The Jellyfish is upstairs in Villagio Town Centre, and it’s where Perdido Key goes when the occasion calls for more than flip-flops. It started as a small sushi and martini bar in the rebuilding years after Hurricane Ivan and grew into the closest thing the Key has to a fine-dining anchor. Co-owner Bryan Minchew’s stated ambition — the best sushi, steaks, oyster bar, and seafood in Perdido — is a big claim, but the place has spent two decades backing it up.
What to order
This is the rare Gulf Coast kitchen that takes sushi as seriously as it takes seafood. Crab cakes and surf-and-turf are the classic moves; the sushi menu is extensive enough to get its own printed menus. Everything’s made to order, and it shows in the pace — this is a sit-down-and-stay dinner.
The vibe
Dressy by Key standards, which means collared shirts, not jackets. Later on weekend nights the bar side loosens up considerably — Friday and Saturday after 10pm there’s a DJ and karaoke, so the same room does date night and last call.
Good to know
Open daily 11am to 10pm. It’s up a flight of stairs in Villagio — look up, not at street level.