Best Restaurants in the Mississippi Gulf Coast near Ocean Springs

For Spring Break, we drove to my sister’s house in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  It’s a fun little coastal town about 10 minutes east of Biloxi.  I am a sucker for cute towns so it’s no surprise that my favorite area is downtown Ocean Springs.  There are a variety little shops and restaurants.  You could seriously find enough food for days in this area!  We’ve visted my sister a few times and these are some of the best restaurants in downtown Ocean Springs.

Anytime we travel, we try to eat local and avoid chain restaurants that we can visit at home.  There are plenty to choose from in Ocean Springs and beyond!  Here are some of the ones we tried and recommend:

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Glory Bound Gyro Co.

Glory Bound Gyro Co. has some indoor seating as well as a pretty large (pet-friendly) patio.  There was plenty of shade to keep you cool on a hot day.  When we went this time around, we went on a Tuesday, which is Gyro night so we saved some money on our bill. Their Greek salad is on point and their garlic and basil hummus with pita bread was fantastic! From the gyros to the pizza that our kiddos shared, all of the food was really good!

Pop Brothers

I love unique little shops and Pop Brothers is just that! They offer a large variety of popcicles in so many different flavors.  I had to give it a try so I went with the dreamcicle, which did not disappoint.  It was flavorful with just enough sweetness.

Lil’ Market

We stopped at Lil’ Market for a quick bite for lunch and it was delicious! They have a variety of bagels, sandwiches, salads, wraps and smashburgers.  We went with the Amigo, which had jalapenos, pepper jack cheese, etc.  It was a really good burger! They are tucked away a bit from the main drag so don’t miss it!

French Kiss Pastries

When we came to my sister’s a couple of years ago, we stopped at French Kiss Pastries and we’ve made it a point to stop each time we’re in the area.  My kids love macaroons and were excited to get a macaroon ice cream sandwich.  They offer a variety of pastries, plus coffee, sandwiches and gelato.  They didn’t have the ice cream sandwiches this time, but we didn’t leave without getting a few things! 

We’ve tried their huge cinnamon roll, chocolate mousse, Mississippi Mud, a tiramisu type pastry and monster cookie gelato, macarons and more.  Everything was devoured within minutes!  If I didn’t have to worry about my weight, I could go there every day!

Maison de Lu

My brother-in-law took our kids to their neighbor’s birthday party so my husband and I had a day date! We headed to Maison de Lu for lunch and ordered a couple of sandwiches. I went with the Turkey and Swiss sandwich with cranberry mayo (on ciabatta) and my husband had the shrimp PoBoy. Both of our meals were really good and was the perfect amount.

The Lady May

After our lunch, my husband and I were walking around Downtown Ocean Springs and passed a restaurant/bar with live music playing. It was a nice day and the patio was open and it just seemed to have a nice vibe. After checking out some shops, we decided pop in and have a drink at The Lady May.

We sat at the bar on the patio, listened to music and ordered some drinks and snacks. It was such a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon without the kids!

We ordered their Pimento Cheese board to share, which I highly recommend. It came with the pimento cheese, candied jalapenos, bagel chips, cucumbers and a hard boiled egg. It was so good that we’ve already re-created it at home! My husband just had beer, but I ordered the Pauline, which reminded me of a rum punch, which is one of my favorite drinks!

Murky Waters

We found out that Wednesday’s are wing night at Murky Waters so we we hit them up for their specialty. They offer BBQ as well as sandwiches and salads. Most of our table ordered wings and I had the BBQ Pork Sandwich.

Their wings were FANTASTIC and not to be missed! They were crispy and super flavorful. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for my sandwich–it was ok, but not the best I’ve had. I would highly suggest getting wings though and their potato salad is pretty good too.

They have a new building with a really nice patio. One thing to note is that there is a limited menu on the upstairs patio and no kids meals are served. So if you have kids in your group, like we did, plan on eating downstairs. I initially wanted to sit on the patio; however, the day we went it was cold and rainy, so inside was fine for me!

The TatoNut Donut Shop

If you’re a donut lover, then you can’t leave Ocean Springs without trying Tatonut donuts! These donuts are unique because they are actually made with potatoes. They are soft and fluffy and absolutely delicious! They have a variety to choose from, but a plain glazed or Persian (cinnamon swirl) is what I typically go for!

The Crawfish House

When in Mississippi, you have to try crawfish.  We’ve had it in Ohio, but everyone says it’s just not the same as you’ll find in Mississippi and Louisiana.  I am not a big seafood fan, but my husband and kids are.  We ordered a few platters from The Crawfish House to go, which came with crawfish, potatoes, corn and sausage.  My sister and brother-in-law taught our family how to eat it—and yes, I even gave it a try! 

Even though I am not a fan of seafood, I don’t ever knock anything until I try it.  My kids are required to follow that same rule, which is how we get them to try most things.  The crawfish was similar to the grouper I tried in this post.  The spices really masked a fishy flavor so it really wasn’t bad.  Everyone else ate it up though! 

Off the Beaten Path

As you can see, there are plenty of restaurants right in downtown Ocean Springs, and I didn’t even mention all of them! If you’re in the area, there are more just a hop, skip and jump away from Ocean Springs. Check out these other fantastic restaurants:

The Greenhouse

This is one of my favorite stops when we’re in the area! The Greenhouse is located in Biloxi and has coffee, breakfast and lunch items, but most noteworthy are their biscuits. Each day, they offer two specialty biscuits–one sweet and one savory.

When we stopped this year, their sweet option was a Sweet potato biscuit with marshmallow and pecan crumbles, while their savory was roasted pepper with cucumber fluff and everything seasoning. Both were very good, but man that sweet one was like Thanksgiving in the spring and went perfect with my chai tea latte!

On a different visit, we tried the chocolate biscuit with espresso fluff and bacon cheddar with a caramelized onion fluff, which were also amazing!  The outside of the biscuits are crispy like a typical biscuit, but the inside was moister than most biscuits.  And the fluff just added to the flavor.  This is another place I could stop at every day.  It’s like those toys that the kids get that say “collect them all,” only I want to “try them all!”

The Reef

This is another restaurant in Biloxi, but it’s worth mentioning! The Reef is right on the water so dining outside gives you some pretty awesome views! Plus the food and drinks were also good!

My husband ordered the Firecracker Shrimp Salad and I had the Jacked-up Chicken Sandwich. Both were good and offered really large portions.

The Shed

The Shed is known for their barbeque and their quirky restaurant decor. We had several items from their menu including ribs, bbq pork, brisket, potato salad, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes and more. Everything was really good. It’s definitely worth the short drive to check it out and grab some grub.

Need some other places to check out nearby?

If you’re in Ocean Springs, I highly recommend a trip to Gulfport, MS to see the Mississippi Coast Model Railroad Museum. It’s a perfect activity for kids and adults–you can check out my post here for more info!

If you’re driving the coast, you may also be heading towards Gulf Shores, Alabama. Our family had a blast at the beach and found some great activities and restaurants while we were there. Check out my post here to see where we visited.

What Ocean Springs restaurants do you suggest?

Have you been to Ocean Springs?  What is your favorite place for a bite to eat?