Clearwater Beach Restaurant Inspections: The Cleanest and Dirtiest Spots in 2026

Clearwater Beach is one of the most visited beaches in the United States — millions of tourists hit the strip every year, and most of them are eating out. But how clean are those beachfront restaurants really?

We pulled the public inspection records for 649 restaurants across Clearwater and Clearwater Beach, covering 1,067 inspections from DBPR (Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation). Here’s what the data says.

By the Numbers

47% of Clearwater restaurants earned an A grade — slightly below the statewide average. That means more than half have room for improvement, and 31 restaurants are currently failing.

The Cleanest Restaurants on the Beach

These Clearwater Beach spots scored a perfect or near-perfect 100/100 on our InspectFL Health Score — meaning zero or near-zero violations across all their inspections.

How Do the Famous Spots Stack Up?

Clearwater Beach is known for its iconic restaurants. Here’s how the local legends scored:

Frenchy’s Cafe — the original location — leads the pack at 97.3. But the South Beach location drops to 86. Same brand, different kitchen, very different results.

Columbia Restaurant, a Tampa Bay institution since 1905, scores a respectable 87.5 but doesn’t quite crack the A range.

The Worst in Clearwater

These restaurants have the lowest InspectFL scores in the Clearwater area. All are F-graded, meaning significant violations across multiple inspections.

Johnny’s Italian Restaurant has the lowest score in all of Clearwater at just 36 out of 100.

What’s the Most Common Category?

Clearwater’s restaurant scene is diverse, but here’s what dominates:

For a beach town, seafood ranks surprisingly low at just 20 restaurants. Breakfast and brunch spots dominate — which makes sense for a tourist market.

The Mandalay Ave Report Card

Mandalay Avenue is the main drag on Clearwater Beach. Almost every restaurant a tourist walks past is on this strip. Here’s how they scored:

Good news for tourists — Mandalay Ave is mostly clean. The majority of restaurants on the strip are A or high-B grade.

The Bottom Line

Clearwater Beach restaurants are cleaner than average when it comes to the tourist strip. The iconic spots like Frenchy’s, Island Way Grill, and Cesare at the Beach all score well. But venture off the main strip into greater Clearwater, and the picture gets more mixed — 31 F-graded restaurants is nothing to ignore.

Before you eat, check the score. Look up any Clearwater restaurant on InspectFL to see their full inspection history.

Scores are calculated by InspectFL based on public DBPR inspection data. They are not official state ratings. Learn how our scoring works.