My husband and I went out Saturday night to enjoy a pre-concert dinner.  I opened the tickets while in the car to confirm the time, and found out the concert was really the following week! We laughed at the mistake, but were happy we could get a last -minute reservation at TradeWinds restaurant in the Valparaiso section of Niceville, Florida.

It was only 5:30 p.m., but their parking lot was packed! My black heels were covered in dust, as the lot is sand and gravel. The restaurant exterior is non-descript. In fact, most people don’t see it driving by.  The food is a different story. The first thing you notice when you walk into TradeWinds is the delicious smell of garlic. Yes, this place is Italian!  Our corner table for two had a perfect view of the crowded dining room. It was loud, raucous and had the energy of people really having a good time.

The server brought us fresh bread with some of the most tasty garlic dipping oil I’ve had on the Emerald Coast. (Tuscany’s Italian Bistro in Destin is good, too.)  My husband and I shared an appetizer of bruschetta with prosciutto. It was light and heavenly, with the perfect blend of olive oil, mozzarella and basil….  I am going to try to re-create the dish at home!

For our main courses, we had veal (il vitello) and seafood pasta in a white wine sauce (pasta ai frutti di mare). My seafood pasta had clams, shrimp, calamari and another white fish. It was very light. The wine was Chianti Classico Riserva.  Delizioso!  We took home dessert – two packed cannoli. Before we left we made reservations for NEXT week, the real date of the concert.

TradeWinds restaurant is located at 305 Government Ave., Valparaiso Florida. Call for reservations 850-678-8299.

The post TradeWinds Restaurant, Niceville Florida – Mamma Mia! first appeared on Rulnick Realty.