Panama City Beach brunch that is not a tourist trap

Weekend brunch in Panama City Beach without the strip markup: Big Mama's PCB at 10071 Hutchison Blvd opens at 9 on Saturday and Sunday with biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, a breakfast po'boy and a full bar, a few minutes from Pier Park with a free lot. The rest of this list is places we would send our own family. Call (850) 588-5085 to confirm our hours.

What a tourist trap looks like

You know the signs. A line out the door at 9 in the morning, a waitlist app, a parking lot that is full by 8:30, and a menu built for people who will never come back. Some of those places are good. The list below is the one we give our own family.

We run a kitchen on Hutchison Blvd, so we are on the list once, same as everybody else. Every place gets one reason to go. The ratings and opening times come from public Google listings pulled this month.

The list

1. Big Mama's PCB. 10071 Hutchison Blvd, the old Applebee's building, a few minutes' drive from Pier Park with a big free lot out front. Brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9. The Big Mama plate is half a biscuit and gravy, two eggs, home fries and your choice of bacon, sausage or ham. Chicken and waffles, a breakfast po'boy with sausage and egg scramble and house remoulade on Leidenheimer bread, country fried steak and gravy on a biscuit. Full bar, so margaritas at brunch are a yes. 4.6 stars from more than 240 Google reviews since we opened this year. Brunch menu.
2. Saltwater Grill. 11040 Hutchison Blvd, down the road from us. A sit-down seafood restaurant with its own brunch menu on Sunday, 4.5 stars from more than 4,200 reviews. Takes reservations. Go for a sit-down seafood Sunday.
3. Big Easy. Cajun plates and weekend brunch, 4.8 stars on Google from about 700 reviews. Opens at 10 on Saturday and Sunday and takes reservations on OpenTable, which is rare out here. Go for the Cajun side of brunch.
4. Sunrise Cafe and Bakery. A breakfast restaurant and bakery that opens at 7:30 Monday through Saturday and 8 on Sunday, 4.7 stars from about 1,800 reviews. Go when you want the earliest door on the beach and a bakery case.
5. Andy's Flour Power. A bakery that is also a family restaurant, open at 7 every day, 4.7 stars from about 3,600 reviews. Go for the baked goods with your eggs.
6. Runaway Island. A beachfront restaurant with live music and weekend brunch. Go for the view when the weather is right.
7. Dat Cajun Place. 2705 Navy Blvd, between the beach and downtown Panama City, with Brunch on its Google listing and more reviews than anyone in the brunch set, about 9,300 at 4.6 stars. Go when you are crossing the bridge anyway.

The chains, for the record

Another Broken Egg, First Watch and The Pancakery all open at 7 every day on the beach, and all three have thousands of reviews. They are fine. They are also chains, and two of the three run a waitlist app, which tells you something about Saturday. If you are in town for a week and want one brunch that feels like it belongs to Panama City Beach, pick from the list above.

How to pick

Earliest door, Sunrise Cafe at 7:30 or Andy's at 7. Brunch with a cocktail and a kids menu, us from 9. Reservations, Big Easy or Saltwater Grill. Live music and sand, Runaway Island. Cajun, Big Easy or Dat Cajun Place. Southern plates, biscuits and gravy and a bar, us.

What to order at Big Mama's

Biscuits and gravy, half or full. The country fried steak and gravy on a biscuit if you are hungry. Chicken and waffles if you are not deciding. Reviewers write about the fried chicken, the mac and cheese, the cornbread and the peach cobbler more than anything else, and the cobbler comes with whipped cream made in house. Weekend brunch runs from 9, and on Saturday the kitchen adds prime rib from 4 in the afternoon.

Hours on this list

Opening times above come from each place's Google listing in October 2026. Hours on the beach change with the season and nobody updates Google the same day. Call before you drive, including us at (850) 588-5085. Our weekday hours are 11 to 9 for lunch and dinner, and weekend brunch starts at 9, all still being confirmed.