16 Best Restaurants in St. Augustine

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Updated on 08/02/21

Beautiful architecture in St. Augustine, Florida. — SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images

Founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continually occupied city in the United States, settled 42 years before the British arrived in Jamestown, Virginia. Located in northeast Florida, this charming, historic locale is home to gorgeous Spanish colonial architecture, soft Atlantic Ocean beaches, and some of the area’s best restaurants, serving up a mix of local and international cuisines. Whether you’re in the mood for casual or fine dining, there are plenty of St. Augustine restaurants to fit everyone’s taste and budget.

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Columbia Restaurant

Columbia Restaurant St. Augustine — Columbia Restaurant

Address

98 St George St, St. Augustine, FL 32084-3641, USA

Phone +1 904-824-3341

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Spanish and Cuban cuisine served in a beautifully decorated two-story Spanish-style atrium sets the stage for memorable lunches and romantic dinners at Columbia Restaurant's St. Augustine location. Try Cuban sandwiches, the family’s century-old paella a la Valenciana recipe, fresh catch from the Gulf of Mexico, or the signature 1905 salad, tossed tableside with crisp iceberg lettuce, Swiss cheese, Florida tomatoes, olives, julienne of baked ham, grated Romano cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and homemade garlic dressing. It's close to many historic sites and attractions, which makes it the perfect place to relax with some tapas and sangria after a long day of sightseeing.

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Costa Brava

Costa Brava scallops — Costa Brava Restaurant

Address

Casa Monica Resort and Spa, 95 Cordova St, St. Augustine, FL 32084-4424, USA

Phone +1 904-827-1888

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Located within Casa Monica Resort & Spa, Costa Brava is one of the most elegant restaurants in the city, sporting a dining area exquisitely decorated with lavish antiques, exotic silks, and hand-painted 24-karat gold ceilings. The seasonally inspired menu offers coastal cuisine made Florida-style, featuring favorites like lamb chops and grilled beef tenderloin, fresh catch-of-the-day, peppercorn crusted short ribs, and grilled branzino, all created by a James Beard featured Chef. Sip cocktails made with spirits from St. Augustine Distillery, keep it classy with a martini, or opt for a glass of vino from the restaurant’s rare and vintage wine list.

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Llama Restaurant

Ceviche at Llama Restaurant — Visit St. Augustine

Address

415 Anastasia Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080-4508, USA

Phone +1 904-819-1760

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You’ll have to cross St. Augustine’s Bridge of Lions to reach Llama Restaurant, located just across the Mantanzas River, but the food is well worth the effort. Think Peruvian fare with a modern twist, as founder Chef Marcel Vizcarra counts family recipes, Japanese training, and an education at LeCordon Bleu among his many influences. Sample Peruvian-style delicacies like anticuchos, ceviche, and lomo saltado, and save room for alfajores (traditional shortbread cookies full of dulce de leche) for dessert.

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A1A Ale Works Restaurant & Tap Room

A1A Ale Works

Address

1 King St, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-829-2977

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Enjoy views of Matanzas Bay and the Bridge of Lions from the second-floor patio of A1A Ale Works Restaurant & Tap Room, where the rotating beer list features crafted creations made by some of the best breweries in Florida—Dog Rose Brewing, Cigar City Brewing, and Veterans United Craft Brewery, just to name a few. Whatever you choose, pair your drink with freshly baked pretzels, order the A1A beer cheese soup (red ale blended with aged cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, caramelized onions, and roasted barley), and for a main, get the blackened seared tuna or jambalaya.

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Crave

Crave

Address

135 King St, St. Augustine, FL 32080-4415, USA

Phone +1 904-293-6373

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Formerly known as Crave Food Truck, the restaurant expanded in spring of 2020 and now offers its delicious and healthy salads, wraps, and smoothies from a brick-and-mortar spot around the corner from its former waterfront location. Daily specials include super tuna and spicy lotus wraps, among other enticing items, while its smoothies offer a healthy boost of antioxidants, detoxifiers, and vitamin C. The grilled shrimp island bowl and the nacho tempeh wrap make great entrées, or you can always create-your-own salad. Desserts like guava bars and raw vegan cookie dough bites are also a nice touch.

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Gypsy Cab Company

Gypsy Cab Company

Address

828 Anastasia Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA

Phone +1 904-824-8244

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This popular restaurant draws upon a lot of different influences to come up with their "urban" cuisine, including Cajun, Italian, German, Southern, Mediterranean, and “Floribbean” styles. The casual eatery is known for its friendliness and good food, so you'll often find it crowded... but worth the wait. The menus change daily, but gypsy chicken is the must-order, served with red cabbage, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and a mushroom sauce. The hummus platter is also a great choice if you’re sharing a meal with friends or family.

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Hurricane Patty's

Hurricane Patty's

Address

69 Lewis Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-342-7338

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Hurricane Patty's may not have the best curb appeal, but it is one of the best destinations for fresh seafood in St. Augustine. This no-frills joint on Oyster Bay can get packed at sunset, when locals flood the back deck during $5 happy hour, so make sure you get there early to put in an order of the creamy Hurricane crab dip and New England clam chowder. For a spicy twist, try the Minorcan clam chowder, made with clams, potatoes, veggies, and datil peppers.

