13 Wildly Unusual Florida Restaurants Worth Adding To Your Bucket List

Florida’s dining scene goes way beyond beach shacks and seafood joints. Scattered across the Sunshine State, you’ll find restaurants that feel more like theme parks, art installations, or fever dreams than places to grab dinner.

I’m talking about eateries where you might dine inside a castle surrounded by water, eat alongside animatronic dinosaurs, or feast in what feels like outer space. These aren’t your average date night spots, they’re full-blown experiences that’ll have you snapping photos between bites and telling stories for years to come.

1. The Boat In The Moat At Solomon’s Castle

Imagine pulling up to a handmade castle in the middle of rural Florida, complete with a moat, and discovering your table is literally on a boat. That’s exactly what happens at this one-of-a-kind spot in Ona, where artist Howard Solomon built his dream from reclaimed materials and pure imagination.

The restaurant floats right in the moat surrounding the castle, and you’ll dine on Portuguese-inspired dishes while gently bobbing on the water. Fresh grouper, black beans and rice, and homemade bread are house favorites.

The whole experience feels like stumbling into a storybook.

You’ll find this quirky gem at 4533 Solomon Road in Ona, tucked away where you’d least expect it. The castle itself doubles as an art gallery filled with Solomon’s wild creations, so plan to explore before or after your meal.

Reservations are a must since seating is limited, and honestly, this place books up fast once people discover it exists.

2. Clark’s Fish Camp

Walking into Clark’s feels like entering a natural history museum that decided to serve gator tail and swamp frog legs. Seriously, there are over 300 taxidermy animals staring down at you while you eat—everything from alligators and bears to zebras and ostriches dangling from the rafters.

The menu leans heavily into wild game and fresh seafood, offering dishes you won’t find at your typical chain restaurant. Try the ostrich, kangaroo, or their famous fried alligator if you’re feeling adventurous.

The gumbo is outstanding, and their seafood platters are piled high with local catches.

Located at 12903 Hood Landing Road in Jacksonville, this place has been a local legend since 1986. Kids go absolutely nuts over the animal displays, and adults appreciate the genuinely good food and massive portions.

Fair warning: the décor is intense, so if you’re squeamish about taxidermy, maybe skip this one and hit up literally any other restaurant in Florida.

3. The Bubble Room

Step inside and you’ve basically time-traveled to a Christmas explosion mixed with your grandmother’s attic—if your grandmother collected every toy, train set, and holiday decoration ever made. The Bubble Room on Captiva Island is sensory overload in the best possible way, with themed rooms packed floor to ceiling with vintage treasures.

Servers dress in scout uniforms and the menu features indulgent American classics like prime rib, duck, and their legendary cakes that tower like edible skyscrapers. The Red Velvet Cake and Bubble Bread are practically required ordering.

Everything comes in portions that’ll have you loosening your belt halfway through.

You’ll find this nostalgic wonderland at 15001 Captiva Drive on Captiva Island, where it’s been delighting visitors since 1979. The vibe is pure joy and controlled chaos, perfect for families or anyone who refuses to grow up completely.

Expect a wait during peak season—this place is wildly popular and doesn’t take reservations.

4. Mai-Kai Restaurant & Polynesian Show

Fort Lauderdale hides one of the last authentic tiki palaces from the 1950s golden age, and walking through those doors feels like boarding a flight to the South Pacific without leaving Florida. Mai-Kai isn’t just dinner—it’s a full Polynesian revue with fire dancers, drummers, and hula performances that’ll have you ordering another Mystery Drink before the first act ends.

The menu features Cantonese and Polynesian fusion dishes, from Peking duck to teriyaki steak, all served in a dining room that looks like it hasn’t changed since Eisenhower was president. That’s a compliment, by the way.

The tropical cocktails are legendary, served in elaborate tiki mugs you’ll be tempted to smuggle home.

Located at 3599 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, this place recently survived a devastating fire and came back stronger. Reservations are essential, especially for weekend shows.

Dress code leans tropical casual, so break out that Hawaiian shirt you’ve been saving.

5. Old Key Lime House

Perched right on the Intracoassal Waterway, this Lantana landmark has been serving seafood since the 1950s in a building that looks like it survived several hurricanes through sheer stubbornness and good vibes. The Old Key Lime House wraps you in vintage Florida charm, with weathered wood, nautical décor, and water views that make every meal feel like a mini vacation.

