This Raw Bar On Florida’s Forgotten Coast Still Operates On The Honor System

When I think of Florida, I’m drawn back to my childhood trips to the Forgotten Coast. Each time we vacationed amongst the quiet, powdery beaches and spread-out land completely devoid of high-rises and shopping malls, there was one dinner outing that I looked forward to the most, and I’m not alone in the contingent of Southerners who know and love the clapboard oyster house that’s been around for generations.

Indian Pass Raw Bar is an unknown hidden gem to some, while being a beloved beach icon to others, and there’s no denying its specialness.

Courtesy Indian Pass Raw Bar

Live music night at Indian Pass Raw Bar.

A Forgotten Coast Staple

Indian Pass Raw Bar can be found in a quiet nook of Florida’s Gulf Coast known collectively as the Forgotten Coast. It’s flanked on each side by two bays, Saint Joseph Bay and Apalachicola Bar, while also still being right on the precipice of the Gulf. Unsurprisingly, it enjoys unique proximity to the freshest seafood and oysters, of which it’s become known.

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Growing up, we would stay on the scenic sliver that makes up Cape San Blas and enjoy bouts of scalloping in the nearby bay (when the season allowed), as well as day trips shopping in nearby Apalachicola. Yet there was always one night spent at Indian Pass Raw Bar, and another of its popular souvenir t-shirts added to my collection. I’m not the only one with similarly nostalgic memories of the no-fuss, one-room seafood joint, and that makes it all the more special.

Over 120 Years of History

This Forgotten Coast staple has history going back to 1903, when it opened as a sort of commissary and community store by the McNeill family who ran a local turpentine business. In the 1930s and 1940s, it evolved into a trading post, oyster wholesale business, and eventually solely a seafood joint by the 1980s with a focus on fresh oysters from nearby waters, and it remains owned and operated by the McNeill family.

Periodically, it’s also been affected by devastating Gulf hurricanes, including Hurricane Kate in 1985 and more recently 2018’s catastrophic Hurricane Michael. Each time, the local community and longtime customers from out-of-town have rallied behind the restaurant and helped it reopen with just as much support.

Courtesy Indian Pass Raw Bar

What Makes It So Beloved

It Operates on an Honor System

When you walk into Indian Pass Raw Bar (perhaps after waiting outside on a busy evening), you’ll notice a far wall of coolers. The restaurant has long operated on an honor system, meaning you grab what you need and then mark it down on your own order card along with your meal. Then, you turn in your card, pay up, and enjoy whatever delicacies you’ve selected.

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The same goes for the extensive selection of souvenirs and t-shirts, which are expertly crammed onto shelves along the walls. Also, each table comes stocked with sleeves of Saltine crackers and a squirt bottle of cocktail sauce for the raw oysters, but you’re also set with a pre-dinner snack of sauce-on-crackers (at least that’s what we always did). Overall, it acts as an old-fashioned show of good faith in its community and visitors, which goes a long way.

The Oysters Are As Fresh as It Gets

Due to its lucky proximity to two bays and the Gulf, Indian Pass Raw Bar is able to keep the freshest of the fresh stock of both seafood and oysters. A tagline even cheekily states, “our oysters slept in the bay last night!” While on a beach trip, that’s about all you could want.

It’s Nothing Fancy

The Forgotten Coast in general is more of a flip-flop-friendly, no-nice-clothes-needed sort of place. While there is a smattering of restaurants, including in nearby downtown Apalachicola, the usual dinner is staying in, unless it’s the blessed night that the family is going out to a seafood dive.

Indian Pass Raw Bar serves its seafood on classic cafeteria-style trays, and you use the roll of paper towels left at each table. It's the definition of "no-fuss." It offers a come-as-you-are dress code that keeps every beach trip feeling delightfully relaxed. You can roll off the beach and have oysters and a cold beer (grabbed straight from the cooler) in hand in no time!

Read the original article on Southern Living