Look around the Castillo Craft Bar + Kitchen in St. Augustine
The Castillo Craft Bar + Kitchen is in the Renaissance St. Augustine Downtown Hotel.
St. Augustine is a city of accolades. And deservingly so.
Among a multitude of historic sites, America’s oldest city boasts 42 miles of pristine coastline. The combination is perfect. Tourists — over 12 million yearly — visit the city’s quaint historic downtown to stroll the brick-lined streets and savor its European and Menorcan flare when not sunning, swimming or surfing Vilano Beach or Anastasia Island.
Nestled between downtown’s standouts — the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Flagler College, Fort Matanzas, Fort Mose, a myriad of museums, art galleries, retail shops, bars, eateries, even horse-and buggy rides — stands several fine dining and casual restaurants.
Here are five we think should have made USA TODAY’s list of top U.S. restaurants.
The Castillo Craft Bar + Kitchen
The Castillo Craft Bar + Kitchen stands among St. Augustine’s most romantic restaurants.
Located within The Renaissance St. Augustine Downtown Hotel, the eatery offers scratch-made American cuisine and handcrafted cocktails and mocktails plus an extensive beer and wine list. Nestled on the lot where The Hotel San Marco once stood, the Castillo serves as the adjunct eatery for hotel guests, residents and tourists on their way to historic downtown St. Augustine.
Breakfast, lunch, dinners and drinks are touted as a feast for the senses from a menu that offers adventurous eaters a chance to experiment with flavors that “surprise and delight,” while satisfying “selective guests” with the deliciously familiar. The menu is packed with tasty offerings such as fried pickles, flash-fried Brussels sprouts, Castillo ceviche, crab cakes, Swiss fondue, beef tartar, Minorcan clam chowder, Spanish onion soup and a variety of salads. Meal entrees include citrus slow-braised short rib, market fish, pan-seared salmon, steak and fries, truffle chicken, dry-aged duck breast, bison burgers, ricotta cavatelli and even a vegan cauliflower steak.
Desserts include an after-dinner cheeseboard, chocolate mousse, key lime cheesecake and a Manhattan bread pudding.
“Every dish is crafted with passion, ensuring a memorable and craveable experience,” touts the website. “Every moment promises to be a feast of the senses.”
Collage
Collage: Replete with awards and sold-out reservations made a year in advance, Collage has a reputation that precedes itself.
For the third consecutive year, OpenTable named Collage one of the Top 100 Romantic Restaurants in America for 2026. OpenTable, a company that specializes in restaurant reservations, analyzed more than 9 million diner reviews, along with diner ratings, reservation trends and the percentage of five-star reviews to arrive at its findings.
“Food is its own love language, but when it’s served in a cozy room or a candlelight booth, guaranteed fireworks,” OpenTable said.
Located at 60 Hypolita St., the dining room’s romantic ambience is the perfect venue to enjoy an amazing array of seafood, steaks, lamb and veal, as well as lobster ravioli, shrimp and lobster fettuccine, soups, salads, burrata, and escargot along with proper — and perfect — wine pairings.
The one caveat is that reservations must be made well in advance, especially for special occasions like Valentine’s Day.
Collage is open at 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Reservations are not required but highly recommended: 904-829-0055. For more information, go to https://collagestaug.com/.
Lotus Noodle Bar
Under the direction of executive chef and owner Barry Honan, The Lotus Noodle Bar fuses modern Japanese food with French cooking. Combining flavors and textures with farm-to-table fresh ingredients purchased locally and directly from Japan, Honan is determined to tantalize the palette with a surprise of flavors, textures and visual artistry. The menu is replete with Ramen noodles and shareables plus a complete list of Japanese beers and wines.
Honan compared the growth of Lotus Noodle Bar from concept to completion to the blooming of a lotus flower.
“No mud, no bloom,” he said. “The mud represents how we grew through adversity with a passion to achieve our dreams. That’s how a lotus flower grows; through mud – adversity – to bloom into something beautiful. Now is the time for the Lotus Noodle Bar to bloom.”
Recently named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef South, Honan told the St. Augustine Record after spending his entire adult life in the kitchen “to be better at the trade” that he loved, the nomination feels surreal.
“For years I’d look for my name on the list, and when it wasn’t there, I would tell myself that I would just work harder,” he said. “This is a reminder to never stop fighting for your dreams.”
Honan said that the award was not only a personal milestone, but a win for the North Florida culinary scene.
The Lotus Noodle Bar is located at 56 Grove St. in St. Augustine. The reservation-only restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday: 904-342-7621. For more information, go to https://www.lotusnoodlebar.com/.
Terra & Acqua
Terra & Acqua offers authentic Italian cuisine in America’s oldest city.
Owned and operated by Simone Parisi, the hidden gem at 134 Sea Grove Main St. along Antastasia Island’s A1A touts a menu of handmade classic Italian lunch and dinner foods.
Homemade pasta, locally sourced seafood and meats, wood-fired oven pizzas and robust Italian wines showcase Parisi’s desire to share the fresh coastal fare of his Tuscan homeland with St. Augustine’s flip-flop crowd and residents, be it for large family events or intimate date nights.
Terra & Acqua’s lunch menu consists of classic pasta dishes that include Spaghetti Carbonara, Penne Puttanesca, and Rigatoni Amatriciana and focaccia sandwiches filled with mortadella, prosciutto Parma, soppressata, pork roast, seared beef tenderloin and mushrooms. The dinner menu offers a wide variety of meats – Bolognese, Wild Boar and Florentine Steaks – along with pastas, seafood (grilled octopus, lobster ravioli and fresh catch specials), pizzas, salads and more.
The dining room’s full bar offers handcrafted and classic cocktails, along with a rotating selection of seasonal draft beers. Customers can also bring their own wine for a corkage fee. Open space seating includes multiple rooms, a private dining area accommodating 40 guests, bar seating and an outdoor, dog-friendly patio.
Terra & Acqua is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner Monday through Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 9:30 p.m. To inquire about hosting a private event, call 904-429-9647.
For more information, go to https://terraacquarestaurant.com.
Córdova Coastal Chophouse & Bar
Córdova Coastal Chophouse & Bar is a relic within a city of relics that affords patrons a fine dining experience under the guise of a traditional chophouse.
Nestled in the historic Casa Monica Resort & Spa, the chophouse seats almost 150 guests within its lounge, private dining room, intimate wine room and open bar that sidles the hotel entrance. Córdova’s culinary delights fuse a coastal modern-day fare with the spices of Spain and Morocco, such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, saffron and allspice, and of course, the datil pepper.
The Moroccan décor of hand-carved wood panels, hand-carved light fixtures, sconces, tiles, mirrored walls and furniture tapestry tantalize the senses to remain in place and savor in the atmosphere.
The Córdova Chophouse & Bar is open daily from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. and for dinner Sunday to Thursday from 5-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5-10 p.m. For more information, go to https://www.cordovachophouse.com.
Dining and Cooking