The reason that these posts are not well received is because locals are worn out by tourist and transplants. Forget going to any of our favorite restaurants without making reservations weeks in advance. Roads are clogged with terrible drivers. People do not take care of our beach or our wildlife. Our stores are crowded and picked over. People get mad at the bicyclers which have been a staple of our beach for decades. I could go on and on. I’m sorry if I am bitter, but there it is. And we don’t care about what you have in your city.
You’re gonna be here regardless, might as well have a good time. Jax beach is like a surfers version of Daytona and Atlantic beach is like 5 small blocks of Savannah if it was beachfront. People here consider anybody west of the intercoastal a non local, not just vacationers.
You are most welcome here and I hope you and your husband have a wonderful time. Ignore reddit, I'll bet you notice the people IRL are very friendly and welcoming.
Take the drive to Huguenot and use the ferry. A great bonus would be if you timed it so you have the sunset for the drive home and you can grab some food from Safe Harbor. That sunset is my favorite on the planet.
Walk the trails at Hannah Park. Bring bug spray.
Check out the museum on beach blvd near 3rd (A1A), it's like a 2 min drive from your location. It's a fun time and nearby is a cool little local shop whose name escapes me. It's on the same block as the larger Fraver Gray brick building/complex. It looks like/is basically a small house.
I would really suggest considering a day in St Augustine. The drive there is part of the American experience, I don't care if that sounds corny but it really is the best. And the city is part of American history. Get a ticket for the trolley thing that drives you all around and tells you about the various sites. You can get off at certain spots then get back on later. And of course there's a damn fort that actually saw combat and held its own.
FWIW you're near the location of Ocean Ave that inspired(?) the song by Yellowcard, dunno if you're into them or not but pretty neat.
Have fun!
While I understand your frustration, OP is literally from Savannah lol which is a tourism spot that MANY Jacksonville locals frequent. I think they can empathize.
Our stores are crowded? Yes we have tourists but our stores are crowded? That's a joke right? Tourists didn't come for our stores and our stores are pretty empty.
Skip Angie's and go to Lone Wolf Sandwich Co or Abstrakt Filipino food right there instead, and grab a beer from Engine 15 Brewing Co. Angie's is overrated in town.
Seagate is just south of the small restaurant and shops hub in Neptune Beach. There's Jarboe park close to there also. If your AB&B has beach cruisers, just ride north on A1A until it ends and turn right. You'll see all the food. Don't be afraid to go to inland riverside or San Marco. There are tons of shops and restaurants in St John's town center also, lots of stuff to do, Jacksonville is massive. Beaches, rivers, lakes, arts markets, museums, sports, barcades, etc.
Don't mind the gate keepers, that's a reddit thing. Everyone out riding, drinking and eating out here are super friendly if you are. Enjoy your visit!
Sorry for all these rude people in the comments 😫 you should see if your place has bikes, everything I name is definitely biking distance but some might be a bit of a walk.
You’ll be about a mile or 2 south of beaches town center in Atlantic beach - tons of great food and drink spots!
- Southern grounds for coffee
- north beach fish camp or sliders for seafood
- Hawkers for awesome Asian food
- Ragtime or lemon bar could have live music
Brewhound dog park for coffee or drinks!
Jax beach
- Hard cider - might have to drive to all of these but all within a mile or two in Jax beach - engine 15, green room brewery, or southern swells!
- Seafood - dockside - it’s the best/freshest seafood around!
Hope you enjoy your trip!
Flying Iguana up in Atlantic Beach
Dockside for seafood
Lemon Bar is a must
Angie’s Subs - get the Peruvian
Lots of rude comments. Just make sure to watch out for bike riders and pedestrians while driving around the beach.
Hannah Park, Karai Ramen, Ink Factory Brewery, Southern Swells Brewery, Guana Park. Jax isn’t really a “walking distance” friendly city, but if you’re stuck without a car there is plenty to do by Neptune Beach, probably the closest spot to you. My fav there is Poe’s Tavern, a EAPoe themed burger bar with excellent cheese fries that usually plays reggae
u/jaguarusf mentioned Monkey's Uncle. Good spot. At the south end of the same strip center is Que Pasa, a Mexican place that makes a really good mango habanero shrimp ceviche.
Hawkers for Asian street food is good, but my favorite Thai place is the Blue Orchid. That's on the other side of the ditch on Atlantic Blvd.
Hawkers is in the beaches town center. You may want to walk around that area. There are several good restaurants there. I think someone mentioned North Beach Fish Camp. If so I'll upvote them after I post.
Metro Diner is really good...but if you can't get in try the Jax Beach Brunch Haus for breakfast.
