Here are the Coast’s top new restaurant openings of 2019, and what’s to come in 2020
The menu of new Coast restaurants this year provided more fine-dining places to celebrate special occasions, a bigger variety of food for game day at Coast casinos, and a bevy of coffee shops.
And already more new restaurants are on the way for 2020.
The culinary highlight of the year for South Mississippi came early, when chef Alex Perry was nominated in the nation’s top food honors, the James Beard Awards.
His restaurant, Vestige, opened in 2013 in downtown Ocean Springs and he was named a .semifinalist in the Best Chef: South category, which covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.
Joining the established restaurants on the Coast are these top new restaurants that opened in 2019:
▪ Fields Steak and Oyster Bar on Main Street in Bay St. Louis. This is the first venture for Chef Field Nicaud, a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Excellence in New York. The restaurant business is a family tradition. His brother, Jourdan Nicaud, owns Bacchus in Pass Christian and opened his fourth location of Fillup with Billups in the Pass this year.
▪ The Blue Marlin at Centennial Plaza, Gulfport. This restaurant boasts the cool elegance of crisp tablecloths and the warm views of the beach and the fountain while savoring a taste of Gulf seafood.
▪ Reenie’s Southern Kitchen has sweeping views of Long Beach Harbor, a menu featuring seafood and a versatile chef — all in what looks like a spaceship sitting above the shrimp boat fleet.
▪ New on Pass Road in Biloxi, Hana Sushi & Pho has both Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine for those who want to order their favorite dish, or to try something new.
▪ RAW Oyster Bar opened in downtown Ocean Springs at the beginning of the year. It was very popular until the local oyster catch was wiped out by flooding on the Mississippi River. Owner Thomas Genin quickly came up with another concept, and The Shrimp Factory, with its seafood and overstuffed po-boys, was born.
▪ Just opened on Government Street in Ocean Springs is Blue Dog Bistro. The timing is ideal for those making New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, since it is the first vegan, keto, paleo and gluten-free restaurant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, according to the restaurant’s website.
Migrated to the Coast
People in South Mississippi crave new restaurants, especially those they’ve tried and liked in neighboring states. Here are three that made it to the Coast this year:
▪ Brick and Spoon opened in July outside Edgewater Mall in Biloxi and it quickly became a favorite breakfast, brunch and lunch spot. Britni Thompson, who owns the Biloxi franchise with Kerri Paul, describes the restaurant as having a fun Louisiana vibe with a touch of Cajun flavor.
▪ The popular Lucy’s Surfer Bar & Restaurant in New Orleans doesn’t have a beach, but the new one in Biloxi does and makes good use of the sand. Diners can sit upstairs for the best views or down on the beach with a drink in their hand and their toes in the sand.
▪ The first franchise for The Yard Milkshake Bar opened this year in D’Iberville, and judging from the lines of people, it is as popular here as it is in Alabama. These Instagram-worthy milkshakes are topped with a hunk of cheesecake or a square of brownie for a double treat.
At the casinos
▪ The 22nd worldwide location of Sugar Factory American Brasserie opened this year at Hard Rock Casino This sweet combination of restaurant, soda fountain and cocktail lounge is open day and night to satisfy cravings. The Satisfaction Buffet & Bar, also at Hard Rock, was updated with a new look and new menu items, and a bar is now inside the buffet restaurant.
▪ Beau Rivage Resort & Casino added places to eat, drink and play for fans of sports betting. The additions began with the opening of TAP Book, Bar & Bistreaux, where wings and comfort food are featured, and the Landmass Burger, voted “Best of the Fest” at the 2019 Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, is on the menu seasonally. Next came Topgolf Swing Suite and Black Clover Lounge, a smoke-free place to play virtual golf and watch the games on TV while sipping signature cocktails and sharing something from the menu.
▪ Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino chose a historic Biloxi name for its 406 Club and then gave it a modern, interactive experience complete with food and beverages, bar games and Fan Caves.
▪ Boomtown Biloxi swapped Deuce McAllister’s Ole Saint Kitchen & Tap with its new Stadium Sports Bar & Grill that serves Coast favorites like po-boys and chicken and sausage gumbo to eat while watching the game.
▪ Scarlet Pearl Casino introduced a duo of tempting new eateries. Lounge Nocherie coffee and pastry is a cafe tucked away in the lobby and with cases full of goodies, or try the adjacent Ami Pizza, an Italian bistro with gourmet toppings.
▪ The year brought lots of new coffee shops across the Coast, an upscale Waffle House in East Biloxi, Lost Pizza and a new Taco Sombrero in Ocean Springs and A Southern Bagel Company in Long Beach. The new Rouses Market in Gulfport was a hit with its big selection of prepared foods and a cafe for those who wanted to dine-in at the store.
▪ C.A. Sarducci’s Pizzeria reopened in downtown Gulfport, where office workers drop in for a slice. The updated dining deck added to McElroy’s Harbor House in Biloxi proved to be a fun place to eat and watch the boats and birds pass by. Woody’s Roadside in Ocean Springs started the year in one building while a new restaurant was built behind it. When the new one was ready, the original building was demolished.
More flavorful 2020
Already announced for 2020 are these new restaurants:
▪ A Salad Station in Gulfport
▪ Keg and Barrel at The Inlet in Ocean Springs
▪ Walk-Ons, a franchise of the chain owned in part by New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, coming to D’Iberville
▪ Zaxby’s in D’Iberville
▪ Craft Advisory Brewing opening at 1314 Government St. in Ocean Springs in the spring
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
