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Anyone familiar with the iconic town of Seaside, Florida, is likely already in the know about Great Southern Café. Just as the famous line that graces the back of many shirts, “Only Seaside is just like Seaside,” the same sentiment could be applied to Great Southern Café.
Grand Champion Executive Chef, Jim Shirley opened Great Southern Cafe back in 2006 in the same spot it occupies today. Located right in the heart of Seaside’s Central Square, if you visit Seaside, you can’t miss Great Southern. This casual restaurant with a laid-back, yet affluently appealing vibe is home to a mix of international cuisines with southern cooking. The Great Southern team relies heavily on local produce from nearby farms and fresh catch, straight from the Gulf of Mexico.
Whether you choose seafood, steak, Chef Shirley’s famous Grits a Ya-Ya, or a burger, you’re going to get the same great quality and attention to detail every single time, no matter how many times you visit Great Southern. It’s exactly that guarantee that keeps the regulars going back time and again.
Great Southern Café offers both inside and outside seating, as well as a vibrant bar scene on the outside covered deck. The restaurant itself closely resembles the homes in Seaside, with its wood walls, plank floors, and décor that is definitely strong in coastal-meets-country attitude.
It’s that look and feel that, even beyond the cuisine, gives Great Southern so much of its charm and magnetic appeal.
As for Chef Jim Shirley, he knows a thing or two about restaurants, having been a restaurateur since 1995 when he opened his first eatery in Pensacola. Nowadays, the Jim Shirley Restaurant Group owns and manages multiple brands and locations, with unique flavors to each. Chef Jim’s most notable accolades, as a chef, have been his invitations to the world-famous James Beard House, where he has been celebrated by the holy grail of food, The James Beard Foundation. Chef Shirley is one of only five chefs from all of Northwest Florida to ever be invited as a chef to the house, and once you try the dishes at Great Southern Café you’ll definitely understand exactly why this is.