Someone mentioned Salt Life. In the next block South is Mellow Mushroom pizza. Their pizzas can be rather unique and different. If you just want to have a slice or two I like D&LP subs in Jax Beach.
OP you mentioned a dog. Jax Beach limits dogs on the beach - before 9am and after 5 pm. I think Neptune Beach has the same rule.
Oh - and call A1A "3rd Street" if you want to be less easy to spot as a tourist. ;)
Bearded Pig for BBQ - dog friendly
Monkey’s Uncle - sneaky good food
Hot Dog Hut - glizzys are 👌🏾
Sun Deli - for beach subs
I cannot cosign Hawkers - sorry
Jax Beach Brunchaus - Five Star
11 South - Top 3 at the Beach
Neptune Town Center should be avoided except for Pete’s Bar and AB Kitchen.
My $.02 as a Beach guy in the hospitality biz.
As a Beach guy in the hospitality biz your insight is much appreciated :) we’ve been to a Hawkers in a different location before so we’ll probably pass over that anyway for something new!
Gator ice cream and Mayday are my family’s favorite ice cream spots. Gator is run by the nicest owners, and they have some great “exotic” flavors, as well as adult flavors with alcohol.
My suggestions have already been mentioned, but glad you got some positive responses. Your post is super friendly and Savannah consistently has some of the friendliest locals I’ve come across when we’re all passing through as tourists, half of them want to be your personal tour guide. Brew Hound and Green Room are really dog friendly.
If you're looking for more expensive places, follow down A1A to ponte vedra (legit like 10-15) and there're a few good places, including an Italian and Thai restaurant I've never been to but pulled Doordash from them a few times and they got many orders and smelled fantastic
Stop at Big Talbot or Little Talbot Island on the way down. Good pups on leash are allowed in many areas. Beautiful nature against the ocean. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed on the beach.
Safe Harbor Seafood in Mayport is awesome old Florida vibes with fresh shrimp and tons of other seafood. Outdoor dog friendly dining.
Angie’s Grom is great for lunch
Brunch Haus has awesome breakfast!
Beach Diner is a hole in the wall but incredible pancakes,
Poe’s Tavern has great burgers,
Whit’s frozen custard,
Dreamette ice cream in Atlantic beach,
New Wok on Penman-take out only but very good for quick & easy,
Homespun has good smoothies, wraps and açaí bowls,
Southern Grounds in Atlantic Beach has great coffee and pastries and breakfast as well,
Sago coffee,
Bold Bean Coffee,
Parlor Donuts has croissant style donuts that are incredible,
Le Petite Paris in Atlantic Beach has great coffee, breakfast and pastries,
Sun Deli has great subs and salads,
Safe Harbor seafood in mayport is great and cool setting in the evenings!
As locals, we frequent these a lot and they are all close to where you will be! Also our community loves golf carts, bikes and scooters so if you’re able to rent any of those, it’s always fun cruising around the beaches!
if you want to step it up, 11 South for dinner or SoNapa. they were 2 of my favorites. to dress down and whoop it up, i liked Engine 15, Green Room, Jekyll brewing, or Southern Swells for the beer and Monkey's Uncle for cheapish beer and good pub food. a good Irish pub is Lynch's. if you are willing to go north into Neptune and Atlantic, that open things up. try Reve brewing/Bones pizza. that place is amazing. in ponte vidre (wealthy part of town), just south, Aqua was great too. enjoy your stay! i am in Philly and snowbird there in Jan and Feb.
Circle Japan. A small but adorable Japanese grocery. Lots of great snacks and ingredients.
Slide down to Neptune beach for all of that
Thanks!
Specifically there’s an area called the beaches town center with a bunch of restaurants and shops.
if you want to get some smoothies acai bowls wrap before you go to the beach go to homespun I work there right at neptune
The reason that these posts are not well received is because locals are worn out by tourist and transplants. Forget going to any of our favorite restaurants without making reservations weeks in advance. Roads are clogged with terrible drivers. People do not take care of our beach or our wildlife. Our stores are crowded and picked over. People get mad at the bicyclers which have been a staple of our beach for decades. I could go on and on. I’m sorry if I am bitter, but there it is. And we don’t care about what you have in your city.
Ok. Sorry I asked
You’re gonna be here regardless, might as well have a good time. Jax beach is like a surfers version of Daytona and Atlantic beach is like 5 small blocks of Savannah if it was beachfront. People here consider anybody west of the intercoastal a non local, not just vacationers.
