Restaurants

You’d think that with its proximity to the ocean and river, Jacksonville would be a one-note-Johnny when it comes to restaurants, focusing only on seafood to the exclusion of international or contemporary cuisine. Well, think again! While that might have once been the case, the city’s palates have collectively refined, and local restaurateurs have taken leaps to launch new intimate and experimental eateries resulting in happy local restaurant-goers and options galore.

Of course, locals remain spoiled when it comes to fresh seafood. With menu items ranging from boiled shrimp to sushi, Jacksonville’s seafood menus brim with briny goodness. Whether you’re headed to a backwater fish camp (a real Insider treat) or dining seaside, the area aims to please with fresh, plentiful offerings from the sea.

Plan your trip to coincide with one of the area’s many seafood festivals and special events. The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival draws thousands to Fernandina Beach each spring, and the annual Kingfish Tournament, dedicated to attracting big-game anglers, is the largest of its kind in the country.

If you prefer your dinner to come from the turf (rather than the surf), local barbecue restaurants like Mojo and Fred Cotten’s serve up the slow-cooked variations of beef, pork, and chicken that made the South famous.

In short, you will not leave Jacksonville hungry.

This chapter offers not just some, but all of my Insider team’s personal faves for any meal of the day. More necessarily than in any other chapter, the restaurant listings are organized by neighborhood so that you can eat close to where your activities take you, or plan your day based on maintaining proximity to a certain dish. Jacksonville is a city of neighborhoods, which you will quickly learn as you travel around town hunting down these foodie favorites.

If you’re interested in really digging-in and eating like a lifetime local, read what the locals claim as the city’s quintessential food. Trust us; what you learn there may not be pretty, but it may be as close as you can get to the divine for under $7.

The skinny on reservations is simple: they’re generally not necessary, unless the price point or size of the eatery would give you reason to think so. So, use your common sense and, when in doubt, call and check.

Best of all, dress is hip-casual at almost every Jacksonville restaurant, but, again, use common sense and call ahead of you have any questions.

If one of our favorite restaurants has multiple locations, you will find it listed under the location that we feel is the most visit-worthy, with the other locations listed under it.

Unless otherwise noted, all restaurants accept major credit cards. Most restaurants in Jacksonville are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, so if you want to dine out, call ahead and check. Sundays and Mondays tend to be a dead zone, especially with the smaller local eateries, so definitely check by phone before you head out.

Note: If a restaurant is open during the general lunch and dinner hours of 11 a.m. through 10 p.m., we simply state that the establishment is “open for lunch and dinner.” However, if the restaurant keeps unusual hours, we will spell it out for you.