Dining with a view: 11 waterfront restaurants in Jacksonville worth trying

In a city like Jacksonville, “waterfront dining” can mean a lot of different things. It might be a beachfront restaurant, but it also could be a fish camp on the St. Johns River, a downtown steakhouse, an old favorite on the Intracoastal Waterway or a place on one of the creeks or small rivers that are seemingly everywhere. In Jacksonville, you’re just as likely to arrive at a waterfront dining place by boat as you are to walk in from the beach.

Here are some of our favorite places in this corner of Florida for enjoying a good meal while looking at the water and hearing the waves.

Azurea in One Ocean Resort

1 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach, azurearestaurnant.com

Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

Located inside One Ocean Resort, Azurea offers a beach-front view for guests of the resort or the restaurant. With tables and comfy couches, guests can enjoy fresh seafood, a steak or drinks in an area by the resort pool.

Casa Marina Restaurant

691 1st St. N. Jacksonville Beach, casamarinahotel.com

Hours: Rooftop open 3 to midnight Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. Sunday brunch is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Casa Marina is one of Florida's oldest hotels. In addition to lodging, it offers a restaurant and a rooftop bar for guests and visitors. Diners can enjoy the Sunday brunch in the main dining room and seating along the ocean. And appetizers, sliders, crab cakes and seared ahi tuna, as well as cocktails, are among the items available for those who want to enjoy rooftop seating. The view makes the climb well worth it, or use the service elevator.

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Dockside Seafood Restaurant

2510 2nd Ave. N., Jacksonville Beach, docksideseafoodrestaurant.com

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Located next to the Jacksonville Beach boat ramp, diners can drive up or boat up to Dockside and dine with a great view of the Intracoastal Waterway. The restaurant comes from the same group that brought us Marker 32 and Palm Valley, North Atlantic and St. Augustine Fish Camps. In 2024, Yelp.com placed Dockside at number 11 on a list of the nation's Top 100 Seafood Spots.

Lemon Bar

2 Lemon St., Neptune Beach, lemonbarjax.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Located in the courtyard area of the Seahorse Oceanfront Inn in Neptune Beach, the "world famous" Lemon Bar has a large outdoor seating area on the Atlantic Ocean. While it's known for its happy hour, it also serves sandwiches, salads and seafood.

Marker 32

14549 Beach Blvd., marker32.com

Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; Sunday brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Sunday dinner 5 to 9 p.m.

With views of the Intracoastal Waterway, Marker 32 has been family-owned and operated since the early ‘90s. Start with the fried green tomatoes or rosemary grilled octopus before moving on to steak, seafood or the Local Catch Hoppin’ John. The team behind Marker 32 is also working on a new waterfront barbecue restaurant on Heckscher Drive.

Mavi Waterfront Bar & Grill

2309 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, mavijax.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Mavi Waterfront Bar & Grill offers a variety of seafood, including mussels and octopus. They also serve salads, burgers, pasta, steak, lamb chops, a beer-battered pretzel and more. It’s hard to beat the views, especially when they also often offer live entertainment.

Refinery

831 1st St. N., Jacksonville Beach, refineryjaxbeach.com

Located four blocks north of the Jacksonville Beach Pier, multi-concept restaurant Refinery offers something for everyone — with an ocean view. On the first floor, there’s the Ocean Bar and First Street Pub, perfect for meeting friends for a drink or a quick bite to eat in a casual setting, each with a patio offering views of the beach or First Street. Upstairs, expect a more refined dining setting with a menu of “Euro-American-inspired cuisine.”

Safe Harbor Seafood Market and Restaurant

4378 Ocean St., Mayport, safeharbor-seafood.com/mayport

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays.

Safe Harbor has been around for more than 25 years and is a destination location for many visitors and locals. Order your food at the counter and then find a seat outside along the docks, though there are a few tables inside. You can even pick up some fresh seafood at the market to prepare later at home.

The Sandollar Restaurant

9716 Heckscher Drive, sandollarontheriver.com 

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Sunday.

The Sandollar traces its roots to the mid-1950s and has been in its current location near the St. Johns River Ferry since 1988, with views of cruise ships and other river traffic. The menu, not surprisingly, is heavy on seafood but also includes burgers, salads and pasta dishes.

Singleton's Seafood Shack

4728 Ocean St., Mayport, singletonsseafood.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Tuesdays.

Singleton's has been around for more than seven decades. Generations of locals have eaten shrimp and hushpuppies in the shack along the St. Johns River. While there's plenty of indoor dining, there's also a deck on the back that provides dining with a view.

Wicked Barley Brewing Co.

4100 Baymeadows Road, wickedbarley.com 

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

From the parking lot, it’s not immediately apparent that Wicked Barley is on the water at all. Go around to the dog-friendly deck out back, though, and you’ll find a beer garden on the banks of Goodbys Creek, along with a kayak launch and a 100-foot dock. The menu features dozens of beers, hard ciders, rice lagers, cream ales and food suitable for kids, vegetarians and just about everyone else.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Waterfront restaurants in Jacksonville: 11 worth trying