Entries categorized as ‘Drinks’
Jackson’s Restaurant provides the best dining experience in Pensacola. Awarded as one of the best 25 restaurants in Florida, the dining experience they offer is flawless. From the experience of making the recommended reservation to decor and service to the food. Impeccable. Jackson’s Restaurant can easily be compared to any fine restaurant in any larger metropolitan area. While the dining experience will cost you more than most in Pensacola are accustomed to paying (…much more), I am happy to say that it is worth every Ben Franklin you can muster.
Your experience starts with a friendly reservation in which they want to know your full names and if you are visiting for any special occasion. This conversation is akin to the concierge service at a 5-star hotel. When you arrive the door is opened for you. When you enter you are greeted warmly both by the host and the decor. Jackson’s is decorated with an absolute attention to detail. The chandeliers are faux tree limbs capped by candle lanterns. The light is warm and ample while still maintaining intimacy, supplemented by the simply elegant and comfortable furniture. Expect white table clothes and jacketed service. Your table will be attended by no less than two service staff. The atmosphere is now complimented by live piano music (though it did get a tiny bit loud at times).
She had a rib-eye that was absolutely sublime. Great steak is a wonderful thing, but this a different level. I had the Marksman’s Grill, which was sadly better on the menu that it was on my plate. However it was adventuresome and unique with quail, elk, and venison (my favorite), and still quite tasty. We chose a bottle of “J”, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, and once it had a chance to breath, it went down very easily. (We liked it so much, we walked out with the bottle.) Being a birthday, we splurged on dessert-creme brulee and Rosco’s Amazing Chocolate Stack. While one can never go wrong with creme brulee (though the berries were spectacular), the peanut-butter chocolate dessert took the night.
We apologize that we don’t remember the names of our servers, but they did a great job! Maybe it is a mark of great service that we don’t remember them? In any case, the evening was stellar. A word of notice. Please see the dollar signs below before making your reservation and make sure you understand our price rating. But once you take that note, prepare for the best fine dining restaurant experience Pensacola has to offer.
Name: Jackson’s Restaurant
Location: 400 South Palafox Street, Pensacola, FL, 32502
Phone: (850) 469-9898
Price: Lunch $$-$$$; Dinner $$$$$-15$
Website: www.jacksonsrestaurant.com
Categories: Business Lunch · Dessert · Downtown · Drinks · Food · Palafox · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Business Lunch, Dessert, Downtown Pensacola, Drinks, Jacksons, Palafox, Pensacola, Restaurant, Romantic Dinner, Seafood, Steak
Eat! is a downtown Pensacola restaurant adding location and services all the time. Eat! is characterized by a trendy metropolitan atmosphere, fine cuisine, and outstanding service. During lunchtime, this place is all business, one of the preferred lunch meeting places in the downtown area. In the evening, the restaurant switches to fine dining and does it well. The deco bar offers a great place to start your evening and relax before dinner.
Eat! ’s menu offers some items not otherwise found in Pensacola restaurants. For example, try the delicious Rabbit Quesadillas. Yes, that’s rabbit meat! Without fail, all of the menu items are tasty, with some outstanding fare. There is plenty of variety and adventure to be had, as well as standard dining choices that won’t disappoint.
I am constantly impressed by the service. It is highly professional but relaxed and comfortable. Again, a trendy metropolitan atmosphere. This is once you are seated. I am occasionally dismayed by how long I wait at the door before being approached. However, once approached, service is excellent. Ask for Frances as your server and the back room if you have a party of less than six and want some privacy. Outdoor dining, while available, is not altogether comfortable.
Name: Eat!
Location: 286 N. Palafox, Pensacola, FL, 32502
Phone: (850) 433-6905
Price: $-$$$
Website: www.eatmorefood.com
Categories: Business Lunch · Dessert · Dining with Friends · Downtown · Drinks · Food · Location · Outdoor Dining · Palafox · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romantic Dinner · Salads · Sandwiches · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Palafox, Restaurant, Pensacola, eat, Food, dine, Downtown, salad, romantic, dinner, business, lunch, frances, excellent, service, outdoor
Every city is full of deli restaurants and counters, many of them outstanding. Pensacola is no different. The City Grocery is unique in its atmosphere, history, and location. Inside, it is completely urban, like any deli you find on a street corner in New York. It has an old feel to it, and for a reason. The City Grocery has been around for a very long time, since the antique building was built.Prior to 2003, you could find articles on the stores shelves that seemed to date back to the seventies. What kept it in business was its neighborhood location, its outstanding deli grill, and its BBQ, smoked fresh every weekend. In 2003, the store was bought by local businessmen and underwent a gradual but marked updating process. They scrubbed the store down, replaced the old merchandise with specialty foods, expanded the deli offerring, kept the BBQ, and added a great wine selection.
