Walton County, FLBachelorette territory

Private Hibachi Chef in Seaside

Pastel cottages, tight lots, and Central Square 10 minutes away, so dinner at the house wins.

Central SquareRuskin PlaceSeaside AmphitheaterThe Airstream food trucksModica Market

Courtyard table laid with white florals, chargers and cutlery, bicycles parked against the wall behind — A courtyard seating, bikes and all

Hibachi catering in Seaside

Seaside is the most photographed square mile on 30A and the most constrained one to cook in. The cottages are close together, the lots are small by design, and the charm that makes the town famous, all those picket fences and tucked courtyards and second-floor porches, is the same charm that eats setup space. We have cooked here enough to have a shortlist of what works: the brick courtyard behind a Ruskin Place townhouse, the parking pad beside a Forest Street cottage, the open side yard on the Tupelo and Natchez blocks. What almost never works is the front porch itself, because the roof is too low. The upside is real, though. Central Square restaurants in July mean a ninety-minute wait for a table you did not book in April, and the walk back with a group of 12 is nobody's idea of a good time. Dinner arriving at your own courtyard at seven solves the entire evening.

Where we set up in Seaside

We work in a footprint of roughly 6 ft x 4 ft with clear sky overhead and 3 feet of standing room on the chef's side. In Seaside that is almost always a courtyard, a brick or shell parking pad, or an open side yard. Second-floor porches are usually a no, both for the roof height and because we are not carrying a hot grill down an exterior stair at ten at night. Ruskin Place townhouses have worked well for us using the ground-floor courtyard. If your cottage has a rear alley pad, that is generally the best surface in town. We bring heat mats for any wood decking and we leave the surface as we found it.

Flat surface: 6 ft × 4 ft, level
Clearance: 3 ft on the chef’s side
Above the grill: Open sky, no roof, screen or overhang

Getting to you

Seaside's streets are narrow, shell-surfaced in places, and full of pedestrians and bikes from mid-morning until dark, so we arrive early, unload fast, and move the van out. Plan on us pulling up about 45 minutes before the seating. We will need one driveway or pad space held for that unload window; after that we can relocate the van. If your cottage is only reachable through a footpath, tell us in the booking notes so we bring the cart rather than discovering it at 6pm.

Bachelorette and birthday parties in Seaside

The Seaside bachelorette is a specific animal: eight to twelve women in two adjoining cottages, matching pajamas, and a Friday night where the plan collapsed because Bud & Alley's could not seat them. We are the fix. A courtyard hibachi dinner keeps the group together, requires no rides, and photographs beautifully against a white picket fence at golden hour, which, honestly, is half of why it gets booked. Birthdays here skew family: grandparents who have rented the same cottage for fifteen years, a kid turning eight who thinks the volcano is the greatest thing ever seen. Both work because Seaside's whole appeal is not getting in a car, and we are the only dinner that respects that.

Bachelorette parties →Birthday parties →Rehearsal dinner parties →

Asked about this town specifically

Seaside questions

Can you cook on a Seaside cottage porch?

Usually not. Seaside porch roofs sit too low for an open grill. We set up in the courtyard, side yard or rear parking pad instead and serve to the porch table.

We are in a Ruskin Place townhouse. Is there room?

Yes, in the ground-floor courtyard. We have done it many times. Upper terraces do not work, because we will not carry a hot grill down an outside stair.

Is hibachi at the cottage cheaper than eating in Central Square for a group of 12?

Usually comparable per head, but the real difference is that 12 people get a table at the same time, at the time you chose, without a wait or a walk home.

Also on the coast

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Cooking in Seaside this week

Send the date and the rental address. We will tell you straight away whether the property works and what the evening would cost.

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