St. Augustine ?

[brevardbelly]

Headed up the coast to St. Augustine. Anything new and delish ?

[sweet_polly]

Have you tried the Tasting Room for tapas? SO good! Some of their menu items I loved were creamy Spanish onion soup with crispy serrano ham and manchego cheese, grilled lobster and serrano skewers atop cheesy corn grits, manchego chunks nestled on a bed of olive oil and garnished with balsamic vinegar, and giant scallops wrapped in ham and perched on a serving of herbed cauliflower puree. Nice wine selection by the glass, too.

[brevardbelly]

thanks sweet polly. is there any place you can recommend that serves liquor ? a couple in our party prefer cocktails to wine. we usually end up at OCs, but that gets old. deco ? la pavillion ? thanks

[trevorlinc]

Check out Zhanra's-- just over the Bridge of Lions..full bar and solid tapas. It's one level down from the tasting room, though.

[melpadilla]

I'm also headed to St. Augustine the day after Christmas for a mini vaca. I've never been and I'm looking for a nice restaurant to go to one evening. I've seen a lot of people on Trip Advisor recommend The Colage. Has anyone ever dined there / can recommend a nice romantic place?

[Orlando Vic]

Collage has been open a little more than two years. We went there for the first time about 3 weeks ago and I was impressed with everything there.

My wife had a house salad of fresh baby greens with orange balsamic vinaigrette, while I started with a tomato & basil soup. She had fresh black grouper, lightly coated in a parmesan, pecan & brown sugar crust then baked, finished with a buerre blanc. I had the duck breast with scallops, pan-seared crispy, thinly sliced and finished with a raspberry and shallot redux, a fried vidalia onion nest and two large scallops" poached in apple cider. It is strictly a special occasion restaurant...and pricey, but the portions are very generous and the quality was superb!

[philaphile]

Not so new but very delish - Bistro de Leon (Lyon - get it?) near Cathedral Square. Very friendly hostess married to very careful cook and together they run this charming homage to Lyon. We were blown away to find a credible bouchon in St. Augustine, of all places. The restaurant serves regional Lyonnaise fare like the salade lyonnaise, quenelles, and small pots of wine, along with more traditional French fare like onion soup and cassoulet and steak au poivre. I sampled the potato leek soup (rich, full-flavored but amazingly light), the salade lyonnaise (perfectly fresh greens, perfectly tangy vinaigrette, perfectly poached egg, and a very generous hand with the smoky bacon (no lardons, alas) and crunchy, chewy crouton), the bouillabaisse (nicely salty pistou on the toasts, flavorful broth, and shrimp and fish cooked just 5 seconds beyond perfection) and the tartiflette (more of the smoky bacon, lots of rich reblochon, perfectly cooked potatos - mmmmm); also the tarte tatin (crispy, caramelly, luscious) and the paris-brest (hazelnut buttercream sandwiched between rounds of chewy, crispy puff choux - more mmmmmmm). Two different labels of Cote-de-Rhone! We were so pleased with the quality of the cooking. There were tables available the night after Christmas when every other restaurant was fully committed - craziness. I can only imagine that some diners are turned off by the unusual items on the menu. If you are in any way adventuresome and like good French cooking, I recommend Bistro de Leon wholeheartedly.

[Dornoch]

Check out www.tastestaugustine.com - loads of restaurants, reviews and all sorts of stuff. For a good "fine dining" experience try either La Pentola on Charlotte Street or Cafe Atlantico on A1A Beach Blvd. Both are excellent, if a little pricy. Breakfast is a bit of a crapshoot, but both Sea Oats Caffe (Publix plaza on the Island) and Cafe 11 (A1A Beach Blvd.) do a decent one, as does the Beachcomber, which is in St. Auggie Beach on A Street. The FA Cafe (also on A1A Beach Blvd.) has excellent, reasonably priced food, but be warned - no air conditioning!

[Briarpatch]

For a great breakfast (that also serves lunch and dinner) and not pricey try Georgies Diner on Malage St. That is off of King Street close to San Sabastian winery.

[Chanin]

As a long time resident of St A and a Service Industry Professional I would agree with the following recommendations: The Tasting Room, Collage, La Pentola, Cafe Atlantico, Sea Oats and FA's Cafe. All of the others are questionable at best, especially OC's. Zhanra's is too much of a Cafe Tu-Tu Tango rip-off with low quality food items with an overpriced, unimaginative wine list.

