Best Restaurants: Where to Eat in St. Augustine Beach, FL

Elizabeth and I have visited St. Augustine Beach five different times over the last three years and already have another trip planned. Although it has become one of our favorite places to go because of how pet friendly the beach is, we also have been impressed with the variety of food.Pet Friendly St. Augustine Beach

We have personally eaten at all of these restaurants (plus many others) and these are the ones we look forward to visiting as we head to northeast Florida. I have linked each restaurant’s website, and we talked and decided on which one item we would recommend to you over all the others!

We typically stay in St. Augustine Beach, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from Historic St. Augustine; therefore, we are going to split the list of the best restaurants into two separate articles, with this one focusing on St. Augustine Beach. Look for future articles about the best places to eat in Historic St. Augustine!

You will notice that none of the restaurants are chain restaurants, and we included lots of pictures. We want you to make smart decisions when choosing where to eat, and pictures tell the best story.

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St. Augustine Beach is situated between A1A and A1A Beach Blvd. A1A Beach Blvd. runs right by the pier and is where most of these restaurants are located. We will start, though, with a restaurant on A1A:

Viola’s Pizza, Pasta and Seafood

This is my personal favorite in St. Augustine Beach, and I would eat here every day if it wasn’t for my travel companions! The thing that will surprise you is not how tasty the Italian food is (it is really awesome) but how amazing the seafood is on a consistent basis.Grilled Mahi Mahi

We have been impressed at how the seafood menu changes with specials, the variety of grilled or blackened fish, and the absolutely incredible taste of their Parmesan crusted fish. My mother-in-law swears on the Parmesan crusted Mahi Mahi, and I can’t disagree!

Pizza and seafood are my favorites, and this restaurant has both. Choosing from their menu is painful because of the plethora of choices, and the lunch specials still have huge portions. Also, they are a pet friendly restaurant on the back deck! If just going through the St. Augustine Beach area, please give these people a visit. The wait owners, wait staff, and food are second to none!

What to Order: Parm Crusted Mahi with hot rope sausage and roasted potatoes.

The Kookaburra

The Kookaburra is a coffee shop right on A1A Beach Blvd. and is easily walkable from the beach. If you are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott St. Augustine Beach, you will find the Kookaburra right next door! Even though I refuse to drink coffee, Elizabeth, my brother, and sister-in-law get coffee from here daily, so I have ended up spending quite a bit of time here in the morning.

Their menu, according to my coffee expert family, adds the best flavors possible and is not too heavy when heading to the beach. In fact, they all get coffee ON THE WAY to the beach from The Kookaburra.

There is some inside and outside seating, and they have some really cool dog treats at the front counter.

What to Order: The Honey Badger, which consists of a latte with cinnamon, honey, and vanilla.

A1A Burrito Works Taco Shop

This restaurant is well-known and will be very busy around lunchtime. It is also very casual, and lots of people wear their swim gear from the beach to eat here. There are no tables inside, but the outside tables are comfortable and shaded, and the drink machine is actually located in a convenient location outside.

We have eaten pretty much everything on the menu here, and we really do like the shrimp quesadillas. The chips and queso are a must when you are coming for a break from the beach. This is the place where we get food to go and take it to the beach! You gotta give it a try!

What to Order: The Mexican UFO with pork and black beans. It is gigantic:Mexican UFO

Sunset Grille A1A

Sunset Grille is almost directly across the street from the pier, and it is a huge restaurant. It has indoor and outdoor dining, and if you are lucky, there will be some open seats in the upstairs balcony where you have a great view of the ocean.

One thing to remember when you eat here is that you likely either want to split a meal or plan on getting your leftovers to go. If you choose to get some of the seafood pasta then plan on getting a plate the size of which no one human could/should ever eat in one sitting.

Because a couple of people in our family aren’t crazy about seafood, we have seen almost everything on their menu. Even the chicken sandwich is really good, but if you are coming for seafood, you won’t be disappointed!

What to Order: Crab Bisque as an appetizer with the entrée being Blackened Sunset Grouper with the two sides being a baked sweet potato and black beans and rice.

Obi’s Fillin’ Station

Obi’s is open in the morning for breakfast and stays open until late at night. I prefer eating here at breakfast as I want to fill up before heading out to the beach, but I have seen lately that they have hired a new chef and have some intriguing new options for lunch and dinner that I have to try.

My parents really like the burgers and fries to get a change up from eating all of the seafood, and since it is right next to the beach, you can fill up here right as you leave the sand and are so hungry!

The breakfast is a typical southern-style feast, and those from the south will not be disappointed. What is surprising is that even though this is not what I would typically think of as a place to “get ice cream” is that the dessert is to die for. Look at this ice cream sandwich!

What to Order: The Air Bag which is a three egg omelette with your choice of meat, cheese, and veggies. It also comes with some truly southern home fries or grits!

Coneheads Ice Cream Shop

Coneheads is our place to get ice cream at all times of the day. As is the case with all good ice cream shops on the beach, it can get pretty busy at night around 8 PM. However, the line moves quickly and there is typically room for everyone to sit outside or inside. Because of its great location, almost any hotel or Airbnb in St. Augustine Beach is close enough for a quick walk to Coneheads.

Conehead’s boasts more than 50 flavors, and along with all of the normal ones, some of them are also very unique. There is a huge selection of the type of cone you want, and the first time my dad (a chocolate lover) ate here the decision was very difficult for him!  You can’t go wrong with the chocolate peanut butter, but Elizabeth is in love with the Oreo mint. Let us know what you choose and how you like it!

What to Order: Maple Walnut ice cream. It’s really popular and I understand why!

Summary

In case you can’t tell, eating on vacation is just as important to us as the activities that we do. We always want food advice when we are traveling somewhere new, and we hope you are able to benefit from this if you ever head to St. Augustine Beach! Look for the Historic St. Augustine food guide coming soon.

If you have been to St. Augustine Beach and have a recommendation, please post it in the comments!

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Don’t forget, dogs love St. Augustine Beach, FL!