Best Family-Friendly Restaurants in Perdido Key & Orange Beach

Traveling with kids changes the brief: you want a place that can absorb a little chaos, ideally with something to keep small humans busy. These spots fit the bill.

1. 1
   Gulf State Park $ · Orange Beach (AL)

   6,000+ acres of Alabama state park bridging Gulf and bay. The Backcountry Trail, the pier, the lodge, the freshwater lake, the campground. The whole-day-on-paper park.

2. 2
   OWA Parks & Resort $$$ · Orange Beach (AL)

   The amusement park in Foley. Outdoor coasters + indoor waterpark + Downtown OWA shopping district. The rainy-day answer for a family.

3. 3
   Big Lagoon State Park $ · Perdido Key (FL)

   Inland state park on the bay side. Protected lagoon for paddling, observation tower, nature trails, campsites. The non-beach beach day.

4. 4
   Crab Trap Perdido Key $$ · Perdido Key (FL)

   Gulf-front, family-volume, Royal Reds, and one of the better sunset patios on the Florida side of the Key.

5. 5
   Lambert's Cafe (Foley) $$ · Orange Beach (AL)

   Home of throwed rolls. They throw the rolls. At you. From across the room. It's a thing and it's been a thing for forty years.

6. 6
   LuLu's $$ · Orange Beach (AL)

   Lucy Buffett's open-air gulf-coast restaurant. Live music, a kids' play area, a real menu, a real wait in season. The bigger version of family beach restaurant.

7. 7
   National Naval Aviation Museum $ · Perdido Key (FL)

   Free, world-class, indoor. Dozens of aircraft, real Blue Angels jets, an IMAX. The closest thing to a museum-must on the Gulf Coast.

8. 8
   Original Oyster House $$ · Orange Beach (AL)

   Bay-side, the gator pond, the oysters. A reliable Gulf Coast chain that's been doing the same thing well long enough that 'chain' isn't really the right word.

9. 9
   Perdido Key State Park $ · Perdido Key (FL)

   The day-use Florida state park at the west end of the Drive. Gulf-front beach with parking, restrooms, lifeguards, and the only public boardwalk system on the Key.

10. 10
    Tanger Outlets Foley $$ · Orange Beach (AL)

    The big outlet center in Foley. Polo, Nike, Coach, Under Armour, plus the food court and the movie theater. The shopping rainy day.

11. 11
    The Wharf at Orange Beach $$ · Orange Beach (AL)

    Marina + amphitheater + shopping + dining + ferris wheel + mini golf. The 'a lot at once' Gulf Coast option. Pre-concert dinner or rainy-afternoon kid plan.

Listed featured-first, then alphabetically — we don't rank-bait. Know a spot that belongs here? Tell us.