St. Augustine Historic District (organic, prices, pub)

[Peter the Brit]

Most locals avoid the downtown restaurants but the better ones IMHO are the Columbia Harrys La Pavillion and Pizzalley
Raintree and Collage are too expensive for just average food!

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by ssclulow

You can't be serious, Gadget. 95 Cordova, Aviles, Columbia, LePavillon, Raintree all quickly come to my mind. IMO, all these and more are excellent downtown St. Augustine restaurants.

Ditto what you just said!

The Raintree is my favorite of the bunch for a romantic evening dinner. The poster who said there is no fine food in St. Auggie must be one of those uppity Northern types who look down on anything southern.

What's the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee? A damn Yankee doesn't go back.

(Did I say that out loud?)

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by GadgetRick

I am absolutely serious. I haven't been to the Columbia in SA--just the one in Ybor City--but I'm sure it's good. Other than that, I've been to a few of the others you've listed and they're average (at best). I find most of the restaurants in the area to be way over-priced and the food lacking. I hear about how great these places are and I really just don't get it.

Mind you, we've not tried EVERY place there so I'm not saying it's ALL like this, however, what I've tried, I've been less than impressed with.

Raintree is one of the places I plan to try as I've heard good things about it. Just haven't gotten around to trying it.

I've been to the Columbia in St. Augustine - it isn't good (mind you - I moved here from Miami - so St. Augustine versions of Spanish/Cuban/pan-Hispanic dishes were probably never destined to wow me). Raintree at lunch was at best mediocre - ditto with Pavillon. And most of the others. Opus 39 was the only seriously good restaurant in St. Augustine in recent memory. But - alas - it is gone. If you are extremely conservative in terms of ordering at The Reef (we've had some extremely odd versions of various dishes at times - so pretty much stick with things like fried fish these days) - you can at least enjoy an ok lunch with an excellent view. I like an occasional day trip to St. Augustine to do various things (like seeing the bird rookery at the Alligator Farm in season). But no one would ever confuse it with a "foodie" destination.

FWIW - I am comparing these restaurants not with world class restaurants - but with restaurants at similar or lower price points in the metro area. Places like Seasons 52 - Seven Bridges - bb's - Biscotti's - places like that. The restaurant I am most looking forward to this year is Tom Gray's new place at the Town Center:

Chef Tom Gray leaves Bistro Aix, plans new restaurant at St. Johns Town Center | jacksonville.com

Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by GadgetRick

The Ale Works is one of those places I scratch my head about. Honestly, the food wasn't very good (not even average) the few times I've been there and the service was just as bad. I really don't see what others think is so great about this place. I do know a few others who have said the same thing.

The places I've been (with a couple of exceptions) have all been tourist traps. I can understand it as it is a tourist area.

Again, I've not tried everywhere I've been planning on trying but I groan whenever friends talk about going down to the Old Town area to have dinner.

A1A used to be a whole lot better than it was in terms of food the last time we dined there a couple of years ago. It was also kind of dirty and greasy. Plus - having those restrooms in a common area of the office building next door - restrooms that could probably be cleaned many more times more often than they seem to be cleaned - isn't exactly a plus in my book.

FWIW - it's owned by the same group that also owns Seven Bridges (Southside) and Ragtime (Atlantic Beach). This group:

CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries Inc.

Note that Ragtime used to be independently owned and operated years and years ago. I can't recall the exact histories of A1A and Seven Bridges (which came later). But - at some point - they were both owned by one corporate owner along with Ragtime - and had pretty equal levels of food.

Of the 3 - the food/ambiance/decor at Seven Bridges is clearly heads and shoulders above the other two now (just had lunch there today). I don't drink beer - but my husband likes the beer at all 3 places. I don't know why 3 places with one corporate owner have such different levels of food and other things. Especially since the menus are all pretty equivalent in terms of offerings/price points. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by ShakenStirred

Ditto what you just said!

The Raintree is my favorite of the bunch for a romantic evening dinner. The poster who said there is no fine food in St. Auggie must be one of those uppity Northern types who look down on anything southern.

What's the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee? A damn Yankee doesn't go back.

(Did I say that out loud?)

This is the dinner menu at Raintree:

Raintree Seafood & Steakhouse

Does it look southern to you?????

To me - it looks like one of those ridiculous menus on an episode of Restaurant Impossible. Do you think this food is all fresh - and cooked daily to order? I kind of doubt it. If you're lucky - you're getting stuff that's fresh bought frozen at Costco and reheated to order.

FWIW - I've lived in the south for 40+ years - and know an awful lot about food (I've traveled very extensively in terms of dining - and am a pretty good cook to boot). It is a huge shame here that we have so little in the way of southern food - regional food. I don't expect us to meet Atlanta/Charleston standards in terms of quality (there's some great southern cooking in those places) - but it's kind of pathetic when the "southern food" I find at Golden Corral is about 10 times better than most "southern food" I can find at local restaurants (if - indeed - I can find any at all).