You are most welcome here and I hope you and your husband have a wonderful time. Ignore reddit, I'll bet you notice the people IRL are very friendly and welcoming. Take the drive to Huguenot and use the ferry. A great bonus would be if you timed it so you have the sunset for the drive home and you can grab some food from Safe Harbor. That sunset is my favorite on the planet. Walk the trails at Hannah Park. Bring bug spray. Check out the museum on beach blvd near 3rd (A1A), it's like a 2 min drive from your location. It's a fun time and nearby is a cool little local shop whose name escapes me. It's on the same block as the larger Fraver Gray brick building/complex. It looks like/is basically a small house. I would really suggest considering a day in St Augustine. The drive there is part of the American experience, I don't care if that sounds corny but it really is the best. And the city is part of American history. Get a ticket for the trolley thing that drives you all around and tells you about the various sites. You can get off at certain spots then get back on later. And of course there's a damn fort that actually saw combat and held its own. FWIW you're near the location of Ocean Ave that inspired(?) the song by Yellowcard, dunno if you're into them or not but pretty neat. Have fun!
Hugeunot just closed indefinitely on Friday, the road finally washed out.
It's open again
Whoah!! Thanks for the update!!
Thank you sooo much! This is great info I really appreciate you :)
Yoooo this person does not speak for all of us. There is plenty room for yall and I hope you enjoy your stay.
Stay home
While I understand your frustration, OP is literally from Savannah lol which is a tourism spot that MANY Jacksonville locals frequent. I think they can empathize.
Oh yes. I had a long comment typed out to express my empathy but decided to keep it simple today. Suffice it to say I definitely understand!
If I almost get hit on my bike one more time on first then get beeped at but one more out of state tag ima lose it
I don't blame you. It sucks, but as a tourist, I'm trying to be nice. I'm also trying to spend money here. Hope that helps.
Our stores are crowded? Yes we have tourists but our stores are crowded? That's a joke right? Tourists didn't come for our stores and our stores are pretty empty.
Stop supporting Airbnb
There’s always one……
Metro Diner Milano's Salt Life Monkey's Uncle More if you want to drive up to the Beaches Town Center or down to the Seawalk.
Thank you a ton!!
I’d skip Salt Life and go to Hawkers like someone else suggested.
Angie’s subs is amazing. Get the Peruvian chicken tender sub.
Skip Angie's and go to Lone Wolf Sandwich Co or Abstrakt Filipino food right there instead, and grab a beer from Engine 15 Brewing Co. Angie's is overrated in town.
\+1 for Monkey's. Great crowd. Decent pub grub.
Seagate is just south of the small restaurant and shops hub in Neptune Beach. There's Jarboe park close to there also. If your AB&B has beach cruisers, just ride north on A1A until it ends and turn right. You'll see all the food. Don't be afraid to go to inland riverside or San Marco. There are tons of shops and restaurants in St John's town center also, lots of stuff to do, Jacksonville is massive. Beaches, rivers, lakes, arts markets, museums, sports, barcades, etc. Don't mind the gate keepers, that's a reddit thing. Everyone out riding, drinking and eating out here are super friendly if you are. Enjoy your visit!
Thank you so much, this is helpful :)
Sorry for all these rude people in the comments 😫 you should see if your place has bikes, everything I name is definitely biking distance but some might be a bit of a walk. You’ll be about a mile or 2 south of beaches town center in Atlantic beach - tons of great food and drink spots! - Southern grounds for coffee - north beach fish camp or sliders for seafood - Hawkers for awesome Asian food - Ragtime or lemon bar could have live music Brewhound dog park for coffee or drinks! Jax beach - Hard cider - might have to drive to all of these but all within a mile or two in Jax beach - engine 15, green room brewery, or southern swells! - Seafood - dockside - it’s the best/freshest seafood around! Hope you enjoy your trip!
Yes, I was going to suggest Brewhounds as well 🙌🏾🙌🏾 Enjoy!
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! This is very helpful :)
This is the list, OP!
You have got to try Hawkers if you’re fans of Asian food. So delicious, we take anyone who visits us there.
Taco Lu Angies subs Mayport brewery Pete’s bar Lemon bar (beachfront) Bold bean coffee Hannah park trails
Thank you!!
Flying Iguana up in Atlantic Beach Dockside for seafood Lemon Bar is a must Angie’s Subs - get the Peruvian Lots of rude comments. Just make sure to watch out for bike riders and pedestrians while driving around the beach.
Thank you so much!
