The Main Dining Room of the Treasure Ship Restaurant offers a panoramic view of Grand Lagoon on Panama City Beach. From the outside, the restaurant looks like a giant pirate ship, with no windows. Costumed pirates walking around the ship lend to the theme. Far from being another Medieval Times kind of place, however, the Treasure Ship offers excellent food in a wonderful atmosphere. Arrive when they open at 4pm, and you get to be seated on the second level by the huge picture windows. When inside, kids are given pirate hat menus. A magician comes around and does sleight-of-hand tricks that delight the kids (pulling hot dogs out of their ears!). After that, the theme is over. Then you are treated to an extensive menu, delicious seafood entrees, and excellent service. We visited this restaurant twice in two weeks and were extremely happy both times.
The grilled mahi-mahi was cooked perfectly with a nice light lemon butter taste. The second time I had it (it was so good), I tried the Imperial crab sauce and was even happier. The kids’ steaks were equally good, with two large steaks on each plate. My only complaint was the salad was a bit wilted on our first visit. The hot bread made up for it, though. The waiter even brought hot cheese biscuits while we were eating our entrees. For dessert, the kids ordered chocolate cones. They received soft-serve chocolate ice cream in Dairy Queen cones. They were thrilled! We found a coupon in one of the free travel guides and got a free slice of key lime pie to go.
The pricing was appropriate for the restaurant. Kids’ meals were a little high ($10.95 for steak). However, you get what you pay for, which is what I hope for when I dine out.
Upon departure, two pirates were outside. One makes balloon animals (parrots, swords, etc.) and the other paints faces/arms/legs. They work for tips and pose for lots of photos. This was a nice ending to a great dinner.
I highly recommend the Main Dining Room of the Treasure Ship. I look forward to returning again.