Seeing St. Augustine, One Bar at a Time

Words by Briana Pereira

Who doesn’t love a good bar crawl? Especially in a city where there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re a fan of the breweries or love a fancy cocktail, St. Augustine has it all. For my crawl I stuck to the historic district and tried to hit some of the spots that caught my eye, but there are plenty of others that didn’t make it on my list this visit that will be mentioned below.

I tried to make my visit to the city as easy as possible by following what one may call a rectangular “full circle”. If you decide to do this crawl or any version of a bar crawl, please make sure you have a DD or use a ride-share system.

Now for the fun stuff!

Parking:
If you decide to have a DD, the best option to find parking without a hassle is to park in their visitor garage located at 1 Cordova Street, which is $20 per vehicle. This spot has easy access to the main strip of shops in the historic area, St. George Street.

Route Breakdown:

Head away from the visitor center on St. George Street hit some of the main spots, taking a slight detour off of St. George Street onto Bridge St. From there, head back to St. George Street and make your way back up towards Cathedral Place and turn right. Make sure to keep left onto Anderson Cir., then make a left onto Avenida Menendez, following it down to Cuna St. where you’ll end your crawl…hopefully still standing.

Alright let’s get to drinking,

Stop 1

Starting things off fun, you’ll head to Boat Drinks found early on St. George Street. They are known for offering a tropical escape in a glass with balanced and frosty cocktails. Their drinks are perfectly complemented by the kitchen and raw bar featuring fresh, thoughtfully sourced seafood and plant-based options inspired by travels throughout the Caribbean, Florida, and the Gulf Coast.

Stop 2

Before you get ahead of yourself you’ll want to grab something quick and easy to snack on to set yourself up for a successful evening of drinking at A1A Burrito Works. Here you’ll find a selection of local and domestic bottled beers and some seltzer options as well as some FIRE made to order Mexican options – so prepare to have a full and happy stomach.

Stop 3

Right next door to A1A Burrito Works we’ll hit our next spot, St. George Tavern. Here you’ll find a full service bar that gives off the vibes of an early 2000’s movie hometown dive bar.

Stop 4

Across the street from these spots you’ll find a St. Augustine staple and gastropub known for their unique interior, Prohibition Kitchen. If you’re going during the evening or a weekend in general, I would recommend making a reservation for them because they fill up fast! They have the perfect balance of beer on tap available and their own cocktail menu, sure to please all audiences.

Stop 5

You’ll take a quick break on your walk down St. George Street as you make your way to Bridge St. for these next two spots. Right at the corner you’ll come across The Well Bar where you’ll find a cozy atmosphere with classic cocktails and modern, herb-infused elixirs. And for those interested, they also offer a mixology program, which offers the opportunity to learn the finer points of mixing a perfect seasonal drink.

Stop 6

Right down the street from The Well Bar is one of St. Augustine’s breweries, Dog Rose Brewing Co. Here you will find handcrafted ales and lagers that are brewed with style and tradition in mind. For my non-beer drinkers at this stop, Dog Rose also offers shuffleboard and cricket on their dart boards.

Stop 7

Making your way back to St. George Street and onto Cathedral Place you’ll hit Ancient City Brewing. The brewery is known for its down-to-earth atmosphere, which includes a tasting room that offers pints and beer flights of its own brand of craft brews.

Stop 8

For your next stop you will look right across the street from Ancient City Brewing and find A1A Ale Works Restaurant & Taproom. They are known for being a seaside brewery offering seasonal beers. They also have a happy hour and live performances.

Stop 9

Making your way towards Anderson Cir. you’ll pass Trade Winds Lounge on Charlotte St. Trade Winds is a quirky, tropical-themed space that offers regular live music, brews & cocktails.

Stop 10

Now onto Anderson Cir., making your way to Avenida Menendez you will find Casa Reina Taqueria and Tequila. Casa Reina is a Mexican, Latin American and Florida Coastal Cuisine influenced restaurant with a vast selection of cocktail choices, even offering tequila flights.

Stop 11

As you turn onto Avenida Menendez you will find Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, a city hot spot overlooking the water, serving New Orleans inspired cuisine and specialty cocktails.

Stop 12

The Tini Martini Bar is a St. Augustine fan favorite. The decorations and vibes of this spot are everything! The line tells you everything you need to know about this spot with nearly 30 martini options and other cocktails available to try. If there’s one spot you’re going to hit on your crawl make sure it’s here.

Stop 13

Meehan’s Irish Pub is another fan favorite along these strips of bars with three restaurants all in one spot! The pub offers a warm and welcoming environment for locals and visitors to enjoy traditional Irish pub experiences with additional options at Johnny’s Oyster Bar and a Caribbean-style menu in the Island Cafe & Tropical Bar.

Stop 14

River and Fort is a restaurant and rooftop lounge offering beer, wine, and craft cocktails. With a perfect view of the Bayfront, it’s a great place to take in some of St. Augustine’s historic sights.

Stop 15

From Avenida Menendez you will make your way to Cuna St. where you will come across the White Lion Bar & Grill. Built in 1973, the White Lion is an old school pub offering music & grub with pool tables & darts.

Stop 16

Our FINAL stop! Isabela’s Bar Cuba, also located on Cuna St. is a family-owned cigar lounge found in a traditional home with a walk-in humidor, bottled beers, wine & port.

Hopefully you’re still with me after all that. If any of these places don’t fit your vibe, there are a ton of options that I didn’t hit on my visit to the city. Below, I tried to name some of the most popular spots.

Bonus Spots!!!

Breweries: If beers are your thing, here’s some more breweries you can hit, they just aren’t in direct walking distance for a ‘crawl’ necessarily!