FLORIDA
The Best Restaurants on Amelia Island: From Fish Houses to Date-Night Staples
By Eric Barton | Sept. 8, 2025
Arte Pizza
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
I’ve stopped on Amelia Island more times than I can count—family trips, detours on the long run between Miami and Asheville, last-minute beach fixes—and every time I swear I’ve “done” the island. Then I find another place on the beach that fixes shrimp like it invented them, or a new Oaxacan spot in downtown Fernandina Beach where the chef sneaks in something smart and seasonal.
That’s the trick of Amelia Island: the list keeps expanding, not because you missed something, but because it’s always adding reasons to come back. So here then are the best restaurants on Amelia Island, a place that always seems to be opening another great restaurant.
Arte Pizza
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Arte Pizza is where you’ll find brick-oven pies since 2008. Think proper Margherita, white pies, the “Chef’s” with sausage and feta, plus garlic knots that tend to disappear not long after they hit the table. Pastas and big salads round out the table; the happy-hour deals don’t hurt. Family night, solved.
Best for: Casual pie night downtown
Bar Zin
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This neighborhood wine bar and bistro puts out seasonal plates, a smart by-the-glass list, in a space where happy hours will bleed over into dinner. Don’t overthink it: split a few small plates, order another glass, and you’re basically a regular.
Best for: Low-key date nights and good pours
Café Karibo
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Downtown’s leafy patio hangout does broad, crowd-pleasing food—the sort of menu that works for grandparents, toddlers, and anyone angling for a beer at happy hour. Brunch regulars know the Crabby Eggs Benedict; dinner leans into sandwiches, salads, and house-made desserts. It’s unfussy, best illustrated by whatever fish is fresh that day, like the triple-tail sandwich above, fried and served between a kaiser roll.
Best for: A chill meal on the patio, no reservations required
Cucina South
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Cucina South is an Italian-inspired bistro under the oaks on the island’s south end. The kitchen turns out pappardelle Bolognese, Parmigiana, piccata, and nightly seafood pastas. The wine list leans Italian, and chef Llewellyn Sutton keeps things classic with just enough flourish.
Best for: A proper pasta night and a good Barolo
España Restaurant & Tapas
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España has been Fernandina’s Spanish/Portuguese favorite since 2004. The restaurant offers courtyard seating, pitchers of sangria, and paellas cooked in traditional pans. Chef Roberto Pestana keeps the focus on just-caught seafood and tapas meant to share.
Best for: Paella on the patio with a sangria assist
Kitchen 251
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Kitchen 251 sits at the Amelia Island Marina, where chef Michael McCarroll cooks with Louisiana roots. The menu includes blackboard specials, Cajun touches, and easygoing waterfront views. You’re just as likely to be looking out on the marina with a salt-crusted group who just finished a day of fishing as you are a family from Ohio that knows where to get the richest fish dip on the island.
Best for: Casual waterside meals with Cajun lean
Lagniappe Restaurant
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Lagniappe offers modern Low-Country cuisine with a Creole wink. Chef-owner Brian Grimley delivers a polished dining room and well-built plates that make the whole date-night kit work. Diners should start with whatever the kitchen is searing that night and not skip the cocktails.
Best for: Dress-up dinner without stuffiness
Mezcal Spirit of Oaxaca
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Mezcal is a downtown newcomer with big-city vibes, an approachable menu full of mostly American-Mexican classics. There’s nods here and there to Oaxaca, like the huitlacoche quesadillas my wife ordered, earthy and gooey with chihuahua cheese. The cocktail program is strong, especially the margarita section of the menu that I may have hit a little hard. But the kitchen’s best work shows up in mole, which comes draped over short ribs served with house-made tortillas, a dish that’s quite possibly the best thing I’ve eaten on the island yet.
Best for: Upscale Mexican with Oaxacan notes
Salty Pelican Bar & Grill
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The Salty Pelican sits right on the river, making it a sunset magnet. People come for the views and stay for peel-and-eat shrimp, wings, and fish sandwiches. The space is loud, friendly, and reliably fun, so plan on a wait and watch boats slide past the marina.
Best for: Golden-hour beers and seafood baskets
Sandbar Amelia Island
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Sandbar Amelia Island is beachfront all the way down, with live music, sandy-toed crowds, and an eye-popping whiskey library with an astounding 1,200 options. The food is coastal-comfort and shareable. Diners come here when they want waves as their soundtrack.
Best for: Big-group beach hangs and nightcaps
Sliders Seaside Grill
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This oceanfront standby boasts a tiki bar, live-music energy, and a playground for the kids. The menu swings from Ahi tuna tacos to a Low Country Boil dotted with peel-and-eat shrimp and boiled peanuts that was a downright steal at 25 bucks. It’s the kind of spot where sandy feet are a dress code and sunset is the nightly headliner. Order like a local: seafood platters or the Maine lobster roll, then take a beach walk to justify dessert.
Best for: Beach-day lunches and sunset rounds
Wicked Bao
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Wicked Bao delivers street-food energy in a tiny space. The kitchen fills bao with pork belly, bulgogi, or fried chicken, and the sides travel well if you cannot score a seat. The food is fast, flavorful, and habit-forming, which is exactly what an island needs after a beach day.
Best for: Quick, punchy dinners (bao in hand)
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