Looking for Jacksonville restaurant suggestions (Springfield: neighborhood, restaurants, price)

[MisterCali]

I'll be in town for 10 days later this month. I'm looking for two suggestions:

Your favorite moderately priced "ethnic" restaurants -- anything from Indian to Ethiopian to Mediterranean to Thai and on and on. I'm especially interested in charming holes in the wall where the focus is on authentic cuisine from that particular region, as opposed to a focus on concept or decor. No gastropubs, no "small plates" and tapas restaurants, no "new American" or anything trendy where it's more about ambiance and the look of the place, than about the food. I would describe "moderately priced" as being under $25 for one person to dine in.

Secondly, I need a good spot to take about 10-15 colleagues out for a meal (or a good selection of hors d'oeuvres and a fabulous drink menu). In this case, your trendy, small plates restaurants, gastropubs or fusion joints will be welcomed. A fun, semi-formal atmosphere that doesn't feel stuffy, but doesn't feel overly casual too. We'd like to get in and out with dinner + drink for about $40-45 and under per person.

I think the neighborhood we'll be working in his Baymeadows or thereabouts. Open to restaurant suggestions anywhere within a 30 min. drive.

[JacksonvilleNative]

Pattaya Thai on Baymeadows is one of the oldest Thai restaurants in Jacksonville. Pattaya Thai Grille
My personal favorite is Indochine in San Marco. Indochine Jacksonville - Thai Restaurant

Middle Eastern/Mediterranean would be Waffa and Mikes Cafe, a true hole in the wall with the best food. Located in Historic Springfield at the corner of Main St and East 6th St. Family owned and operated.
Also Zodiac Bar and Grill for a Greek/Mediterranean expierience. Downtown Jax on 120 W Adams St Zodiac Bar & Grill

For your informal night. Kickbacks Gastropub Home
Serving over 1000 different bottled beers,
204 beers on tap,
breakfast, lunch and dinner,
20hrs a day, 7 days a week!!

[projectmaximus]

Baymeadows is ground zero for Indian cuisine. You'll have more than half a dozen restaurants to choose from on that corridor.
Istanbul Grille is nearby on Southside Blvd and it is pretty decent Mediterranean food. We have a lot of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food but it's not my area of expertise so I'll defer to others or suggest yelp. I agree with Pattaya Thai...I also like Lemongrass for Thai. Both on Baymeadows Rd. There are a 3 or 4 Ethiopian restaurants in Jax and I've never been to any. However have heard good things about Ibex and it, wait for it, happens to be on Baymeadows Rd as well.

Now onto food that I do know...the best Chinese restaurants are Chef Chan (yep on Baymeadows) and Peony which is pretty close by. Both are Cantonese cuisine. Bowl of Pho is one of the better Vietnamese restaurants in town and it's on Baymeadows next to Lemongrass. Our Korean restaurants are about ten minutes away...Sam Won Garden is consistently pretty good, while Gangnam Restaurant is inconsistent with awful service but can be amazing. All that said, I'm not sure where exactly you are from but every big city in Cali would blow all of these restaurants out of the water. Our best Chinese restaurants are mediocre in LA. The Vietnamese and Korean would be like C+.

There are about five places that a lot of people who know a lot swear by for Mexican. I don't know a lot, but I feel very confident in recommending Mi Veracruz. We are always the only non-Hispanics, non habla espanol, when we are there. And I am a big fan of Puerto Vallarta for Dominican food. Neither is close to Baymeadows though.

Lastly, for your semi-formal night, I think Kickbacks would be a little too casual. It is totally worth a visit though for the spectacle...next door (but the same establishment as Kickbacks) is a steampunk bar that is very unique. That's a heavy nightlife area too if that's of interest. Off the top of my head, I would suggest Hawkers. It's in a very trendy area, has very hip ambiance, a lot of tapas style options, happens to be pretty good ethnic cuisine. The only downside is they don't take reservations and a space for 10-15 would probably be a long wait. I'll pop back in this thread if I think of another better place that would take reservations...

[projectmaximus]

Oh two more places of interest on Baymeadows. 5fx which is a Korean owned ice cream shop that serves ice cream made to order in front of you (using a propriety freezing process that is basically a freezing cold wok). They also serve delicious taiyaki there. The other place is Metro Diner, which is a local institution for southern breakfast/lunch fare. The Baymeadows location is not the original and I haven't personally eaten there but I have no doubt the quality is high.

[MisterCali]

These are awesome suggestions. Thank you, @JacksonvilleNative and @Projectmaximus! Keep 'em coming!

[hornsch]

We like Zesty India. It's small and in a strip mall but good stuff!


For the dinner/drinks if you want to go to the beach I suggest Royal Palms (different sized plates, great drink selection, awesome atmosphere). Plus after dinner there are many choices in the area if some of the group wanted a night cap.


Check out their websites.


hornsch