their signature menu that’s full of weirdly delicious combinations. The “Beefy Nacho” is my personal go-to, which includes roast beef, cheese, onions, crushed nacho Doritos, garlic aioli, and Sriracha mayo. But I’d suggest ordering the “Duh Durc,” which is one of the secret hoagies. It includes meatballs, honey mustard, parmesan, provolone, and crushed Doritos. Don’t knock it ’til you try it! ― Kendall Little, Naples Daily News
Smoke & Fire BBQ | Sarasota
Details: 4571 Clark Road, Sarasota; 941-413-3500
Open just Friday through Sunday, Smoke & Fire BBQ is a hidden gem for serious barbecue lovers in Sarasota. The brisket — served Saturdays and Sundays only — is totally legit in a town largely bereft of such a thing: juicy, tender, with a deep smoke ring and smartly seasoned bark. But don’t overlook the spare ribs I keep thinking about, the pulled pork, or the chicken — especially the pulled chicken sandwich with its addictive “special sauce,” a sweet and tangy house blend that riffs on Chick-fil-A’s.
All the sides are made from scratch and shine in their own right, especially the 12-hour bourbon baked beans (made with real Four Roses), collard greens, and creamy potato salad. Friday specials rotate and have included tomahawk ribeye, dino beef ribs, beef cheeks, pork chops, and a house-ground brisket burger I can’t wait to try. Finish with the bread pudding drenched in whiskey sauce — or grab a homemade chocolate cookie that absolutely bangs.
Terra & Acqua | St. Augustine
Details: 134 Sea Grove Main St., along Anastasia Island’s A1A, St. Augustine; 904-429-9647
Terra & Acqua offers authentic Italian cuisine in America’s oldest city.
Owned and operated by Simone Parisi, the hidden gem touts a menu of handmade classic Italian lunch and dinner foods. Homemade pasta, locally sourced seafood and meats, wood-fired oven pizzas and robust Italian wines showcase Parisi’s desire to share the fresh coastal fare of his Tuscan homeland with St. Augustine’s flip-flop crowd and residents, be it for large family events or intimate date nights.
Parisi said Terra & Acqua’s menu deviates from the American concept of Italian food – “heavy pasta dishes and pizzas loaded with sauce and toppings.”
“I was born and raised in Florence where food is light and flavorful,” he said. “We cook fresh seafood with light sauces made with pure, pressed olive oil and seasonal vegetables and our pizzas are made with a fresh tomato base. Our secret for good food – even the classics – is all about elevating simple ingredients.”
Parisi elevates everything on the menu into another stratosphere of delicioso! ― Lucia Viti, The St. Augustine Record
Coasters Pub & Biergarten | Melbourne
Details: 971 E. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne; 321-779-2739
Coasters Pub & Biergarten offers a laid-back experience for those who love a good restaurant and the perfect bar — and they are famously Space Coast’s longest-running, craft beer–focused gastropub. Tucked away in the corner of a strip mall, the indoor space blends cozy charm with multiple TVs for watching games, while the outdoor biergarten with lush greenery, is dog-friendly and perfect for casual gatherings.
With an impressive lineup of over 100 beers, including local and imported craft selections, they also boast a full bar with an impressive wine selection. The food menu highlights large portions of comfort-food favorites like truffle fries, burrito bowls, Reuben sandwiches and unique specialty burgers. Known for friendly, attentive service and a welcoming atmosphere, it’s a top choice for lunch, dinner or relaxed drinks with friends. ― Amber Olesen, FLORIDA TODAY
Nutwood | Winter Haven
Details: 132 Ave. B SW, Winter Haven; 863-229-7770
Tucked off a one-way street in Winter Haven’s downtown area, Nutwood provides a quiet culinary retreat in a rapidly growing city. Guests have the option of sitting indoors or outside on the patio shaded by a pergola. It’s easy to drive past, but then you’d be missing out on dishes created by Chef Steven Rojas, a Michelin-starred chef who has brought his California-style cuisine to Florida.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, there’s a light and healthy lunch menu featuring a choice of kale, mixed farm greens, or shaved Brussels sprout salads with a choice of proteins. Heritage pork belly wraps with napa cabbage, pickled Fresno chiles, lime, garlic chips, and pickled onions pack flavor. The dinner menu features red wine–braised short ribs with oyster mushrooms and potato gnocchi, or you can’t go wrong choosing the Black Angus hanger steak. Open since 2017, it’s won the Golden Spoon Award from Florida Trend magazine. — Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
Buckingham Farms | Fort Myers
Details: 12931 Orange River Blvd., east Fort Myers; 239-206-2303; buckinghamfarmsonline.com
On the way out to this farm-to-table wonder in east Fort Myers, you’re bound to pass cows, horses and a chicken or two. But you’ll want to stop when you come to the ginormous spur-thigh tortoise named Booger. He’s just one of the many cool things about this past hog farm and orange grove and now 85-acre farm with an impressive breakfast and lunch café that opened in 2013.
The menu has something for everyone. Breakfast features about 25 options, including classic egg dishes, waffles, biscuits & gravy, French toast, flatbreads and wraps. For lunch, you’ll find crab cakes, fish of the day, quesadillas, salads, lots of handhelds (from tacos to pulled pork) and more. Fruits and vegetables are all grown there, and the eggs come straight from the chickens. Keep in mind, since it’s a fruit and vegetable farm, you won’t see any farm animals. You can always visit Booger, though. — Robyn George, The News-Press
Dining and Cooking