LuLu’s is Lucy Buffett’s (yes, that Buffett family — Jimmy’s sister) flagship Gulf Coast restaurant, originally at Homeport in Gulf Shores and now in the wider Foley / Tanger area depending on the year — locations have shifted as the brand has grown. Open-air, big-format, live music most nights, a kids’ play area that actually entertains, and a menu broad enough that everyone in a four-generation family finds something.
The seafood is honest, the burgers and sandwiches do the job, and the kitchen handles volume in the way a Gulf Coast institution should. Allergy-friendly menu — Lucy famously prioritized this from the start. The “no fingers” menu also exists for picky eaters.
The wait in season is real. The play area for kids makes the wait survivable. The Bushwacker is one of the better ones in the area. The decor is more Margaritaville-adjacent than we usually love but the actual food and service hold up.
Check which location is operating before you drive — LuLu’s has rearranged across the years and the current address is what counts.
What to order
The seafood is honest and the burgers and sandwiches do the job, but order to the occasion: this is a fun-food-and-music place, not a fine-dining one. The Bushwacker is one of the better ones in the area and the reason a lot of adults are fine waiting out a table. The allergy-friendly menu is genuinely thorough — Lucy prioritized it from the start — and the “no fingers” menu covers the picky-eater contingent.
With kids
This is the marquee family option on the Coast for a reason: the kids’ play area actually entertains, which turns a brutal in-season wait into a survivable one. Live music most nights, a menu broad enough that a four-generation table all find something, and a kitchen built to handle the volume that comes with all of that.
Getting there
LuLu’s has shifted across the Foley, Tanger, and Gulf Shores area as the brand has grown, so confirm the current operating address before you drive — that’s the one piece of this you can’t wing. Once you’re there, parking is big-format, built for the crowds it draws.