Fresh catches dominate the menu—grouper, snapper, stone crab when in season—alongside their famous key lime pie that’s been perfected over decades. The conch fritters are crispy little flavor bombs, and their fish dip makes an excellent starter.

Portions are generous without being ridiculous, and everything tastes like it came straight from the ocean to your plate.

Find this waterfront gem at 300 East Ocean Avenue in Lantana, where locals and tourists mix happily over cold drinks and fresh fish. Outdoor seating puts you right over the water, perfect for watching boats cruise by while you tackle that key lime pie.

6. Cap’s Place Island Restaurant

Getting to your table requires a boat ride, which should tell you everything about how committed Cap’s Place is to being gloriously inconvenient and absolutely worth it. This Lighthouse Point institution sits on its own little island, accessible only by their ferry, and has been serving seafood to everyone from FDR to Winston Churchill since 1928.

The menu keeps things simple: fresh fish prepared perfectly, hearts of palm salad that’s been on the menu since forever, and key lime pie that’ll ruin all other key lime pies for you. They’re famous for their baked fish with special sauce, and the chicken served family-style is surprisingly popular for a seafood joint.

Cash only, by the way—plan accordingly.

You’ll catch the ferry at 2765 Northeast 28th Court in Lighthouse Point, where parking is limited and the whole operation feels delightfully stuck in time. Call ahead for reservations and ferry times.

The journey across the water, the historic building, the old-school service—it all combines into something magical.

7. The Garlic

Every single dish contains garlic. Every.

Single. One.

If vampires are your thing, swipe left on The Garlic in North Miami, because this place uses Florida’s favorite bulb like most restaurants use salt. Even the ice cream has garlic in it, which sounds insane until you taste the roasted garlic gelato and your mind does a complete flip.

The menu celebrates garlic in ways you never imagined—garlic mashed potatoes, forty-clove chicken, garlic shrimp pasta, and their signature garlic rolls that arrive warm and dangerous to your willpower. Surprisingly, nothing tastes overwhelming or one-note.

The chefs know how to coax out garlic’s sweeter, mellower side through roasting and careful preparation. The whole experience is bold without beating you over the head.

Located at 4814 Northeast 2nd Avenue in Miami, this funky spot has been a local favorite since 1992. The décor is as garlic-obsessed as the menu, with bulbs and artwork covering every surface.

Bring mints or embrace the fact that everyone’s in the same aromatic boat.

8. 2D Cafe

Walking into 2D Cafe feels like stepping inside a coloring book that someone forgot to finish. Everything—and I mean everything—is decorated in black and white line drawings that mess with your depth perception and make you question if you accidentally ate something funny before arriving.

Tables, chairs, walls, even the floor create this trippy cartoon universe.

The Korean-fusion menu offers bingsu (shaved ice desserts), Korean fried chicken, tteokbokki, and creative café drinks that photograph like absolute fire against the illustrated background. The honey butter chips are addictive, and their rose latte looks almost too pretty to drink.

Almost. Food quality backs up the Instagram-worthy presentation, which isn’t always the case at theme-heavy spots.

You’ll find this optical illusion at 2301 Pembroke Road in Miramar, where it’s become a social media sensation for obvious reasons. Weekends get packed with people hunting for the perfect photo angle, so weekday visits offer more breathing room.

The whole experience is playful, delicious, and genuinely unique—nothing else in Florida quite compares to this hand-drawn wonderland.

9. Space 220 Restaurant

Disney’s EPCOT houses a restaurant that simulates dining 220 miles above Earth, complete with a space elevator ride and windows showing our planet rotating below. Space 220 commits fully to the bit, surrounding you with cosmic views, occasional astronaut sightings outside the windows, and a menu that leans into the whole space exploration theme without getting too gimmicky.

The prix fixe menu offers dishes like slow-roasted pork tenderloin, sustainable fish, and vegetarian options, all plated beautifully and named with space puns that’ll make you groan and smile simultaneously. The cocktails are creative and strong, perfect for adults who want to feel like sophisticated space travelers.

Kids get their own menu with more familiar options, because not every eight-year-old wants Neptune Noodles.

