Known as the "Bold New City of the South," Jacksonville is an excellent place to live for families, young professionals, and military personnel. If you want to enjoy the north Florida lifestyle to the fullest, then check out this list of the absolute best places to hang out and have brunch near your military housing in Jacksonville.
Uptown and Downtown
The Uptown Kitchen And Bar is just north of Downtown on Main Street. With an enormous menu of craft beers and cocktails, this is the perfect place to take the edge off at a relaxing brunch with friends. Relax on their vast outdoor patio and enjoy delectable breakfast favorites like their famous chicken and waffle sandwich – a plump, juicy fried chicken breast nestled between scrumptious waffles.
Just a few blocks southwest of Downtown Jax in Riverside is the Cummer Café, located on the grounds of the gorgeous Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Their menu frequently changes, but you'll love their classic yet healthy offerings such as homemade crab cakes, gazpacho, and fresh desserts. Walk off some calories after with a lovely stroll through the landscaped historical gardens lined with antique ornaments and sculptures. The Black Sheep is the perfect place to brunch in 5 Points after a wild Jacksonville night. Dig into maple bacon crullers, Wainwright cheddar grits with smoked bacon, or shrimp and grits with andouille sausage. Restaurant Orsay on Park Street is an upscale destination serving brunch until 3:30pm with divine cocktails like the Corpse Reviver #2, decadent charcuterie, and lobster & black truffle omelets.
San Marco
Head south across the river to a plethora of heavenly restaurants offering brunch, such as Town Hall Community Food + Drink on San Marco Boulevard. Don't miss the smoked salmon toast with truffled egg salad, the crab cake Benedict, or the savory house-made sausage. If you like Bloody Marys, Town Hall has one of Florida's best, as well as other brunchy artisanal drinks like the Bee's Feast or the Velvet Underground. Southern Grounds and Company on Atlantic Boulevard in San Marco offers fresh, innovative favorites like a Greek omelet with lamb, feta, and creamy homemade tzatziki, a grilled goat cheese sandwich with fig preserves on Ciabatta, and a gigantic Brunch Burger with local grass-fed beef and a sunny side up fried egg.
The Blue Fish Restaurant and Oyster Bar on St. Johns Avenue is the perfect place to take friends or family visiting your Jacksonville military housing. Relax on their enormous porch with a blackberry Bellini, Bloody Mary, or white peach sangria. Their smoked salmon scramble over grilled Ciabatta brushed with goat cheese butter is to die for, as is the banana Fosters French toast.
Head South
Located on Baymeadows Boulevard on the banks of Goodby's Creek, Wicked Barley Brewing Company is a waterfront craft brewery with a large outdoor and dog-friendly Beer Garden and a 100-foot boat dock. Their menu features a mouth-watering variety of microbrews and locally inspired cuisine. Try the pecan-encrusted goat cheese, the Curd Burger, or the smoked pork belly sandwich with homemade kimchi. Copeland's of New Orleans in the Southside neighborhood features a heart-stopping array of Creole favorites like crab-stuffed beignets, the seafood Po-Boy, and the eggplant Pirogue with Gulf shrimp and fresh crab claws.
Beach Bound
If you live near Jacksonville's magnificent beaches, don't fear – you have plenty of brunch options that are convenient to your military housing. Definitely a must-try, the Florida Cracker Kitchen on Beach Boulevard is inspired by the culture of historic Old Florida and offers their ridiculously good breakfast menu Tuesdays through Sundays from 7am to 2:30pm. With signature items like the 10,000 Island shrimp and grits, the Ybor City breakfast burritos, and the Okeechobee Gumbo, there's something sublime for everyone in your party.
The Secret Garden Café, also located on Beach Boulevard, was featured on HGTV and has a tight menu of brunch delights such as smothered biscuits, the Hot Mess, and house-made corned beef hash. The Jax Beach Brunch Haus, nestled just steps from the water on 3rd Street South, is a paradise for brunch lovers. Locally owned and operated and featuring a unique menu with loads of both vegan and full-of-meat options, the Brunch Haus brings it with affordable comfort food seven days a week.
New restaurants and brunch destinations are opening all the time. Jacksonville is a bustling, up-and-coming city with loads of dining, shopping, and entertainment options super convenient to your military housing. From Mandarin to the Intercoastal, there are tons of tasty eateries for you and your crew to enjoy. Keep checking RentJax for more hot tips on fun things to do near your Jacksonville apartment!