City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Address: 12903 Hood Landing Rd.
47. Don Juan’S
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 268-8722
Address: 12373 San Jose Blvd.
Description: Don Juan’s Restaurant is many of the things we Insiders like: it’s locally owned, it’s authentic, and there’s a mariachi band. The burritos, enchiladas, chimichangas, and tacos are super-fresh and made 100 percent from scratch. Sit on the patio and order one of Don Juan’s top-shelf margaritas, Primaritas, made with Patrón Silver topped with Grand Marnier. They cast everything in a golden glow, even the mariachi music.
48. Gubbio’S
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 731-9900
Address: 5111 Baymeadows Rd.
Description: Overlook the red-checked tablecloths and the strip-mall location; it’s the food that has made Gubbio’s a true Mandarin favorite. Named after a small town in Italy, Gubbio’s offers pizzas, calzones, pastas, and subs. For dinner, order one of the daily specials or try Gubbio’s signature dish, Chicken Milano, served with a white cream sauce and topped with melted mozzarella. The seafood, veal, lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, and shrimp primavera are popular, too. Bread is made fresh daily. Finish your meal with a frothy cappuccino. Beer and wine are served. Open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner daily.
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Address: 9802 Baymeadows Rd.
50. Mediterrania Restaurant
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 731-2898
Address: 3877 Baymeadows Rd.
Description: Old-world atmosphere and good service make this family-owned-and-operated Greek and Italian restaurant an area favorite. Yummy house specialties like fresh seafood, veal chops, and rack of lamb and traditional Greek desserts have won Meditterania a loyal following. Beer and wine, especially a large selection of Greek wines, are offered. Open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Monday through Saturday.
51. The Tree Steak House
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 262-0006
Address: 11362 San Jose Blvd.
Description: Man and woman can’t live by seafood alone. The old-school Tree Steak House offers the ideal alternative, especially if you don’t want to have to take out a second mortgage to pay for dinner. The specialty of this good-old-boy standby is rib-eye steak that your waiter will measure off and cut at your table, if you so desire. If you want seafood, try the cashew grouper. Dinners are served with a baked potato and salad. Tree Steak House offers a full bar and lounge and serves dinner daily.
52. Village Bread Café
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 732-2261
Address: 5215 Phillips Hwy.
Description: The location leaves a lot to be desired, but the yumminess of the food makes up for the iffy address in spades. The Café, an outgrowth of the wholesale bakery next door, serves fresh breads, muffins, cupcakes, and pastries supplemented by ciabatta breakfast sandwiches, French toast, eggs, and some of the best darn bagels around. After breakfast, pick up a few loaves or something from the bakery case to take home. Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The Café has also recently opened a satellite location in The Jacksonville Landing and has plans to open a Mandarin location.
53. Vito’S
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 737-9236
Address: 3825 Baymeadows Rd.
Description: If you want real Italian food go to Vito’s, a family restaurant that smacks of the Italian restaurants in New York and New Jersey. The staff is overtly friendly and has earned a serious neighborhood following. The walls are covered with photos, paintings, and drawings of the longtime staff and patrons, a tip of the hat to the value Vito’s places on community and family. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and for dinner only on Saturday and Sunday.
54. Basha’S Mediterranean Cuisine
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 821-4747
Address: 13799 Beach Blvd.
Description: The combination of Basha’s Lebanese kebabs, roasted meats, and their killer secret garlic sauce recipe thrusts this small and unassuming cafe toward the top of our Insider charts. Recently re-opened in a new location by the daughter of its late founder, the new location retains all of the hush-hush magnetism of the original with grape leaves, falafel, lamb, and gyro wraps. Locals have called this neighborhood a “culinary wasteland,” which makes the opening of Basha’s a food-lover’s neighborhood oasis. Try the labneh (traditional mélange of sour cream and yogurt mixed with mint and garlic) with the gyro meat and wash it down with a Lebanese beer. You’ll love it all; trust me.
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Address: 3820 Southside Blvd.
56. Cantina Laredo
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 997-6110
Address: 10282 Bistro Dr.
Description: Even though this is part of a larger chain, this is a pleasant addition to the Jacksonville dining scene and has become a destination in itself. Cantina Laredo serves contemporary Mexican cuisine supplemented by excellent tableside guacamole and well-mixed margaritas. Try the enchiladas Veracruz or the exceptionally good fajitas. The Sunday brunch draws big crowds, but since this is the only Mexican brunch menu in town, it’s worth the wait. Open for lunch and dinner daily and brunch on Sunday.
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Address: 11233 Beach Blvd.
58. Pattaya Thai Grille
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 646-9506
Description: Pattaya Thai was among Jacksonville’s first Thai restaurants, and it’s still a favorite. Located centrally enough to draw from most of the city, Pattaya Thai provides a quiet oasis of good food. In fact, the readers of Folio Weekly voted Pattaya Thai the best Thai restaurant in Jacksonville for seven years in a row. The portions are large, the food is fresh, and the chefs do not use MSG. Be sure to order the spring rolls—they’re memorable, as is the Pad Thai. All of the soups are homemade (the coconut soup is especially good). And all of the dishes can be ordered from mild to smokin’ hot. Open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served Monday through Saturday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Closed Sunday.
59. Beach Hut Cafe
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 249-3516
Address: 1281 Third St. South
Description: Open since 1988, Beach Hut is the place to go for breakfast in Jacksonville Beach. The portions are generous, and the service is friendly. While Beach Hut serves both breakfast and lunch, the restaurant is best known for its breakfast. The place serves about 1,000 eggs a day (no kidding) and serves them at picnic tables and at the counter. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-served, so allow plenty of time, especially on the weekends.
60. Bukkets
City: Jacksonville, FL
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (904) 246-7701
Address: 222 North Oceanfront Dr.
Description: Located just off Jacksonville Beach’s boardwalk, Bukkets specializes in oysters, wings, seafood, salads, and sandwiches. Proudly unrefined and often rowdy, Bukkets draws people in with its boardwalk tables and cheap beer. Thanks to the full bar and live entertainment, Bukkets is frequented by a young-ish crowd of locals. Lunch and dinner are served daily. Happy hour is Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.