Food in the Ancient City
If you’ve been following our adventures, you’ll know by now that we love food. Like really love food, and OH MAN DOES ST AUGUSTINE HAVE SOME GOOD FOOD! We were thoroughly impressed by the restaurant scene in St. Augustine and can’t wait to visit again. We tried to come up with a list of our top 5 establishments, but it just wasn’t possible! Next time you’re passing through, DO NOT LEAVE until you have crossed each and every one of these off the list:
Ice Plant
When you walk into Ice Plant, it’s like you’re stepping back in time. Everything from the staff uniforms to the restaurant decor gives the illusion you are back in the 1920’-30’s. Arthur and I stumbled in on a Monday for cocktails, and stayed for one of the most mouth-watering dinners we’d had in a while. When my mom arrived the next day, we used it as an excuse to come back and try all of the menu items we missed out on the night before. We usually share our food family-style, and you can really get a taste for a joint when you split everything three ways! Fair warning, this was the most expensive restaurant we visited, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!! Here’s a little list of our Ice Plant favorites:
The Floridian
If you need some good comfort food, look no further. I have two categories of comfort food: 1) greasy, delicious, feels so good eating it at the time, but you feel like shit later. 2) somewhat simple ingredients prepared just right for a fair price that feels so good on the way down, and you don’t have to be rolled out the door. The Floridian is the latter. We split a flavorful yet balanced Bloody Mary, I had a fried green tomato BLT (pictured) and Arthur had a burrito fresco. Sadly, we didn't discover this local haunt until our last day. The ingredients were fresh and prepared just right. We’ll definitely be back on our next trip!
Mojo Old City BBQ
We walked in here around 9:30pm in search of dessert and/or dessert cocktails. It was mid-week during the off-season, and restaurants were shutting their doors left and right, but when your girl needs dessert, SHE NEEDS DESSERT! So we pressed on. We asked around and were steered in the direction of Mojo Old City Barbecue. Upon sitting down at the bar, we were disappointed to learn that the only actual dessert available was banana pudding. So we reluctantly ordered a banana pudding, right about the time the gentleman next to us was served a thick, juicy pulled pork BBQ sandwich. I looked at Arthur and we immediately had a change of heart; we were having BBQ for dessert. The bartender was happy to hear that we had come to our senses, and he gave us a big smile later when we told him it was the best dessert we’d ever had! We returned a couple days later, as we often do, and devoured some of their perfectly smoked chicken over a few beers with friends.
Mayday Ice Cream
Best ice cream I’ve ever had? It could be possible. With flavors like vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirls and crushed Oreo (called the Parent Trap) you really can’t go wrong. Arthur and I both got double scoops, so we could try four different flavors (we’re married now, so what’s yours is mine, right?). All of them were AMAZING. If the clever flavors weren’t enough, they make their own sprinkles (so awesome) and have pretzel cones (also awesome).
Hyppo Gourmet Pop
As hot as St Augustine can get, your body will thank you after a good ice pop. AND let me tell you, their ice pops are GOOD. Hyppo serves everything from traditional fruit flavors, to mango champagne and blueberry goat cheese (my favorite). Did we visit 8 out of the 10 days we were in St Augustine? Possibly. If you end up loving their pops as much as we did, be sure to grab one of their punch cards. You’ll end up with a free pop before you know it ;)
Prohibition Kitchen
This is another establishment that takes you back in time, in true St. Augustine fashion, with their vintage atmosphere and decor. We don’t typically gravitate to restaurants of this size and scale, but Prohibition manages to turn out an impressive caliber of food for the dozens of tables they serve, upstairs and downstairs. The menu was creative and the plates came out of the kitchen in record time! Even on a busy night, you’ll be taken care of at Prohibition!
Auggie’s Draft Room
Need a break from the St Augustine heat, and water just isn’t cutting it? Stop into Auggie’s Draft Room to try a variety of local and regional beers on tap. We have grown to love tap/draft rooms! You start a tab by giving them your credit or debit card and they give you an Auggie’s card that you then scan on any tap you choose. Once the device has scanned your card, you can pour as little or as much of that particular brew as you wish. The card keeps track of how many ounces you pour at each tap, so when you return your card at the end of your ‘session’, checkout is a breeze. No waiting in line at the bar, and you don’t have to commit to a 16-ounce pour of something you may or may not like. We stopped in to this comfortably air-conditioned space a couple times to evade the heat and the crowds outside!
Arthur super stoked to try 20+ beers!
St Augustine Seafood Company
To say we’re seafood snobs is an understatement. When your hometown lies on the coast of South Carolina where we basically had an endless supply of fresh seafood, and growing up the daughter of a shrimper nonetheless, its easy to understand the high standards we hold our seafood to! When I go to a seafood restaurant I almost always ask where the seafood is from (I try my best to avoid imported seafood for a number of reasons). When you walk into St Augustine Seafood Company, one of the first things you’ll notice is their chalkboards that tell you exactly where all of the seafood is from, and even the name of the boat that caught it! How awesome is that?! We enjoyed a piece of fried Mahi Mahi, from a South Carolina boat coincidentally. If you’re looking for a quick and low key seafood fix, I highly recommend checking these guys out!
Alcazar Cafe
Not going to lie, this may be one of the stranger settings I’ve dined in. The Alcazar Cafe is located in a drained indoor pool in the Lightner Museum. Mhm. Hard to believe there were once people swimming in what’s now an interesting but beautiful dining room! I brought my mom here for a birthday lunch, and we had a great time. There was a live pianist in the corner and sparkling lights strung above. We had escargot that was cooked to perfection and a pretty decent Ruben sandwich. After lunch we wandered around the rest of the building that wasn’t part of the museum. It was a well-spent afternoon.
White Lion
We are ending this list with the White Lion. We did not eat dinner or lunch here so we have no idea what the food is like, but on Monday nights they have $1 hotdogs with cheese, bacon bits, and onions. $1, thats it! The night this photo was taken, they also had $1 PBR. My bill was just over $3. We found ourselves here twice for the $1 hotdogs. Don’t judge us until you’ve been sailing all day, you’ve barely had time to eat, and every other decent establishment in town is closed. The White Lion is there to save the day with $1 hotdogs and cheap beers. That’s all.
Have you been to St Augustine and had AMAZING food? We love food and would like to hear about your favorite St Augustine restaurants! Drop us a comment below so we can add it to our list of restaurants for this area!
Looking for activities to do in St Augustine? Check out our list of our top 5 ways to enjoy the Ancient City HERE.