Eating in St. Augustine, FL
 

We are visiting St. A again, and am wondering if there are any new places to eat. Last year we ate at the Saltwater Cowboy, Cordova in the Casa Monica Hotel, Gypsy Cab, Cortese(?), and Creekside Dinery. Liked them all, but interested in branching out. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

wopel, Welcome back to St. Augustine!

The new restaurant you should try is Collage <http://www.collagestaug.com/>. It is strictly a special occasion restaurant, but if you like good service, warm & relaxing ambiance and a creative, eclectic menu, this restaurant is a wonderful experience. They do everything right. If you remember where La Parisienne used to be, that is where you will find Collage. It is expen$ive, but worth every penny. It may possibly be the best restaurant in town.

See also <http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...d=35170665>.

You might consider The Tasting Room Wines & Tapas (in the historic district) if you appreciate that style of dining. I've been there only once but enjoyed it a lots, and I've been to a great many terrific tapas places in North America and Spain.

Thanks for the info on Collage. We'll check it out.
We ate at Raintree a few nights ago, and while the food was okay, service good, the portions were small for the price.

If you're looking for something casual.
Two weeks ago we had lunch at the Lightner Museum; Cafe Alcazar.
It is located in the (former) deep end of the hotel pool. Surrounded by little shops the food was quite good. You enter from an obscure outside entrance (ask), not from the Museum itself.

"Enjoy a light lunch at the Caffe Alcazar which is in the former swimming pool. The museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m and Cafe Alcazar Tuesday through Saturday 11.30am — 3.00pm"

We ate at the Purple Olive on A1A - everyone must give it a try. It was excellent.
Also went to the Saltwater Cowboy - what a fiasco. They were sending people over from the Creekside Dinery and a waiter quit in the middle of a Thursday night.

Those are some pretty good suggestions. I would add that you should try the A1A Ale Works, facing the water at the west end of the Bridge of Lions. They specialize in seafood, but the other food is good also. Main dining room, plus balconies overlooking the water, is on the second floor. Good luck.

Update on St. Augustine - We ate at Deco - very good. It's on Rt. 1 out of town. No parking problems. The food is excellent, and the service was too. We did eat at Collage, and it was good, but nothing spectacular. My favorites this year are Purple Olive and Deco. Lunch at Mango Mango at the beach was good, too.

<b>&quot;We did eat at Collage, and it was good, but nothing spectacular.&quot;</b>

I am surprised! It is ranked #1 of 225 restaurants in St. Augustine on the TripAdvisor Popularity Index.

I will have to try Deco, though.

If you walk along the path on the water side of the street by the fort be very careful. It is full of holes. It was dark when we came out of the restaurant. My sister stepped into a hole and broke her ankle. Our Saturday night was spent in the hospital emergency room. And we left for home the next day.

At the hotel they asked what happened and when we told them, they said it was a common happening there. The city never repairs those holes. Maybe they have by now after our very nasty letter.