Fine Dining - Tough Choice - Need Help (Jacksonville, St. Augustine: hotel, rental)

[SeekerNJax]

Hey everyone, so I did a thread search to see what else has been posted and I found some good information on fine dining and I wanted to get some updates opinions on a few select choices.

The event is an anniversary/birthday (our anniversary is on my wifes birthday). A nice limo is planned so I want the dining to be nice as well. I have narrowed it down but please let me know how the menu is if you have eaten at any of these places. I've reviewed them online, but some of them are the crazy chef creations and I don't know how they are.

Matthews
Giovanni's
Sterlings
Medure

If you can think of any others in that category, please let me know with a link so I can visit their site.

Thank you very much for helping me make it a great night.

[mawipafl]

Since Medure is on your list, I presume that St Augustine isn't too far to go. If so, I can highly recommend 95 Cordova at the Casa Monica Hotel. They have a fantastic tasting menu (a tad pricey, but definitely worthy of a special occasion.)

95 Cordova Restaurant at The Casa Monica Hotel - St. Augustine Florida

Closer to Jacksonville, I vote Matthews.

[cellson]

Don't forget Blue Bamboo on Southside Boulevard!

[agreatlife]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

Since Medure is on your list, I presume that St Augustine isn't too far to go. If so, I can highly recommend 95 Cordova at the Casa Monica Hotel. They have a fantastic tasting menu (a tad pricey, but definitely worthy of a special occasion.)

95 Cordova Restaurant at The Casa Monica Hotel - St. Augustine Florida

Closer to Jacksonville, I vote Matthews.

I have to disagree about Matthews. Way overpriced, not much atmosphere and teeny teeny portions, fish overcooked, blah blah. I do agree about St. Augustine though. Gobs of great restaurants.

[5FLgirls]

Originally Posted by mawipafl

Since Medure is on your list, I presume that St Augustine isn't too far to go. If so, I can highly recommend 95 Cordova at the Casa Monica Hotel. They have a fantastic tasting menu (a tad pricey, but definitely worthy of a special occasion.)

95 Cordova Restaurant at The Casa Monica Hotel - St. Augustine Florida

Closer to Jacksonville, I vote Matthews.

95 Cordova is the first restaurant my husband ever took me to when we moved to the Jax area. It was a great experience. It's romantic, the food is good and the service is good too. Downside is that twice we've been and there has been a large wedding/party and the hotel and bar were very crowded. Although romantic, there have been times the restaurant was very noisy. If you decide on there, my advice is to make sure they know it's a special event and you want a quiet, out of the way spot (away from the kitchen too!) They are usually very helpful. It's also nice to walk around St. Augustine at night or earlier while we're there.

I've always liked Medure (but I also like "crazy chef creations") but sometimes the menu can be over the top. If you're looking to stay local, then go to Medure. A short drive would take you into St. Augustine. One of my best meals when we lived there was Salt Grill at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island. We ate there for every meal! The tasting menu and wine flight was great but desserts were even better! Also good in Amelia Island is Beech Street Grill.

Good Luck and I hope you have a fabulous time!

[SeekerNJax]

Originally Posted by 5FLgirls

95 Cordova is the first restaurant my husband ever took me to when we moved to the Jax area. It was a great experience. It's romantic, the food is good and the service is good too. Downside is that twice we've been and there has been a large wedding/party and the hotel and bar were very crowded. Although romantic, there have been times the restaurant was very noisy. If you decide on there, my advice is to make sure they know it's a special event and you want a quiet, out of the way spot (away from the kitchen too!) They are usually very helpful. It's also nice to walk around St. Augustine at night or earlier while we're there.

I've always liked Medure (but I also like "crazy chef creations") but sometimes the menu can be over the top. If you're looking to stay local, then go to Medure. A short drive would take you into St. Augustine. One of my best meals when we lived there was Salt Grill at the Ritz Carlton on Amelia Island. We ate there for every meal! The tasting menu and wine flight was great but desserts were even better! Also good in Amelia Island is Beech Street Grill.

Good Luck and I hope you have a fabulous time!

Thank you for the information. It's tough, but Medure is looking pretty strong right now. I'll keep St. Augustine in mind. The seat in the kitchen at Salt looks amazing. I'm going to look at that a little further as well.

[SeekerNJax]

Originally Posted by agreatlife

I have to disagree about Matthews. Way overpriced, not much atmosphere and teeny teeny portions, fish overcooked, blah blah. I do agree about St. Augustine though. Gobs of great restaurants.

Thank you for the great feedback.

[jackaroo]

This is probably a little late, but here are my thoughts.

I rank Medure way over Matthews (but Matthews is dressier and more sophisticated).

In St. Augustine, there is also Opus 39, which I personally think more highly of than 95 Cordova (which I do think is a good restaurant).

Welcome to Opus 39

Finally, in Julington Creek area, there is Heirlooms Bistro (couldn't find their website) and Blackstone Grille (blackstone-grille.com) that are really good chef owned restaurants.

Just depends on what you are looking for. Can't really go wrong with what you have listed and are considering though.

[SeekerNJax]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

This is probably a little late, but here are my thoughts.

I rank Medure way over Matthews (but Matthews is dressier and more sophisticated).

In St. Augustine, there is also Opus 39, which I personally think more highly of than 95 Cordova (which I do think is a good restaurant).

Welcome to Opus 39

Finally, in Julington Creek area, there is Heirlooms Bistro (couldn't find their website) and Blackstone Grille (blackstone-grille.com) that are really good chef owned restaurants.

Just depends on what you are looking for. Can't really go wrong with what you have listed and are considering though.

Thank you for the information. I'm going to look into Opus. I initially was looking at The Reef based on a recommendation from a close friend but then I found out they have a live band so I cancelled that. After reviewing the latest Jacksonville Magazine (they have the top 25 in Jacksonville list) I made reservations at Eleven South Bistro. Looks to be upscale. I'll post a note afterwards with my review.

[SeekerNJax]

So after reading the latest Jacksonville Magazine, I opted to go to Eleven South at Jax Beach since they were rated in the Top 25. Here is my review:

Parking - very limited (not an issue with me since we had the limo)
The review stated that it's upscale and you wouldn't find anyone with jeans there. That wasn't accurate where I say several and a few that even had shorts, but it was more of an upscale dining experience though and majority of the guests were dressed up.
Seating- was very good.
Service - excellent
Food - dinner and dessert was fantastic
Price - was very good considering the quality of the food.
Drinks - Had one of the best Bloody Mary's that I have had in a very long time from a restaraunt.

Overall the time was excellent, walked out with a bill of only $100 including tip.

One additional item - Took the limo from A Luxerious Limo and the service was great. Arrived a little early and drove us around without me asking to use up the full 3 hours of rental. Highly recommend them.