More Than Seafood

Gluten-free Dining| Jacksonville Beach

Aside from the beach days, zoo visits, and fishing, food will always be at the top of my list of things to try during our stays in Jacksonville Beach. It seems there is always a new restaurant to try or a new dish at a place we have visited before. Each restaurant has a different atmosphere from relaxing on the beach, wanting to have a fiesta, enjoying great appetizers with cold drinks, and so much more. Here are a few restaurants we enjoy when we visit Jacksonville.

Tides

Tides, a restaurant located at the Hampton Inn, has a laid-back beach feel while dining. It is located directly on the beach and is open to the public. Tides an excellent place for lunch, dinner, and snacks when spending the day at the beach. They have various food from salads, wraps, pizza, burgers, wings, and my favorite item to order, a hummus plate. They have a variety of ice-cold drinks for adults and kids alike to help cool you off on those hot summer days. The servers and bartenders are friendly, food comes out nice and hot, and nothing beats watching the sunset while eating dinner or enjoying a light lunch so you can get back to making memories at the beach. Tides is our go-to places for an easy meal before walking on the beach in the evening and running off the last bit of energy before bed.

Salt Life

Salt Life is one of my favorite places to enjoy dinner while visiting Jacksonville. So far, it is the only place I have found that serves gluten-free sushi and Poke bowls. I love the spin of Asian flair with fresh seafood, veggies, and flavor. They take food allergies very seriously and make sure things are prepared for the guests safety while dining. I love the decor which makes you feel you are in a surfing town. It is a great atmosphere to enjoy a family dinner and my kids enjoy spending time at the fish tank before food is brought to the table. We also end up talking about fishing and the kids ask questions about surfing since their are surfboards and videos to help decorate the restaurant. I would suggest arriving early because they tend to have a wait starting around six.

Flying Iguana

The Flying Iguana was a restaurant we stumbled upon when walking around the shops and restaurants at the end of Neptune Beach. It has an excellent open concept and outdoor seating, which you can enjoy almost year-round. We enjoyed chips (which are cooked in a separate fryer), salsa, and coloring with the kids before ordering our appetizer, which was the freshly made guacamole. The guacamole was my favorite part since it is made tableside. You can adjust the ingredients to your liking and enjoy the fresh tasting avocadoes. I also enjoyed their Peruvian Rotisserie chicken and the abundance of sides that came with it.

Taco Lu

For all those who love tacos, even when it’s not Tuesday, this is your place to visit for an array of tacos, sides, and drinks. They have chicken, beef, seafood, and veggies tacos with sides of rice, beans, guacamole, cheese dips, and so much more. What makes this restaurant stand out, even more, is the unique decor. The owers not only took note of authentic recipes while visiting Mexico, but they also took note of how buildings were decorated with colors, tiles, and making sure you feel at home when dining. I chose to have my tacos in lettuce leaves instead of tortillas for a lighter diner and more room for chips and dips. For those who love to indulge in salsa, cheese dip, and guacamole, be sure to ask for the gluten-free chips since the ones brought with the salsa are placed in a shared fryer.

Safe Harbor

This last place technically isn’t a restaurant (unless you walk across the street) but is worth mentioning. Safe Harbor is a wholesale seafood market worth the trip and drive. We stop here on our way out of town to fill up our cooler with fresh seafood to take home. We can stock our stand up freezer for about six months for half of what it would cost us to buy at the grocery store. This is also a great place to visit if you are staying in a rental house, condo, or with the family to purchase seafood for a boil one night. They also have seafood dips and soups ready to take home in another case. I haven’t tried either one, however, they were selling out of both before noon.

These are just a few places we stop to enjoy family meals during our visits. I can’t wait to share more places with you after our next family vacation this summer.

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