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Old City House Inn and Restaurant

Old City House Inn and Restaurant

Address

115 Cordova St, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-826-0113

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If you're visiting from out of town, stay at the 19th-century Old City House Inn and eat on-site at its cozy restaurant. The kitchen dishes out a little bit of everything, from appetizers like shrimp and scallop ceviche, escargot a la bourguignonne, and jumbo lump crab cocktails to main dishes like pork osso bucco, baked Mediterranean grouper, crab cakes served with couscous and veggies, and pan seared pork chops. The herb-and-garlic marinated New Zealand rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and a sherry port reduction is a top pick.

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O'Steen's Restaurant

O'Steen's Restaurant — Visit St. Augustine

Address

205 Anastasia Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080-4504, USA

Phone +1 904-829-6974

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O'Steen's has been a St. Augustine staple since 1965; if you ask the locals, everyone will rave about the restaurant's Southern-style fried shrimp and tasty sides like squash casserole. Homemade Minorcan clam chowder, deep fried oyster and scallops, deviled crab patties, and fried catfish are among the other delicious southern fare offered here. Just make sure to bring cash (credit cards aren't accepted but there is an ATM at the restaurant) and prepare for a bit of a wait.

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Pizza Time

Pizza Time — Visit St. Augustine

Address

124 St George St, St. Augustine, FL 32084-3610, USA

Phone +1 904-819-0133

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Sometimes nothing satisfies the stomach quite like a slice of New York pizza. If you're looking for a quick bite (especially after a night out), this spot is a winner, hawking “the biggest pizza in town,” with 20-inch round pies as well as a selection of NY Pizzeria staples like cheese calzones, house-made arancini (rice balls and Italian potato rolls), and strombolis. For a real treat, get some garlic knots and a meat lover's pie with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, meatballs, and cheese.

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Casa Benedetto's

Meatballs in sauce at Casa Benedetto's — Casa Benedetto's

Address

197 Blackford Way, St. Augustine, FL 32086, USA

Phone +1 904-471-5999

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Located about 20 minutes south of St. Augustine’s historic district, Casa Benedetto’s is known for its traditional Sicilian menu, with Italian comfort foods like escarole and beans, pasta fagioli, braisole, rice balls, manicotti and liguini with clam sauce straight from your favorite Italian Grandma’s kitchen. Try homemade desserts like cannolis, Italian cookies, and tiramisu, among other tasty treats harkening back to the family’s first bakery in Brooklyn.

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Harry's Seafood, Bar & Grille

Shrimp paella at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille — Visit St. Augustine

Address

46 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-824-7765

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Head to Harry’s for nightly live music by the waterfront and Creole and Cajun classics like fried green tomatoes, Boudin balls (deep fried and seasoned New Orleans style Cajun sausage and rice balls served with Remoulade), gumbo, blackened shrimp, jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, shrimp-n-grits, and banana’s foster. Don’t miss the Bourbon Street salmon, Andouille crusted grouper, or French baked scallops. Wash it all down with one of Harry’s signature cocktails.

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Brisky's BBQ

Pulled pork with beans, coleslaw, and toast at Brisky's BBQ — Visit St. Augustine

Address

3009 N Ponce De Leon Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-907-2122

If you’re craving BBQ, drive about 10 minutes north of the historic district to Brisky’s, where you’ll find everything from pulled pork and brisket to flame broiled burgers and grilled mesquite chicken. Feast on baby back ribs, smoked turkey, or smoked sausages, paired with your choice of sides including mac 'n cheese, coleslaw, sweet beer glaze BBQ beans, corn, baked potatoes, or country green beans, among other fixins, but save room for dessert: banana pudding, sweet potato pie, or pecan bread pudding.

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Mango Mango's

Shrimp tacos at Mango Mango's — Visit St. Augustine

Address

700 A1A Beach Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080-6705, USA

Phone +1 904-461-1077

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Fans of crab cakes and coconut shrimp, rejoice! Mango Mango’s is a little off the beaten track, located next door on Anastasia Island about a 15-minute drive from St. Augustine’s Historic District, but the mozzarella-stuffed corn cakes with homemade Santa Fe sauce alone make the journey worth it. Try everything from conch fritters and Caribbean jerk tuna tacos to mahi mahi served with Havana sauce and plantains. Just save room for smoothies and key lime pie for dessert.

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Ice Plant Bar

The bar at Ice Plant Bar — Visit St. Augustine

Address

110 Riberia St, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-829-6553

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Back on the Sebastian River side of St. Augustine, the building that houses Ice Plant Bar was constructed in 1927 to serve as an actual ice plant; you can still see the original equipment used to move large pieces of ice over the main bar. Today, the lively restaurant serves up Southern farm-to-table specialties like pimento cheese, pan seared local fish, shrimp ceviche, and skillet fried chicken with hoecakes and collard greens.

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The Floridian

Lunch at The Floridian — Visit St. Augustine

Address

72 Spanish St #3638, St. Augustine, FL 32084, USA

Phone +1 904-829-0655

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Start with fried green tomatoes and pickled pepper shrimps, before feasting on Southern-style favorites like fresh catch nicoise, shrimp ‘n grits, steak frites, BBQ pork ‘n waffles, cornbread, specialty meatloaf sandwiches, and brisket. Wash it all down with a signature cocktail like the Garden Gimlet (made with St. Augustine Distillery gin), the Swamp Pony (made with Diplomatico Matuano rum), or Wild in the Streets (made with Old Forester bourbon), among other refreshing options.

16 Best Restaurants in St. Augustine