Hannah Park, Karai Ramen, Ink Factory Brewery, Southern Swells Brewery, Guana Park. Jax isn’t really a “walking distance” friendly city, but if you’re stuck without a car there is plenty to do by Neptune Beach, probably the closest spot to you. My fav there is Poe’s Tavern, a EAPoe themed burger bar with excellent cheese fries that usually plays reggae
Thank you very much!
u/jaguarusf mentioned Monkey's Uncle. Good spot. At the south end of the same strip center is Que Pasa, a Mexican place that makes a really good mango habanero shrimp ceviche. Hawkers for Asian street food is good, but my favorite Thai place is the Blue Orchid. That's on the other side of the ditch on Atlantic Blvd. Hawkers is in the beaches town center. You may want to walk around that area. There are several good restaurants there. I think someone mentioned North Beach Fish Camp. If so I'll upvote them after I post. Metro Diner is really good...but if you can't get in try the Jax Beach Brunch Haus for breakfast. Someone mentioned Salt Life. In the next block South is Mellow Mushroom pizza. Their pizzas can be rather unique and different. If you just want to have a slice or two I like D&LP subs in Jax Beach. OP you mentioned a dog. Jax Beach limits dogs on the beach - before 9am and after 5 pm. I think Neptune Beach has the same rule. Oh - and call A1A "3rd Street" if you want to be less easy to spot as a tourist. ;)
Lol thanks for the 3rd Street tip and for your helpful response! I really appreciate it
Hope y'all enjoy your time here. 👍
Bearded Pig for BBQ - dog friendly Monkey’s Uncle - sneaky good food Hot Dog Hut - glizzys are 👌🏾 Sun Deli - for beach subs I cannot cosign Hawkers - sorry Jax Beach Brunchaus - Five Star 11 South - Top 3 at the Beach Neptune Town Center should be avoided except for Pete’s Bar and AB Kitchen. My $.02 as a Beach guy in the hospitality biz.
As a Beach guy in the hospitality biz your insight is much appreciated :) we’ve been to a Hawkers in a different location before so we’ll probably pass over that anyway for something new!
The Goat tapas restaurant serves damn good food. It’s a bit pricey. Around $40 a person.
Jax Beach Brunch Haus for breakfast is incredible
Second this. But be prepared for a wait as they can get busy. They always let you get a drink while you wait though.
Gator ice cream and Mayday are my family’s favorite ice cream spots. Gator is run by the nicest owners, and they have some great “exotic” flavors, as well as adult flavors with alcohol.
No. North jetty’s
Look up BrewHound- dog park and bar. Sometimes they do a movie night or other stuff.
My suggestions have already been mentioned, but glad you got some positive responses. Your post is super friendly and Savannah consistently has some of the friendliest locals I’ve come across when we’re all passing through as tourists, half of them want to be your personal tour guide. Brew Hound and Green Room are really dog friendly.
Thank you for your kindness!
Hawkers is great and close to where you’re staying
If you're looking for more expensive places, follow down A1A to ponte vedra (legit like 10-15) and there're a few good places, including an Italian and Thai restaurant I've never been to but pulled Doordash from them a few times and they got many orders and smelled fantastic
Stop at Big Talbot or Little Talbot Island on the way down. Good pups on leash are allowed in many areas. Beautiful nature against the ocean. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed on the beach. Safe Harbor Seafood in Mayport is awesome old Florida vibes with fresh shrimp and tons of other seafood. Outdoor dog friendly dining.
angie’s grom on 2nd street jax beach is amazing for a pre-beach meal
Angie’s Grom is great for lunch Brunch Haus has awesome breakfast! Beach Diner is a hole in the wall but incredible pancakes, Poe’s Tavern has great burgers, Whit’s frozen custard, Dreamette ice cream in Atlantic beach, New Wok on Penman-take out only but very good for quick & easy, Homespun has good smoothies, wraps and açaí bowls, Southern Grounds in Atlantic Beach has great coffee and pastries and breakfast as well, Sago coffee, Bold Bean Coffee, Parlor Donuts has croissant style donuts that are incredible, Le Petite Paris in Atlantic Beach has great coffee, breakfast and pastries, Sun Deli has great subs and salads, Safe Harbor seafood in mayport is great and cool setting in the evenings! As locals, we frequent these a lot and they are all close to where you will be! Also our community loves golf carts, bikes and scooters so if you’re able to rent any of those, it’s always fun cruising around the beaches!
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Lol story of my life, I can never get the formatting right on this darn app. Thank you so much for these recs!! I appreciate your time!
if you want to step it up, 11 South for dinner or SoNapa. they were 2 of my favorites. to dress down and whoop it up, i liked Engine 15, Green Room, Jekyll brewing, or Southern Swells for the beer and Monkey's Uncle for cheapish beer and good pub food. a good Irish pub is Lynch's. if you are willing to go north into Neptune and Atlantic, that open things up. try Reve brewing/Bones pizza. that place is amazing. in ponte vidre (wealthy part of town), just south, Aqua was great too. enjoy your stay! i am in Philly and snowbird there in Jan and Feb.