Located inside EPCOT at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, this experience requires park admission plus advance reservations that book up months ahead. The Lounge offers walk-up availability sometimes, serving appetizers and drinks with the same stellar views.

Prices match the premium experience, so prepare accordingly for this culinary journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

10. T-Rex Cafe

Animatronic dinosaurs roar to life every twenty minutes at this prehistoric playground where your kids will lose their minds and you’ll grudgingly admit the whole thing is pretty cool. T-Rex Cafe at Disney Springs goes all-in on the dinosaur theme, with massive creatures, meteor showers, ice caves, and enough dramatic lighting to make every meal feel like an adventure through time.

The menu covers American casual favorites—burgers, ribs, pasta, seafood—with playful names like Brontobites and Paleo Shrimp. Quality is solid for theme restaurant standards, portions are huge, and the Build-Your-Own-Sundae situation at the end will send sugar-loaded children back to your hotel bouncing off walls.

The bar area offers grown-up drinks with equally punny names, because why should kids have all the fun?

Find this Jurassic gem at 1676 East Buena Vista Drive in Orlando’s Disney Springs, where you don’t need park tickets to visit. Reservations help during busy periods, though walk-ups sometimes get lucky.

The attached store sells dinosaur merchandise that your children will absolutely insist they need immediately.

11. Rainforest Cafe

Before every meal, a thunderstorm rolls through the dining room while mechanical gorillas, elephants, and tropical birds come alive in a choreographed jungle symphony. Rainforest Cafe has been delivering this immersive experience since the ’90s, and honestly, it still hits different when those lights dim and the thunder rumbles through your table.

The menu offers straightforward American fare—burgers, sandwiches, pasta, steak—with tropical twists and names like Jungle Safari Soup and Anaconda Pasta. Nothing will blow your culinary mind, but everything tastes perfectly fine, and let’s be real, you’re here for the atmosphere.

The drinks come in souvenir cups shaped like parrots and monkeys, which your kids will treasure forever or lose in the parking lot. Could go either way.

Located at Disney Springs in Orlando at 1800 East Buena Vista Drive, this location sits outside the theme parks, so no admission required. Another Florida location operates at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Both get slammed during peak dining hours, so reservations or off-peak timing saves serious wait time. The gift shop at the exit is strategically placed and dangerously effective.

12. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen

Universal CityWalk’s steampunk chocolate factory looks like Willy Wonka met Jules Verne and decided to open a restaurant together. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium combines Victorian industrial design with over-the-top desserts that tower like edible skyscrapers and taste even better than they photograph, which is saying something given how Instagram-ready everything appears.

The savory menu surprises people with actually good burgers, pasta, and entrees that hold their own beyond being mere preludes to dessert. But real talk—you’re coming for those milkshakes.

The Chocolate x5 shake and Red Velvet shake are legendary constructions of ice cream, cake, cookies, and toppings that require architectural engineering degrees to consume. The almond butter chocolate crunch is my personal weakness, dangerous and delicious in equal measure.

You’ll find this chocolate wonderland at 6000 Universal Boulevard in Orlando at Universal CityWalk, accessible without theme park tickets. Waits can stretch long during busy periods, so grab a spot on the walk-up list early or make reservations.

Characters in steampunk costumes roam the dining room, adding to the theatrical experience that makes every visit feel special.

13. Columbia Restaurant

Florida’s oldest restaurant has been serving Spanish and Cuban cuisine in the same hand-painted tile wonderland since 1905, making it older than air conditioning, the Model T, and your great-grandmother’s secret flan recipe. The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City sprawls across an entire city block, with fifteen dining rooms that feel like wandering through a Spanish palace where the food happens to be absolutely incredible.

Their 1905 Salad is tossed tableside with theatrical flair and tastes like Florida sunshine mixed with garlic and Romano cheese. The Cuban sandwich here set standards that lesser sandwiches still chase, and the paella arrives bubbling in traditional pans loaded with seafood, chicken, and saffron rice.

Monday night flamenco shows add live music and dancing that transforms dinner into a full cultural experience.

Located at 2117 East 7th Avenue in Tampa’s historic Ybor City, this landmark operates multiple Florida locations, but the original remains unmatched for atmosphere and history. Reservations recommended, especially for flamenco nights.

The sangria flows freely, the service knows their stuff, and every meal feels like celebrating something special.