St. Augustine, the oldest city in America, oozes charm and gentle Southern elegance. It’s almost as if this gorgeous seaside city, with its brick-paved streets and coquina-shelled buildings, had escaped the ravages of time. Everything appears to reflect the interesting Spanish history and Old-World appeal of this place.
As history draws tourists to this cultural gem, the amazing food scene thrills those who visit. No trip to the Castle de San Marcos, the Pirate and Old Prison Museums, or the Colonial District would be complete without sampling some of the East Coast’s finest local seafood. The seafood restaurants in St. Augustine, which are blessed with a beachfront position with magnificent views and copious waters, provide fresh and inventive seafood. Make no mistake, although other delectable Southern delights may be found in St. Augustine, seafood reigns supreme. These are some of our favorite St. Augustine seafood eateries.
Not in the mood to dine out tonight? Click here to have Grubhub deliver right to your door from the greatest restaurants in town.
When in St. Augustine, don’t miss out on the following activities that will let you immerse yourself in the city (get them while they’re hot!):
- St. Augustine: Trolley Tour & St. Augustine History Museum
- St. Augustine: Haunted Old Town Trolley Tour
- St. Augustine: Marineland Dolphin Meet & Greet
- St. Petersburg: Private Florida Gulf Coast Boat Tour
- St. Petersburg: 3-Hour Amazing Scavenger Hunt Adventure
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St. Augustine’s Top 6 Seafood Restaurants
Whites Seafood & Spirits, O.C.
904-824-0808118 Menendez Avenue
O.C. Whites was our first eating experience in St. Augustine a few years ago. We returned many years later and were just as impressed as the first time with this archetypal laid-back St. Augustine eatery.
This iconic café is built in what was originally known as the 18th-century Worth House and overlooks the city yacht harbor and the historic Bridge of Lions on the scenic bayfront.
Every day, lunch and supper are offered, as well as a weekly Sunday brunch.
Walking through the entrance doors is like stepping through time portals.
The dining room and lounge on the first floor are a reconstructed copy of O.C. White’s mid-nineteenth-century interior, complete with stone-covered walls and period furnishings.
Unsurprisingly, a life-size facsimile of a swashbuckling pirate looks to be attentively scrutinizing customers, looking for an opportunity to take some plunder.
It is said that the ancient eatery is haunted. Even the restaurant’s owners and workers corroborate unexpected encounters on the second level. It’s no wonder that customers often want to be seated here.
Outside eating options include a beautifully illuminated tropical garden courtyard with mild ocean breezes, making it a fantastic spot to enjoy one of the restaurant’s famed specialty cocktails.
Mermaid Margaritas and Bimini Breeze are perfect for the setting.
An upper balcony is also a favorite eating location for visitors. The major reason customers come here and return is for the fish.
Fresh catches of the day are one of the most popular menu dishes due to the number of ways they may be cooked, including blackened, grilled, or fried, and are served with rice and fresh veggies.
My fresh catch, a local snapper, was done crabby style and topped with a blue crab, sherry, and sun-dried tomato cream sauce for a true culinary delight. That was a huge success.
Despite the generous serving size, I had no trouble eating this flavorful seafood pleasure.
Bronzed Salmon, a fresh Atlantic species coated with Cajun spices and brown sugar before being grilled to a beautiful brown, was delicious.
St. Augustine Seafood Corporation
+1904217894733 St. George Street in St. Augustine
St. Augustine Seafood Company, a famous restaurant among residents and visitors in St. Augustine, provides fresh seafood.
This restaurant provides a wonderfully lovely ambiance with its large outdoor patio, where you can have a delicious meal while listening to live music.
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There are many great traditional foods to select from at the restaurant, including scrumptious oysters. You must try an oyster shooter, one of the house specialities that is delicious as an appetizer and surprisingly inexpensive.
There is also a wonderful assortment of other seafood meals that I strongly suggest, such as grilled prawns and fried oysters.
The Rainforest
San Marco Ave. (904) 824-7211102 San Marco Ave.
Raintree Restaurant is a superb dining establishment that provides excellent service every evening in an attractive but relaxed ambiance.
In uptown St. Augustine, the imposing Raintree is housed in a magnificently renovated yellow and white 1879 Colonial Victorian mansion. Although the city and the architecture are both historic, the St. Augustine seafood cuisine offered here is fresh, imaginative, and developed. Certainly at the top of the list of St. Augustine seafood restaurants.
Lorna MacDonald and her family sold everything and traveled from England to the United States on their 45-foot sailboat in 1979 to make St. Augustine their new home.
They discovered the beautiful Victorian property in 1980, and after ten months of rehabilitation, the freshly rebuilt St. Augustine seafood restaurant opened to great acclaim from residents and tourists alike.
Within the restaurant is a reproduction of the McDonald’s boat.
A brick courtyard is ringed by white gazebos for outdoor eating.
Raintree’s global menu deftly combines Mediterranean, American, and Asian flavors. The end product is very delicious.
We shared a couple seafood appetizers before our main entrée since we were with a group. Who are your top picks? Carpaccio with Ahi Tuna and the incredible Bang, Bang Shrimp Castillo, gently cooked and served with a Buffalo Sweet Sauce.
The fresh catches of the day are clear winners here. My lobster butter champagne sauce complemented my sea bass well.
An extremely supple Beef Wellington with filet and truffle pate cooked in a light and flaky puff pastry is a non-seafood house favorite.