I would recommend The Purple Olive on A1A just north of Dondanville Rd for a moderately priced casual dinner pared with a decent beer and wine selection.

We also have a new taquero on US1 next to the Vespa dealership and it is authentic and amazing!
If you haven't tried The Present Moment Cafe on King St. then you are missing out on one of the best kept secrets in North Florida.
Stir It Up on A-street and A1A is the best lunch on the beach if you want to sit outside. Considering they are about 50 yards from the beach I don't think that should present a problem. If you need need AC then walk acrosss the street to Mango-Mango's for some equatorial fare.
Madre's Cafe downtown on Aviles Street has some pretty good baja style fish tacos and burritos and they are right next to Cellar Six, a new wine bar that has a small menu of well prepared food items and an overwhelming (in a good kind of way) wine and beer list.

Wow, I just realized how old this thread is.....oops, sorry.

[brevardbelly]

Glad ya updated me. We travel up from Cocoa Beach monthly to see our son who is stationed there. So any update is greatly appreciated. We stay in old town (so no driving except for lunch so we can imbide). I'm familiar with some of the ones you mentioned. Where are Collage, Cafe Atlantico, Sea Oats, Present Moment and FA's located ?

[Chanin]

I am glad I could be of some help. So where do you normally stay while in town and what do you consider to be a good walk for a meal? We live downtown and make a point to not drive unless absolutely necessary but we rides bikes so our range is a little further than the typical stroll.

Collage is a few doors down from Scarlet O'hara's on Hypolita St. and is more of a dinner establishment. On the same street just one block away though is Casa Maya and they are a great breakfast and lunch spot that serves Caribbean/Latin food made with organic produce. The best salsa verde and huevos rancheros I have ever had. You have to try their sweet potato pancakes also.

The Present Moment Cafe specializes in raw, organic fare that will amaze your senses and leave you wondering how such creative delicacies can be vegan. Try the nachos, mango samosas or white truffle pesto pasta and you will be delighted. A more traditional but equally enjoyable top would be on the same street but near the corner of US1 on the San Sebastian River is Theo's. A great two egg five dollar breakfast, a huge flounder sandwich and the Gyro are my regular staples there.

This may be out of your range but on SR16 the Manatee Cafe is well worth the fifteen minute drive from downtown and a generous healthy meal for a small pittance.

FA's is named after an old surf spot in St Augustine Beach called First Access. While heading south on A1A from 312 or Anastasia Blvd it will be the first building on the right just south of the southern tip of Anastasia State Park. They are more of a burger and light beer kind of place but they do it well. Sea Oats is further south down A1A at the Publix Plaza and they prepare a great breakfast that is always worth the occasional wait. All I have to say is banana pancakes.

Enjoy our beautiful town and don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

http://www.manateecafe.com/
http://www.thepresentmomentcafe.com/
http://www.purple-olive.com/

[brevardbelly]

Thank you Chanin for the locations. We've stayed at the Hilton(my fav but pricey), Casa Monica (not enough bang for the buck, but great Sunday brunch) and the Mariner (what a dive). So we're open for suggestions for lodging also. (not a big fan of B&Bs). Definitely want to try Casa Maya and Theo's, I love fresh fish. Thanks again!

[bcodom]

Re: St. Aug overnight -- We've stayed at the Conch House on the other side of the bridge, near the lighthouse, on a marina. Kinda funky with a Key West flavor -- http://www.conch-house.com/. Very reasonable compared to the Casa Monica.

[brevardbelly]

Thanks. That's about a mile away from downtown. A little too far for this fat boy to walk at night after a few. Isn't there one across from the fort ?

[bcodom]

There's a Best Western across from the fort, within walking distance to most spots in St. Aug. Never stayed there but it's bound to be more reasonably priced than the B&Bs. If you wanted to try a B&B sometime, we like Alexander Homestead on Sevilla, a couple blocks west of St. George St.

You mentioned you like the Hilton -- that does look gorgeous and what a location but I imagine it's quite pricey even off season??

[brevardbelly]

Last year it was in the 220-250 range. Nice tho. Jacuzzi, turn down service with chocolate, etc. but $$$$$$$$.

[kchurchill5]

I second the Conch House, but did stay at the Best Western near the fort. Descent, and either or for me.