Northeast Florida covers the coastline from Fernandina Beach at Florida’s northern most point to New Smyrna Beach, just south of Daytona Beach. If you’re on the east coast looking for Florida beach bars, you need to follow the beaches. To Floridians that can only mean one thing, A1A. This highway stretches from the northernmost part of the state to Key West. It's a scenic ride that takes you from beach town to beach town and a ton of Florida beach bars.
Other than the Atlantic Ocean and The Gulf of Mexico, there are two notable and obvious difference between east and west coast Florida beaches. Gulf Coast beaches have sunsets and east coast beaches have the sunrise. Many east coast beaches let you drive your car on the beach. It’s something you need to get used, if you are visiting from the other coastline. Fernandina Beach
At that northern point is Fernandina Beach located near the more familiar and resort-like Amelia Island. While many may be familiar with this high end golf resort, you may not know that just up the road is a quaint, little old Florida beach town. Fernandina Beach has a couple of Florida beach bars.
Sliders Seaside Grill is Fernandina Beach's only oceanfront tiki bar and restaurant. This is an old Florida restaurant with a tiki bar in the backyard and it is right on the beach. As you sit at the tiki bar listening to live entertainment in this old Florida setting, it's hard to imagine that Amelia Island is right down the road. Sliders Seaside Grill’s was renovated in 2011 to include second floor banquet facilities, bar and an oceanfront verandah.
Sliders Seaside Grill | Fernandina Beach– Slider's looks like an old brick building from the street, but go through the restaurant out to the tiki bar located on the beach. Park om the street or on the beach.
The Surf Restaurant and Bar is just down the road across the street from the beach. It offers “good food and good times in a casual beach atmosphere”.
Jacksonville Beach
Jacksonville Beach is part of the Jacksonville Beaches Community that includes Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach. Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida. There are beach bars both on and off the beach. Neptune Beach is at the north end and is the location of the Lemon Bar at the Seahorse Oceanfront Inn. Lemon Bar is located right off the beach. The Lemon Bar offers no food or live music, but it is a nice place to have a cool drink with other beach enthusiasts.
Down the beach is Bukkets, a full service beach bar with good food, drinks, and music on the weekends. The beach is just a few steps away. The crowd and the staff are friendly and fun. This may be the best beach bar on Jacksonville Beach.
No doubt this is a strip filled with plenty of food and entertainment establishments. Bars appear to be on every corner. But there are just few Florida beach bars that are right on the beach. Included is Joe's Crab Shack. It is indeed a chain restaurant, but its right-on-the-beach location makes it an interesting and special place.
St. Augustine Beach
St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. St. Augustine is filled with history and is the location of the Fountain of Youth. You can be young or feel young. To be young, check out the Fountain of Youth. To feel young, head across the bridge to St. Augustine Beach.
Most bars on St. Augustine Beach are more Florida restaurant bars than Florida beach bars. Mostly they are across the street from the beach. There is The Conch House, not on the beach, but on the water on Matanzas Inlet. This is one cool beach bar. It is more of a complex than a single location. The outdoor restaurant deck has dozens of personal tiki huts. On Sundays, there is Reggae music played from a floating dock. On the pier that anchors the dock is the round shaped Conch House Lounge which sits 300 feet out over the water. There is live music Thursday through Saturday.
At the south end of St. Augustine Beach is the World Famous Oasis Deck and Restaurant. It is not on the beach, but it is near the beach. The lower level is an old Florida restaurant. The upper deck is a full blown Florida beach bar. There is music daily, and it is always in an “Oasis state of Mind”’
Flagler Beach
Flagler Beach is a small beach community with a pier, surfers, and yes, Florida beach bars. This is a great little beach town and a place where you can easily spend a day or two, especially if you like beach bars. With one exception, beach bars are located just across the street from the beach. It is the home of The Golden Lion Cafe, Flagler Beach's most awarded restaurant. In 2011 The Golden Lion was selected the Best Waterside Beach Bar by FloridaBeachBar.com.
When owners Tony and Carolyn Marlow first purchased The Golden Lion Café it was little more than a tiny shack across the street from the beach. Today it has an expanded upper deck, new tiki bar, and a toes-in-the-sand beach in the tiki bar area. The Golden Lion has been a key influence on the popularity of Flagler Beach. As owner Tony Marlow says, "Live your vacation one hour at a time." There are few better places to that than here.
