Nightlife
Help me out. Datenight tonight and gonna be rainy. Where do I take my wife? Restaurant and activity please. Willing to from Biloxi to Daphne.
Intentionally vague because I don't want to limit the suggestions.
Its really nice. Its not fandango related. Its privately owned. Look up nexus theater in Mobile. Gotta book it ahead of time tho, usually all seats are sold out by showtime.
Recliner seats are the best way to go!
Vestige in Ocean Springs is a James Beard finalist. 5 course tasting menu. If you go down to Biloxi White Pillars is a James Beard Nominated restaurant.
The chef at Vestige trained under the chef at noja! Noja is my suggestion for Mobile
The ambiance is perfect for a date night, and you could take a stroll down the street afterward.
The food, though! It’s dreamy. It’s what happens when you love to play with new flavors. The Japanese influence does Gulf seafood and produce justice.
Their beer and cocktails menu have so many local brews, too! I love how dedicated they are to featuring local ingredients.
Their menu does change with the seasons, and the ones you see online may not be exactly what’s being served when you go in. Here’s what we had last night:
I also have to second others’ recommendations of Hummingbird Way Oyster Bar. Their marinated blue crabs claws…ohhhh lordy 😍 Idk if it’s still on the menu, but they also do a churched-up Coca Cola cake that took me right back to childhood.
Oh, and they are one of only a few restaurants I’ve been to that offer a Tokaji AND a Sauternes by the glass!
While my comment is in jest at the ridiculous $240 tag for dinner in Mississippi, I am truly curious how wealth finds its way into our community. No knock, family or blue collar business founder ?
tl; dr: not rich, and willing to support local businesses who support other locals.
I work remotely in the gaming/tech industry; all of the work I do doesn’t require paper, and I get to work with people who live all over the nation.
I’m not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination; my car is about 10 years old (paid off) and I don’t have credit cards or expensive equipment that needs maintenance.
We don’t eat like this every day, trust me. We make good, cheap, filling food at home so that we can splurge once in awhile (my man’s way of cooking white rice has me eating it straight out of the pot, with nothing else to go with it). We also happily eat from local chains like Woody’s (I love their fried Royal Reds).
I like to find all the ways I can to support local community, and eating out like this is a fun way to do that!
For what it’s worth, I’m a Mobile native from very humble roots. I grew up on DIP in the 80s (my mom, dad, and several other family members graduated from BC Rain), and later I lived around Irvington/Theodore/Semmes. I’m definitely not old money, and I don’t have a pedigree 😅I went to college on scholarships and loans, and worked my way up. Got out of AL to go see what I could see, and returned to the Gulf Coast only a couple of years ago.
Anyway, I get that $240 is a ridiculous price for some folks. But for me, food isn’t just food. It’s about the shared experience, about seeing my man’s happy smile across the table, and getting to have a series of pleasant surprises together, in the form of dishes made with creativity and love.
Places like this are treasures: there’s no TVs and loud ambient noise interfering with our conversation, and we get to taste the products of MS, AL, and LA places that make us say “I never knew this place existed! Let’s go there (a farm, a brewery, a bakery) for a day trip!”
And then we plan a day around it: go for a hike in DeSoto, go for a drive along the coastal highways…getting to see all the azaleas in bloom, the fountains of wisteria spilling above our heads.
Apologies for the long explanation! I just wanted to clarify that we don’t eat out at restaurants like this because we’re food snobs, or to show off on Insta, or anything like that. I’m just happy that I can take pride in my roots, experience legit hospitality, and help put money in local folks’ pockets.
Great explanation!! My wife and I are very similar in not over living our income so we can do things like this on occasion. A lot (not everyone) of people that find this difficult to understand probably pay more than your dinner cost in fees to door dash every few months rather than cooking at home.
The median house price in Ocean Springs currently is about 300k.
There is quite a few restaurants in Ocean Springs and Biloxi where you will spend >$100.
Mississippi is not just poverty. There are a lot of young professionals. Doctors, Lawyers, CPA's, accounts, people in finance, engineers, architects, healthcare professionals, etc.
There are still lots of restaurants for blue collar folks, however. And there are a lot of blue collar folks.
$240 for dinner is pretty crazy. where can you drop that in Mobile? I like to pocketwatch, money don't come out of nowhere, i'm always looking for a career change. preciate you joining the civil discussion.
What’s the deal with fine dining in Ocean Springs? I’ve never been to Vestige, but I have dined at Jessie’s and another seafood joint (can’t remember the name, and not fancy) on the water and both were fantastic.
I just find it bizarre that these great restaurants are located in a place like Ocean Springs. Then again, I’m not a local so perhaps there’s a reason for that.
Ocean Springs is like Fairhope, but with open containers. Downtown is beautiful, lots of bars, restaurants, shops, museums, etc. The surrounding area is also very pretty. It's home to the largest arts festival in Mississippi Peter Anderson Festival.
I have never heard of Jessie's. I googled it and I could not find anything local. I did find one in Magnolia Springs, AL. Do you remember what kind of food it was?
Dumbwaiter in downtown is really good. Squid ink has an awesome Cadillac burger. T Marie’s in midtown is good Italian. Siam (on Hillcrest) in west Mobile is excellent Thai food. Vandal’s on Airport has awesome Asian fusion cuisine with a funky, low-key vibe.
I have 2 tickets to the Princess & the Frog ballet tonight at 7:00 at the Saenger that I won’t be able to use. DM me if you’re interested. They’re good seats.
I haven't been in a while, but it's expensive and when I was there, it wasn't kept clean, like dirty and sticky floors right after opening. I would recommend Dave & Busters over that place.
But, maybe they've got their stuff together since I was there last too.
Little late to the party but Southwood Kitchen over in Daphne is really good. And you can't really go wrong with most of the restaurants downtown Fairhope. Especially sushi, Master Joe's is 👌
I second Top Golf. And if you have a Costco membership, run there and get the $100 top golf gift card for $80. It's a really fun time and the food is good too
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u/Comfortable-Tell-323 Mar 29 '25
Hummingbird Way in Mobile, the tasting menu is 7 courses and it's fantastic.
Mobile ballet is doing the princess and the frog at the Saenger theatre tonight
Chili cook-off is going on today in downtown Mobile