Examiner.com - Jan. 2012 - Romantic St. Augustine
Romantic St Augustine Florida: Where to eat by Susan Lanier-Graham
January 10, 2012 - Walking along the brick-lined streets of St. Augustine, Florida, it is quickly evident that there is an international influence in this historic city. The oldest city in the US has cuisine from across the globe and finding just the right spot to eat may turn into trying to figure out how to eat enough meals to fit in all of the great restaurants. If you still want to try more restaurants in St. Augustine and you know you won’t be there long enough to take them all in, one option is to try the Savory Faire food tour with City Walks. This 2 ½ hour walking tour explores the history of St. Augustine while visiting and sampling food at five different restaurants. Read more about the Savory Faire tours here.
Eating out in St. Augustine
Athena Restaurant is a Greek restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While Athena is a favorite with locals, it’s also ideal for visitors who want to taste some of St. Augustine’s international fare at a reasonable cost. Athena has a traditional café-style breakfast menu. With the exception of steak and eggs, no breakfast item is over $9 and most are around $6.
The lunch and dinner menu offers some “American” dishes such as burgers and sandwiches, but the specialties are the Greek dishes. You can find kebobs, gyros, mousaka (layers of potato, eggplant, ground beef), and spinach pie. Every dinner should begin with the saganaki, or flaming cheese. This delicious dish is almost evil in its decadence: pan-seared cheese, flambéed tableside, then served with pita bread.
Athena Restaurant
14 Cathedral Place
904-823-9076
http://www.athenacafe.com
Bistro de Leon is the fifth restaurant for the fifth-generation French Chef Jean Stephane Poinard from Lyon, France. Chef Poinard brings French home cuisine to St. Augustine with the freshest foods prepared as you order. Bistro de Leon serves food “the French way,” offering a set, 3-course menu daily (with the option to order a la carte items), serving bread with the meal rather than before it, and encouraging diners to eat slowly and enjoy the meal.
It’s easy to relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the dishes prepared by this award-winning chef. It has a true French bistro feel. Bistro de Leon is open 5 – 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Sunday. They serve a brunch on the weekends and an early bird special each day from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Bistro de Leon
12 Cathedral Place
904-810-2100
http://www.bistrodeleon.com
Café Alcazar is housed in perhaps one of the most unique locations for a restaurant anywhere. The Hotel Alcazar, originally built in 1888, was a casino, health spa, and entertainment venue for some of the country’s most elite citizens. The hotel contained what was the world’s largest indoor swimming pool at the time. Today’s Café Alcazar sits in what was once the deep end of that massive pool. Small antique shops surround it and the upper floors house the Flagler Museum.
Café Alcazar serves lunch daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and there is always live music. The food is prepared fresh and offers a gourmet dining experience for reasonable prices. Entrees range from $9.50 to $13.95. The café is inside the Lightner Museum Antique Mall. The main entrance is on Cordova Street, through the yellow doors under the blue and white awning.
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