It demonstrates that the greatest restaurants in St. Augustine can thrive in areas other than seafood. This was one of the nicest preparations we’d ever had for this meal.
So spare space for one of Raintree’s delectable in-house desserts. The Bourbon Street Bread Pudding was our clear favorite, bringing a New Orleans staple to St. Augustine’s seafood eateries.
Catch 27
240 Charlotte St., 904-217-354240 Charlotte St.
It’s typically a good indicator when locals suggest a restaurant in St. Augustine. The name of this fresh local fish restaurant is extremely appealing.
Catch 27 draws its name from the fresh local catches that characterize its cuisine and is located in the center of the old city. Of course, Florida is the country’s 27th state. As a result, the name.
The ambition of owner Stephen Hutson is to provide only local, sustainable seafood.
The painting in the dining area pays tribute to the many diverse varieties of fish seen in these coastal regions. Mahi-mahi, flounder, triggerfish, pompano, sheepshead, and vermillion snapper are among the species.
Every meal at this lovely seafood restaurant is prepared from scratch using only local, sustainable, and seasonal ingredients. Everyday fish options change depending on what is available seasonally and caught by local fisherman.
The lunch and dinner menus aren’t huge, but they’re a good mix of appetizers like Deviled Egg BLT with Southern Fried Oysters (yep, it’s all one dish) to fiery chowder and nutritious salads.
We’ve never had anything like the Minorcan clam chowder, a tomato-based variation with a fiery kick from the datil pepper, a strong regional vegetable.
St. Augustine shrimp, blue crab, a blackened fish sandwich, and shrimp or fish tacos are among the main courses.
Apart from the daily catches, a local favorite here is the Grits & Shrimp, a white cheddar and bacon Canewater Farm grit cake and collards topped with sherry cream sauce and a five-pepper relish. It’s incredible, and cements Catch 27 as one of the greatest places to dine among all seafood restaurants in St. Augustine!
While the restaurant serves beer, wine, and specialty cocktails, diners are welcome to bring their own wine and pay a $10 corkage charge.
The Restaurant BlackFly
904-201-6300, 108 Anastasia Blvd.
When Blackfly launched in 2012, it quickly became one of St. Augustine’s top new dining experiences.
Mike Hyatt and Cindy Stangby, co-partners, had previously founded the very successful Collage, a first-class eating institution in the city.
But, this time the trio collaborated with restaurateurs Vaughn and Jean Cochran and Doug and Charlene Brummell to bring their skills to the largely seafood-focused Blackfly.
The quirky restaurant specializes on locally caught fish, with ancient fishing rods hanging from the ceiling and globally famous artwork by Vaughns gracing the walls.
Its specialties, such as Wahoo and Hog Snapper, are not often seen on other St. Augustine seafood menus.
They’ve created an excellent and winning blend of superb cuisine by combining distinct tastes from locations they’ve lived and visited such as the Bahamas, Mexican Caribbean, and South America.
Blackfly takes pride in being a scratch kitchen that uses local products, sustainably fresh fish, and farm-fresh vegetables. Collaboration with local farmers in the surrounding neighborhood makes a significant impact in the quality of its dinners.
The Florida Peach Salad, a delectable combination of field greens, fresh Florida peaches, prosciutto, pistachios, and a macerated peach vinaigrette, was a fantastic beginning before the main course.
Reminder to self: sharing was a bad idea. We’ll each order our own the next time. That’s how fantastic it is.
I couldn’t pass up the Sugar Cane Skewered Scallops, which are diver fished sea scallops covered with Florida sugar cane and pan-seared. This inventive combo worked nicely when served with a cauliflower puree and spicy Shishito pepper succotash.
My husband, who loves salmon, was delighted with the Dynamite Salmon. A spicy crab aioli, tempura fried sushi cake, wilted spinach, and avocado-wasabi mousse topped this Togarashi-spiced Nori-wrapped salmon mignon.
Finally, BlackFly is one of those eateries that you will not soon forget. It’s that inventive and fantastic, and it’s unquestionably one of the top seafood restaurants in St. Augustine. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Harry’s Seafood & Grille
904-824-776546 Menendez Avenue
Harrys Seafood Bar and Grille captures the spirit of the cradle of jazz in its New Orleans influenced restaurant, with a cuisine that is unique from other St. Augustine restaurants.
For more than 30 years, this legendary cafe has served the best genuine New Orleans-style seafood, grilled steaks, chicken, and pasta in St. Augustine.
If you’re searching for one of the top seafood restaurants on the water in St. Augustine, this may be the spot to go. It’s only across the A1A from the shore.
Although Harrys has four additional locations in Florida, its St. Augustine dining is dependably excellent. This is why customers keep returning. There is also an oyster bar.
Cajun, Creole, and Southern tastes are expertly combined with a contemporary touch, yielding a delightful and stunning product.
We enjoyed Harrys Famous Crab Cakes, which are offered as an appetizer, lunch or supper entree. Pan-seared and served with a roasted red pepper aioli, they are delectable, and the lump crab flesh is plenty.
Another great hit is the blue crab-crusted blackened redfish (a New Orleans original). The Shrimp and Scallop Orleans, delicately blackened atop a crispy grit cake with a Tasso ham cream sauce, is also delicious.
Yet, to be honest, we’ve never had anything we didn’t like here.
If you visit any of them on your next trip to St. Augustine, they will undoubtedly be at the top of your list when you return for one of the greatest St. Augustine restaurants for seafood.