The Best Dinner Spots on Tybee Island

Most people pick a Tybee dinner the same way. They walk out of the beach at 5:30, look at their phone, and go wherever has the shortest wait. That works fine. It also means a lot of good tables go unused.

This list is for people who want to choose on purpose. Ten places, all serving dinner. We sorted them by where they sit on the island, because on Tybee that decides most of the evening. A restaurant that is a five-minute walk and one that is a five-minute drive feel very different at the end of a long beach day.

Hours change through the year. Most entries below link to the restaurant's own site or to Visit Tybee, so you can check the day you plan to go.

Near the pier on the south end

Admiral's Inn is on Butler Avenue, and the south end is our end. These are the closest dinners to the front door.

1. Farace's Finest

Farace's Finest is at 1605 Inlet Avenue. It opened in March 2025, which makes it one of the newer names on the island. We gave it a full write-up during Restaurant Week, so read our Farace's Finest spotlight for the details. Its hours change with the season. Check faracesfinest.com before you head over.

It is a short walk from the inn. That counts for a lot after a day in the sun.

2. Nickie's 1971

Nickie's 1971 is on the south end, near the pier. It is an easy stop if you want to stay close to where you are sleeping and skip the car. If a close, low-effort dinner is the goal, it is worth a look. Hours change, so check before you go.

Mid Beach

3. The Deck Beachbar & Kitchen

The Deck is at 404 Butler Avenue on Mid Beach. It is Tybee Island's only beachfront restaurant. If you want to eat dinner with sand nearby, this is the one.

It is about 1.2 miles up Butler Avenue from the inn. We wrote a full guide, so see our Deck Beachbar & Kitchen post for what to order and when to go. Keep in mind that The Deck is oceanfront. The rooms at our inn are not.

4. Fannie's on the Beach

Fannie's is at 1613 Strand Avenue in South Beach. It serves lunch or dinner seven days a week. That matters on a Sunday, when Sundae Cafe is closed.

The menu is broad, so it suits a group that cannot agree. Sea and Breeze, another Tybee inn in our family of properties, wrote a longer piece: read the Fannie's on the Beach spotlight. Current details are on Visit Tybee's page.

The Crab Shack and the creek

These two are a drive from the beach. Both are worth it for seafood.

5. The Crab Shack

The Crab Shack is at 40 Estill Hammock Road, on Chimney Creek. The signature here is the Low Country boil. It is walk-in, so there is no reservation to make.

We wrote a whole post on the place. Read our Crab Shack guide, or go straight to thecrabshack.com for current details.

6. Bubba Gumbo's

Bubba Gumbo's serves seafood at the Lazaretto Creek docks, where the shrimp boats tie up. It sits on the creek and the marsh, and the setting is half the reason to go. It is about a ten-minute drive from the inn. Hours there change with the season.

Atlantis Inn wrote the full profile. Read the Bubba Gumbo's guide before you go.

The north side

Plan to drive for the rest of this list. Sea Wolf is about a five-minute drive from the inn, and none of these is a walk.

7. Sundae Cafe

Sundae Cafe is at 304 1st Street. It serves dinner only, Monday to Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. Reservations are recommended, and this is the one place on the list where we would book ahead.

Look at the menu on its own site before you pick your table. It posts the dinner menu, and that is the best guide to what is on offer.

8. Sea Wolf

Sea Wolf is at 106 S Campbell Avenue on the north side. It is about two miles and a five-minute drive from the inn, so it is not walkable. There is no phone, and it is walk-in. Visit Tybee lists it.

Atlantis Inn wrote about it as a place for a special night. Read the Sea Wolf spotlight for the full story.

9. Salt Island Fish & Beer

Salt Island is at 101 Lovell Avenue at the north end. The focus is seafood and craft beer, and it serves dinner. If your group splits between people who want fish and people who want a good beer list, it handles both.

Sandcastle Inn wrote a longer piece, so read the Salt Island spotlight. The restaurant's own site is saltislandfishandbeer.com.

10. North Beach Bar & Grill

North Beach Bar & Grill is at 33 Meddin Drive, near the lighthouse. The menu is Caribbean and coastal. It serves lunch and dinner, so it works as an end to a day spent at the north end, climbing the lighthouse or looking for shark teeth.

Dunes Inn wrote this one up: read the North Beach Bar & Grill spotlight. Current information is on Visit Tybee's listing.

How to pick

You do not need all ten. Here is how we would narrow it down.

• Walking from the inn: Farace's Finest or Nickie's 1971.
• A table near the sand: The Deck, or Fannie's in South Beach.
• A seafood boil: The Crab Shack.
• Marsh and boats: Bubba Gumbo's.
• A real sit-down dinner: Sundae Cafe. Book it.
• A walk-in dinner with a bit of an occasion feel: Sea Wolf.
• Fish and beer: Salt Island.
• After the lighthouse: North Beach Bar & Grill.

How we chose

We only put places on this list that are open and serving dinner. We looked at each restaurant's own site where one exists, and at Visit Tybee, the island's tourism board, where it does not. We did not include any restaurant we would not recommend to a friend.

For lunch, see our best lunch spots. For the full island picture, from breakfast to dinner, start with our guide to Tybee Island restaurants.

Planning your trip

Dinner is easier when you sleep close to it. Admiral's Inn is on Butler Avenue, close to the pier and the south end restaurants. Look at our rooms and dining page, then check availability for your dates.