ABBQ Meat & Drink
Texas-style barbecue with a real kids menu and a large fenced backyard for cornhole and running around. The green space is the difference between eating with children here and carrying barbecue home.
Aardwolf Brewing Company
A taproom inside a former ice plant on Hendricks. The building does a lot of the work here, and a beer list has no way of saying so.
Ajua Mexican Kitchen and Bar
A Mexican kitchen and bar at Jacksonville Beach with its own vegan menu. Enchiladas, quesadillas, jackfruit birria, cauliflower tacos, and a full vegan entree give a mixed table more than one safe fallback.
Amazing Thai
Folio Weekly described a small strip-mall spot at the Gate Parkway exit, with an Ikea across the street, when it reviewed the place in 2023 under the earlier owners. Its own site says it has been under new ownership since August 2024, and it offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free starters.
BellyUp! Jax / Over 50
Over 50 Jacksonville
Nobody publishes the noise level, and it is the thing that decides the night.
Good places to eat and drink in Jacksonville, minus the nightclubs. When a spot gets loud later or draws a lot of kids, the card tells you.
6 spots
Aardwolf Brewing Company
A taproom inside a former ice plant on Hendricks. The building does a lot of the work here, and a beer list has no way of saying so.
Bold City Brewery
Mother-and-son founded, and still the brewery most Jacksonville drinkers name first. The Rosselle Street taproom is the original room, on a Riverside industrial block rather than a retail strip.
Fishweir Brewing Company
A Murray Hill brewery and taproom with trivia nights, a Wednesday farmers market, yoga and beer releases. Its own events calendar also lists the FSU at Miami game on Saturday, Oct 17.
Legacy Ale Works
A southside brewery with a pub-style kitchen. Its own pages say it is the home venue for the Official Liverpool Supporters Club of Jacksonville and that you can catch Liverpool matches on its TVs and big screen projector.
Strings Sports Brewery Jacksonville Beach
The beach location of the family-owned sports brewery, inside the old Terry's Country Store. It keeps the same useful family formula: a scratch kitchen, kids food, games, and room to shoot baskets instead of asking children to sit still.
Set up for kids to play, so expect families around.
Strings Sports Brewery Springfield
A family-owned brewery in a restored Springfield building where the full-size basketball court and games give children something real to do. The kids menu includes popcorn chicken and grilled cheese.
Set up for kids to play, so expect families around.
What these spots are known for
The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.
Origin Stories
Who built this and why?
Rooftops and Patios
Can we sit outside?
The Whole Family Table
Will they be fine with a four-year-old?
Big Groups
Will they seat twelve of us?
Neighborhood Institutions
What has been here forever?
Sports on TV
Where can I watch the game with food and drinks?
Brunch
Where is brunch worth the wait?
Vegan and Plant-Based
Where can I eat with no asterisks?
Community Quotes
Recommendations from real Jacksonville locals, always attributed to whoever wrote them.
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