Mini Restaurant Tour

St. Simons and Jekyll Island: Tour Through Food

Eating out at home can be a challenge when trying to find safe places to eat. On vacation, sometimes, it feels close to impossible to find restaurants that offer genuinely gluten-free items other than salad. During our trip to St. Simons Island and a day trip to Jekyll Island proved the Golden Isles are more than just beautiful beaches and family fun.

St. Simons Island has many wonderful restaurants with such an eclectic mix and variety to choose from. It was tough not to eat the same thing every night, and the most challenging part was figuring out where to eat each day since we were only there for a few short days. The places we did choose were kid-friendly, offered take out or outdoor seating. However, what made eat meal special, for me anyway, was the amount of care each restaurant took to make sure efforts were made to keep the food safe, and the servers’ communication exceeded expectations.

Our first night, we enjoyed a take out meal from Sea Salt Healthy Kitchen. This restaurant offers many options from soups, hummus, rice bowls, wraps, and more. The menu shows “healthy codes,” noting if an item is gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and keto. I enjoyed the Wild Mexican bowl, which was filled with rice, quinoa, fresh vegetables, and topped with pico de gallo. The side salad was tasty as well. Sea Salt also had kids’ options, so it was an excellent place for the family to grab a quick meal for a movie night.

During vacation, we usually have one night where we enjoy a nice sit-down meal in a restaurant we probably wouldn’t visit at home unless we have a sitter, and it was a special occasion. Echo not only delivered beautiful water views from the patio area and a warm rustic welcome, but the food was also melting in your mouth delicious. I enjoyed the sea bass, which was cooked perfectly. My husband enjoyed fish taco while the kids had a flatbread pizza. Before we sat down for dinner, we enjoyed playing tic-tac-toe with seashells and enjoyed watching the sunset. I would suggest making a reservation or being at the restaurant when they first open because the wait was about 30-45 minutes.

Echo is located at the King and Prince Hotel (est. 1935), which has a unique background. During our visit to St. Simons Island, we visited the Coast Guard museum, where we learned about the history of the men and women station on the island. Echo and The King and Prince Hotel were once the former locations of the officer’s quarters, classrooms, and towers where the ships and submarines’ signals would send updates throughout the war. You can also pull up a set at the bar, which was once the location for service members and their wives to have a night socializing and relaxing during downtime.

Our last night of vacation, we spend the evening near the pier. We had about 30 minutes before dinner to waste, so we window shopped, enjoyed the local vendors, and watch people fish from the St. Simons Pier. We had dinner at Iguanas Seafood Restaurant. It was a fun restaurant decorated with an underwater theme. The menu had so many gluten-free options to choose from and many items for the rest of the family. The kids enjoyed coloring, naming different fish and sea animals hanging from the ceiling, but the best part was the free ice cream. Although we did not indulge at the restaurant, it was a pretty impressive array of toppings.

After dinner, we visited St. Simons sweets. This small candy store had a line out the door, and it was clear to see why once you stepped inside. They lure you in with a display of assorted fudge to your right and a colorful display of M&M candies to your left. We made our way down to the ice cream counter, and our kids shared a child cone, which was more like a small serving for an adult. The candy shop was such a fun place to visit and see some sweets I haven’t seen since I was a little girl.

During our day trip to Jekyll Island, we had lunch at Sunrise Grille. I called ahead to see what items were gluten-free on the menu, and when the manager started naming at least six off the bat, I knew we found a great place. Sunrise Grille has indoor and outdoor seating under an awning to help keep those summer rays from making sweat during lunch. This restaurant was in the perfect location for shops, hotels, and the beach, which we visited after eating lunch. Although they had an array of gluten-free food to choose from, I went to an oldie but goodie shrimp salad. The shrimp was cooked perfectly, and I loved they pared it with fresh avocado and fruit. The kids enjoyed a grilled cheese with a bowl of fresh fruit while my husband had a grilled chicken sandwich.

On your way out of town, we stopped at a local coffee shop. Not expecting much other than a decent cup of coffee, we stumbled upon The Local Brew, a local coffee shop establish in 2016. I was impressed with the number of breakfast sandwiches and other foods they offered but what was more impressive was they had had gluten-free bread for substitutions. Sandwiches are made to order and can be prepared the way you like. Once again, the cook was beyond careful preparing my food and went as far as to make sure my bread was toasted in a different area than the rest of the sandwiches. I enjoyed the avocado toast with tomatoes and arugula. I have since recreated this for breakfast at home using bagels.

St. Simons and Jekyll Islands are an excellent place for foodies to enjoy fabulous meals, explore new menu options, and find hidden gems on vacation. I’ll be researching new locations to eat on our next trip to see what other places we will fall in love with.