The Best Restaurants Near Vestige, by the Record

A contemporary Japanese tasting menu restaurant on the Mississippi Gulf Coast sounds like a typo, but Ocean Springs has quietly harbored serious cooking for years. Vestige runs through glimmering plates of bafun uni and koji with the care of somewhere twice the size of this quaint dining room. Modern art on the walls, generously spaced tables, and staff who never make the elaborate feel intimidating. A James Beard Nominee for Outstanding Restaurant.

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Alex Perry and Kumi Omori
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. AAA Four Diamonds

1. AAA Four Diamonds

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Tresse Sumrall and Austin Sumrall
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Austin Sumrall

Tropical wallpaper and a hidden door set the tone for this European-leaning restaurant tucked inside Hotel Vela. The menu moves from French onion soup to beef Wellington with handmade pasta in between, and the bar holds its own with craft cocktails that match the kitchen's ambition. Esquire named it one of America's best new restaurants in 2025, which feels about right for a Mississippi Gulf Coast town that wasn't exactly asking for a vodka-sauce ravioli moment.

1. Esquire The Best New Restaurants in America
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Eater The Best Restaurants Worth Visiting in Mobile, Alabama

1. Eater The Best Restaurants Worth Visiting in Mobile, Alabama