the floridian

great atmosphere, food isn't anything special. the use of cornmeal instead of flour is authentic, but not especially good. fgt bruschetta needed more sauce.shrimpin theshrimpand grits tasted pretty much like mustard, and the 'grits' were made for people that don't like grits - ie, polenta cakes fried into wedges like corn bread. i prefer my grits creamy and cheesy. nice spot, very charming, service wasn't great and odd laws regarding alcohol sales (not their fault).

had the elkton salad with shrimp. was told theshrimpwere 'swimming yesterday'...not exactly. theshrimptasted like they had been cooked from frozen. not terrible but not 'swimming yesterday'. the rest of the salad was just weird. so many flavors going on...sweet potatoes on the salad were cold, the red cabbage had a tangy dressing on it, the corn salsa (mexican flavor), the onions were cold, served with a spicy ranch dressing. just way too many flavors going on. maybe i ordered the wrong thing.

first i'm here. love that theshrimpis local, same
with vegetables

i’m from utah, so i was excited to be eating outside in january. the sausage andshrimppilau was fantastic! it’s a little more than this app advertises with “$25 for two” it was about 33 just for dinner and one drink, so i’d recommend expecting $50 for two. the staff was fantastic, and so friendly. every single one of them. from the hostess to the server, leticia. i would highly recommend this place.

my wife and i met another couple here for dinner last night. we were seated after a short wait, the place isn't real big and seemed pretty busy so don't be surprised.
we started with a chip and dip appetizer. the chips were made in house and good. the dip was two kinds of humus, i don't like humus but everyone else said it was good.
my meal was a sausage &shrimppirlou, it's a local rice dish. it was delicious, plenty of sausage and shrimp. it had a little more liquid than i'm used to but delicious nonetheless. my wife had pork & waffles, she said it was very good, if maybe a little sweet.
the couple with us both said their meals were also very good.
our bill including drinks was $62. not cheap, but very good.

i was not very impressed with southern food until i came here, and this place just rocked my world. they takeshrimpand grits to a whole new level. worth every penny. in my opinion best dine in restaurant in st. agustine, and yes i can say that because i have eaten at every restaurant in the area. skip columbia and come here !

if you are ever in saint augustine, do yourself a favor and come here. the restaurant has nice decor and the patio is very welcoming. we had he griddle cakes which were good, but the meat and potatoes really stole the show. i have never had such a flavorful and delicious meat and potatoes dish, it had seasonal veggies andshrimpalso, and i have never had such deicious garlic mashed potatoes anywhere. theshrimpand sausage rice dish was also good, the local sausage was super yummy. the service was outstanding and the portions were also large. the key lime cheesecake was good, nothing too special. and the southern gentleman whisky drink was also incredible. i highly recommend this place to anybody looking for a good dinner.

good but you can do better elsewhere around here. i had the "signature"shrimpand grits and it was good - but nothing to write home about. catch of the day was flounder for $24. seriously? local junk fish you catch from a bridge for $23? i can get fresh maine lobster for less than that in washington dc! sweet tea isn't sweet and the menu is very limited. while i say i "liked" it, i will likely not go back. there are just too many better options available.

great spin on florida cuisine!. we eat at "nouveau southern" restaurants often because they usually offer locally-sourced food, they're owned locally, and even if they're not always brilliant, they're always *interesting*. so i was thrilled when we found the floridian in st. augustine. unlike all the other farmed-chinese-fish, red-lobster-knockoff, boring "seafood restaurants" in st. augustine, the floridian offers florida-caught fish andshrimpon a unique, regionally inspired menu.

our family of five arrived on a sunday evening to a packed house and so were seated on the back patio, which was lovely, shady, cool, and includes a ping pong table which kept my kids occupied whenever they weren't stuffing their faces. we ordered the pickled shrimp, the cheese plate, the posole floridian, the barbecue chicken & waffles, the barbecue pork & waffles, theshrimp& grits, and pilau. everything was fantastic. i was particularly thrilled to find pilau (pronounced "purloo") on the menu. pilau is an intensely regional dish that goes back to the original european settlers in florida, who grew rice up and down the st. johns river. the datil peppers featured in many dishes are also grown commercially only in the st. augustine area. despite the packed house, our waiter was prompt and attentive, and our food came out in reasonable amounts of time. the beer was cold and the food was worth savoring over a long dinner.

the floridian is better than nouveau southern, it's nouveau cracker, and i heartily approve. i hope other hotshot chefs pay attention- honoring your region with seasonal menus and doing the research on local food and agricultural history works. we will definitely be back.

absolutely fantastic! theshrimpn grits are definitely unique but they are delicious. we had great service and a decent bottle of wine with dinner! we will most definitely be back.. maybe even during this trip.

would not go back. yes, it's true. the desserts are sitting right there on the hostess counter uncovered and well within reach of any visitors to handle and breathe upon.

the food...mediocre at best. i had the kitchen sink cobb which should have been submitted to the insinkerator (aka garbage disposal). artfully placed across the top were severely charred strips of fat they called bacon, and the deviled eggs would have insulted satan. my husband had theshrimp& sausage pilau. the server said pilau was like jambalaya...not. spicy rice with 1shrimp& 1 bite of sausage.

great service always makes me feel better about a poor meal experience. unfortunately this was not the case here. don't misunderstand, she was nice and got our orders right, but there was zero follow up. once the food was delivered she was mia.

and let's not ignore the noise! bare floors and ceilings with concrete block walls make for a loud din.

best hangout for hipsters. grab your skinny jeans and sense of entitlement.


-----06 dec, 2013-----

pickledshrimpis out of bounds. mahi sandwich is the bomb dot com.

can't understand why this place would even get a bad view. amazing decor... one happy artist here. food was excellent - amazing quality, large portions. i had theshrimpnot-so-mac-and-cheese. vegetables andshrimpcooked to perfection. key lime cheesecake the perfect consistency - sweet but light and fluffy. the merlot was also great. ben was our server - very impressed. definitely coming back.

loved the gluten freeshrimp'n grits. best meal i've had in a long time. they have other gluten free items as well.

we had the best dinner experience in north florida east coast. ben the waiter was extremely helpful and friendly. the meals were theshrimpn' grits and the flounder ambrosia paired with an argentinian tempranillo. you have to try this place. we will definitely repeat the visit.