by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
One thing that we are not short on in North Florida is great beaches. But great beaches doesn’t necessarily correlate to great beach bars. In my road trip down A1A to re-discover all of our beaches, I had to stop and quench my thirst every now and then. Or my “beer tooth” as it were. So along the adventure I tried to find some of the most unique bars that are in close proximity to the beach. All of these bars are close to the beach except for The Palace Saloon in Fernandina, but it was too cool of a bar to pass up once I was there.
Location: 117 Centre Street (A block from the Amelia River in Fernandina)
Type: Saloon, the oldest in Florida
Serving: Full liquor, a terrific selection of domestic and imported draft beer, and many more options in the bottle.
Amenities: Two stages, a ballroom, pool tables and clean bathrooms.
Drink Specials: Monday - Friday happy hour is 4 pm – 7 pm, 2-for-1 on select drinks. Nightly specials vary (shots, punches, ladies nights) but there’s always something special.
This place has served salty patrons without cease for longer than any other bar in Florida. In 1887 it opened as a real old-time saloon complete with a brothel. During prohibition it was a speakeasy and now it’s more than just a pirate novelty bar, it’s living history. It’s easy to see how the old saloon outsmarted prohibition cops (in a small town like Fernandina I’m certain there weren’t too many trying to close it down) because it is a cavernous place with many rooms, making it the party spot during festivals such as the Shrimp Fest, where they sold more than a hundred grand worth of whisky. Put your eyepatch on and grab your parrot when you come this a-way, matey. Try their Old Rasputin on draft, it’ll shiver your timbers.
Address: 4325 Myrtle Street (Turn off of A1A when you see the castle in Vilano Beach)
Type: Restaurant and Bar
Serving: Full liquor, great wines, domestic and imported draft and bottled beers and some of the best seafood on the first coast.
Amenities: Fresh oysters and a breathtaking view of the Intercoastal.
This restaurant is on a short list of the finest in town by those in-the-know, but this is a bar review, so I’ll skip raving about the food. Well, except for the oysters. They served me the fattest dozen oysters on the halfshell I have eaten in a while (and there isn’t even an “R” in this month) and they were magnificent. How does that fit in a bar review? They have an outside bar attached to the end of their dining patio called their “Sunset Oyster Bar” and while seated there you can suck down some oysters and watch the sun go down over the intercoastal. They also have an inside bar that is comfortable and classic. This isn’t the place you go to smoke cigarettes and play pool, this is the place you bring a drinking buddy that you want to impress with what is kickass about North Florida.
Address: A1A South Crescent Beach
Type: Bar.
Serving: Liquor drinks and bottled beers.
Amenities: Pool tables, a jukebox, televisions, and an ATM machine.
This is what I call a Skynyrd bar. They’re as plentiful in Jacksonville as they are in Oregon, but in Crescent Beach it has more of a “real Florida” vibe. By that I mean less teeth than smiles and a creepy lot that stares you down as you enter. They’re friendly, though, so don’t let the fact that everyone looks at you when you come in and then seems disappointed that it’s you get you down. The wood paneling and wood floors look like they’ve been in the place since it was first converted from a beach shack into a small bar. The walls are covered with bumper stickers that say “If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport,” and “St. Augustine, a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem.” They make their liquor drinks stiff and they “ain’t got nothing on tap.”
Address: 11th and A1A in St. Augustine Beach
Type: Casual gourmet restaurant and music venue.
Serving: An outstanding selection of draft beers, some select wines and great food.
Amenities: Live music, patio dining, steps from the beach.
Young, indie, and contemporary enough to be considered sophisticated, Café 11 is a “cool place” regardless of your age or fashion choices. The nouveau track lighting casts a delicate glow onto the sparse artwork and the geometric post-modern design of the interior. They have twelve beers on tap (the only domestics are Yuengling and Sierra Nevada), one of which is an organic lager, and an exotic selection of bottled beers. As a friend described it: “You’re listening to a great band and because they serve food, there’s no smoking in there, so all you smell is their coffee. Then they have Grolsch and Guinness on tap for cheap, so I have to like that place.”
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