So all you've done IMO in terms of writing your message is simply perpetuating the stereotype that not only do people here not know anything about food in general - they don't even know/care about their regional food - southern food. When's the last time you cooked up a mess of greens - some black eyed peas - some corn bread - a gumbo or jambalaya or a low country boil - shrimp and grits - or just grits - or a lima bean stew? I cook all of this stuff at home. It's cheap eats (not that I care so much about the cost) - and healthy and delicious. And when's the last time you had a local restaurant meal that was based on dishes like this (or their high end versions that you'll find in restaurants in cities like Atlanta or Charleston)?

Finally - I have a suggestion about a romantic steak dinner. Buy a couple of prime steaks at Costco. Throw them on a grill - and bake some potatoes and make a salad. Add a few candles and dine on your porch (or turn down the lights in your dining room). You'll get a much better steak dinner than you will at this place. Robyn

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by ShakenStirred

Ditto what you just said!

The Raintree is my favorite of the bunch for a romantic evening dinner. The poster who said there is no fine food in St. Auggie must be one of those uppity Northern types who look down on anything southern.

What's the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee? A damn Yankee doesn't go back.

(Did I say that out loud?)

Nice, because someone doesn't agree with your opinion you resort to insulting them. Gotta love it.

And yes, I'm from up North and I appreciate good food. It's not a Southern thing. The food is just plain bad at most of those places. You must be one of those Southern people who think the only way to make food is to fry the hell out of it.

Did I just say that out loud?

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

I've been to the Columbia in St. Augustine - it isn't good (mind you - I moved here from Miami - so St. Augustine versions of Spanish/Cuban/pan-Hispanic dishes were probably never destined to wow me). Raintree at lunch was at best mediocre - ditto with Pavillon. And most of the others. Opus 39 was the only seriously good restaurant in St. Augustine in recent memory. But - alas - it is gone. If you are extremely conservative in terms of ordering at The Reef (we've had some extremely odd versions of various dishes at times - so pretty much stick with things like fried fish these days) - you can at least enjoy an ok lunch with an excellent view. I like an occasional day trip to St. Augustine to do various things (like seeing the bird rookery at the Alligator Farm in season). But no one would ever confuse it with a "foodie" destination.

FWIW - I am comparing these restaurants not with world class restaurants - but with restaurants at similar or lower price points in the metro area. Places like Seasons 52 - Seven Bridges - bb's - Biscotti's - places like that. The restaurant I am most looking forward to this year is Tom Gray's new place at the Town Center:

Chef Tom Gray leaves Bistro Aix, plans new restaurant at St. Johns Town Center | jacksonville.com

Robyn

I'm with you Robyn. I am also not trying to compare the food to big-name restaurants. Just saying whether I thought the food was good or not.

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

A1A used to be a whole lot better than it was in terms of food the last time we dined there a couple of years ago. It was also kind of dirty and greasy. Plus - having those restrooms in a common area of the office building next door - restrooms that could probably be cleaned many more times more often than they seem to be cleaned - isn't exactly a plus in my book.

FWIW - it's owned by the same group that also owns Seven Bridges (Southside) and Ragtime (Atlantic Beach). This group:

CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries Inc.

Note that Ragtime used to be independently owned and operated years and years ago. I can't recall the exact histories of A1A and Seven Bridges (which came later). But - at some point - they were both owned by one corporate owner along with Ragtime - and had pretty equal levels of food.

Of the 3 - the food/ambiance/decor at Seven Bridges is clearly heads and shoulders above the other two now (just had lunch there today). I don't drink beer - but my husband likes the beer at all 3 places. I don't know why 3 places with one corporate owner have such different levels of food and other things. Especially since the menus are all pretty equivalent in terms of offerings/price points. Robyn

Interesting. Personally, I think the food at 7 Bridges is way over-priced and not very good. I don't drink beer so I can't speak about that.

Ragtime has gotten expensive but I've not had a bad meal there.

If we all agreed with everything it would be a boring world...

[JBtwinz]

We love the Gypsy Cab Co. although it is just over the bridge from downtown, have not been in a few years.

Several years ago after spending an afternoon at the beach with several couples and not really eating to much we cleaned up and were told we were going to this fantastic restaurant.......it was the Raintree. We are not big eaters.........we left there starving. The portions although they looked exquisite were so small. My wife and I still recall that evening and how we snuck away to the local 7-11 for ice cream before we joined everyone for drinks

We are so reluctant to recommend restaurants as sometimes they can change in quality of services so fast!

I think a lot of people are swayed by 5 star ratings, location, atmosphere and price. They don't make a meal superb. I have had so many memorable meals at the smallest of restaurants tucked away and off the beaten path.

[williamwebb49]

Gypsy Cab Company is fine. I personally like O'Steens more but that's just a personal choice, as I love their broiled seafood platter and Minorcan Chowder. Another good place I like to go eat at is Playa Chac Mool on the island, for some really good authentic Mexican cuisine.