Another Flagler Beach favorite is Finn's Beachside Pub. The beach bar is the entire second floor deck. The large bar offers a panoramic beach view and the bandstand has live music on the weekends. Hurricane Patty’s sits under the Flagler Beach Bridge on the Intracoastal. High Tides Snack Jacks is the only bar on the beach side of the street.
Daytona Beach
Think Daytona and chances are you think of the Daytona 500. Daytona Beach bills itself as "The World's Most Famous Beach®". Once the spring break capital, Daytona has given up most of its Florida beach bars to the Ocean Walk venue filled with condominiums, shops, movie theaters and restaurants. Ocean Walk is on the beach side of A1A where you will find Sloppy Joe's from Key West, Bubba Gump Shrimp, The Mai Tai, Johnny Rockets and Hyde Park Steakhouse.
Daytona Beach Pier and Joyland Amusement Center – Joyland is located on the Daytona Beach Boardwalk on the North side of the Daytona Beach Pier. The pier has been around for over 100 years.
There is one pure Florida beach bar that still stands on Daytona Beach, the Ocean Deck. It was voted a 2011 TOP 10 Florida Beach Bar by FloridaBeachBar.com. The Ocean Deck is right on the beach with an upstairs area that serves as an air conditioned restaurant. The lower level has a bar, bandstand, and opens up to the beach. There’s live music, a tiki bar, and plenty of special events. It is a classic beach bar in every way.
Ponce Inlet
Ponce Inlet is just south of Daytona Beach. This small stretch of beach has no less than five beach bars, two of which have been voted to FloridaBeachBar.com’s 2011 TOP 10 list. This town also has Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station which is a beautiful red and recently restored lighthouse. It is 175 feet tall and is the second tallest lighthouse in the country affording gorgeous views of the nearby Florida coastline.
If you like NASCAR and fast cars, and you are looking for a Florida beach bar, Ponce Inlet is most likely your best Florida destination. While you may be familiar with the Daytona 500, did you know the race got it start on Daytona Beach in Ponce Inlet? On that spot is Racing's North Turn, another pure Florida beach bar.
Racing's North Turn is on the beach at the location of the north turn of the original Daytona stock car races. The bar doubles as a museum displaying old race pictures, race paraphernalia, and items signed by race car drivers that visit the bar during Daytona races. If you are a race fan, particularly a Daytona 500 or NASCAR fan, you have to go here. And don't be surprised if you run into some of today's Daytona drivers.
Racing's North Turn | Ponce Inlet– Racings North Turn is located on the beach at the location of the original North Turn of the Daytona race track. This beach bar was voted 4th in the 2011 FloridaBachBar.com TOP 10 competition.
Racing aside, this is a fantastic beach bar and was voted a FloridaBeachBar.com 2011 TOP 10 Florida Beach Bar. In fact, it came in fourth overall. There is music nightly, good food, and some of the hardest working, nicest staff you will ever meet. Locals love it, and you will too.
On the Inlet side, and a few miles south, is Inlet Harbor Restaurant, another 2011 TOP 10 Florida Beach Bar. This colorful Caribbean style beach bar is right on the water and easily accessible by boat. Live music is played from the large indoor stage. It’s another beach bar with a hardworking staff that makes you feel at home and special.
Inlet Harbor Restaurant | Ponce Inlet – Inlet Harbor is one of the most colorful beach bars around. It sits adjacent to its own marina making it perfect for casual boaters or those out fishing for the day. This beach bar was voted 5th in the 2011 FloridaBachBar.com TOP 10 competition.
New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna Beach is just south of Daytona Beach and has a population of about 20,000 people. It is also the location of Toni & Joe's Patio, an old style Florida beach bar located right on the beach. Drive down the street or down the beach to get here. There is a small inside bar and large outside deck right in the sand. The outside stage has live entertainment on the weekend. Nothing fancy here, just a down and dirty pure Florida beach bar. Also, it is cash only.
Down the beach is Chase’s on the Beach, also accessible by a drive down the road or the beach. Chase’s has a large outside deck steps up from the beach. There is even a swimming pool. It’s a beach bar with lots of different seating areas that let you enjoy the DJ music and the beach in a number of different ways.
need to follow the beaches. To Floridians that can only mean one thing, A1A. This highway stretches from the northernmost part of the state to Key West. It's a scenic ride that takes you from beach town to beach town and a ton of Florida beach bars.