The result is a bustling little neighborhood store than gets drop-ins from all over the city. During the warmer three seasons, patrons can be found relaxing at its outdoor tables. On weekends, BBQ is being smoked right out front. On Fridays, weekly wine tastings get East Hill residents (on wannabees) ready for the weekend.Did I mention that the BBQ and chicken salad are the best in the city? And the wine selections, while small, is excellent. Need a wine recommendation? Talk to Ed. City Grocer is the conerstone of the the new emergence of the 12th Avenue renaissance sweeping Pensacola. With new restaurants on the horizon, City Grocery will remain a corner stone of the East Hill dining experience. Name: City Grocery
Location: 2050 N 12th Ave, Pensacola, FL 32503
Phone: (850) 469-8100
Price: $
Website: none available
Categories: BBQ · Drinks · East Pensacola · Food · Outdoor Dining · Pensacola · Sandwiches
Tagged: Downtown Pensacola, Restaurant, Business Lunch, Dining with Friends, Outdoor Dining, BBQ, Sunday Brunch, East Pensacola, Pensacola, city grocery, city, grocery, deli, wine, east hill
Though I think this Pensacola restaurant got a rough start and much of the art on its walls is atrocious, we have become quite the fans of The Global Grill recently. It has become a weekly stop and we’ve even begun to develop a regular order. This restaurant has become additionally attractive as we have begun a carb-controlled diet.Let’s first address the atmosphere, which will further explain the ”rough start” comment. The Global Grill is well recognized in Pensacola for its…um…”cooler than thou” attititude. To be sure, it is one of the coolest restaurants in Pensacola, with its hip “tapas” menu, artsy atmosphere, designed decor, and downtown location. The servers are noted for the same hip, artsy, pierced, model-like attitude. And while all this could lend itself to a patron’s feeling of inclusion in a hip set, a restaurant can not survive by decorum alone. The Global Grill quickly became home to a rather happenstance happy hour crowd (still evident to this day), but gained the solid support of some notable Pensacola professionals. The restaurant coasted on this professional patronage and “cool” for some time. Service suffered. Food quality followed.I note all this because I found it offensive. Not because of its substance, but because of its nature- that a potentially great restaurant woud allow itself to stoop that low.Fortunately, someone pulled it all together. Food quality is now consistently stellar. Service, while still quirky (which I like), is superior. The kitchen is remarkably brisk. And better art now compliments the orginal pieces. The crowd is now a better mix of Pensacola demographics and more friendly. Prices remain healthy, but in my opinion. you do get what you pay for.
The only complaints I now have is that the “blue room” is consistently too cold. Let’s see what we can do about that?
Our favorite tapas include:
- Herbed Focaccia with Olives and Feta Cheese
- Crab West Indies and Avocado Martini
- Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce
- Peppercorn Beef Brochettes,Smoked Gouda Cheese Sauce
All the desserts are to-die-for. This is the second local restaurant reviewed that you can go just for a late night dessert-only indulgence. The wine list is superb, featuring one of our favorite red vineyards: David Bruce. The Russian River Reserve 2 (Pinot Noir) is a great bottle for a fair price.
Name: The Global Grill
Location: 25 S Palafox St, Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone: 850.469.9966
Price: $$-$$$$$
Website: www.dineglobalgrill.com
Categories: Dessert · Dining with Friends · Downtown · Drinks · Food · Palafox · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Salads · Seafood · Steak · Sushi
Tagged: appetizers, art, Dessert, Dining with Friends, Downtown Pensacola, Drinks, Global Grill, globes, Palafox, Pensacola, Restaurant, Romantic Dinner, Seafood, Steak, tapa
O’Brien’s is truly unique in Pensacola. For starters, it is small and intimate. This is not a easy charateristic to find in this town. Its food it delicious, its wine list is magnificent, and its service is (usually) sophsticated yet friendly. That few short sentences say it all. It is one of the few restaurants in Pensacola in which you can truly feel that you are someplace special. Sometimes it shows its age, and falters, but it delivers something that you can’t find elsewhere in Penacola.Recommendations? The entres range from seafood to steak. The atmosphere is “neighborhood fine dining”. Try their specials. The wine list is stellar. Spend some time with it to find some unusual gems. If you have a chance, let Jim O’Brien recommend your dinner and wine.
Name: O’Briens Bistro
Location: 4350 Bayou Blvd, Pensacola, FL, 32502
Phone: 850-477-9120
Price: $$$-$$$$$
Website: na Technorati Profile
Categories: Business Lunch · Cordova · Dessert · Dining with Friends · Drinks · Food · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Romantic Lunch · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Romantic Dinner, Restaurant, Seafood, Steak, Business Lunch, Cordova, Pensacola, wine, bistro, o'briens
Another chain that delivers! The Melting Pot is not mainstream, even in larger cities than Pensacola. Dinner at The Melting Pot can not be “grabbed”. You have to commit to it. You are there for two and a half hours minimum. Your service is attentive and thorough, they may even have to teach you a few things. Because of these time/labor factors, you are going to pay a few dollars for your meal. The quality of the food? Well, that is up to you, because YOU cook it at your table!If you have never eaten a fondue dinner, Melting Pot is designed to introduce you. Fondue parlors are few and far between, even in large metropolitan areas, so the Melting Pot may be your only opportunity. In fact, I find it a bit surprising that Pensacola has such a cosmopolitan venue.The basics are thus. You engage in a three or four course meal that is cooked exclusively at your table in a fondue pot. Your first course is typically a cheese course. A mixture of chunk cheese and spices is brought to your table. It is tossed into your fondue pot and melted down. You are given some skewers and a variety of breads and vegetables to dip into the pot. Your meal continues in this way with a meat and veggie course (or two) based in a variety of broths or oils, and a dessert fondue. With this last, you are absolutely remiss if you do not have chocolate and a ton of it.The Melting Pot in Pensacola boasts a rather sophisticated mid-range wine list. You are going to drop $25-$45 per head on dinner. You might as well do the same with one of the great wines in that range. Take your time eating the meal, sip the wine, dip the food.
One more thing. You needn’t go for dinner. The Melting Pot is probably the single best place to go for a romantic dessert, and not just in Pensacola, where it is probably the only place. A couple glasses of wine and a chocolate fondue will have you drooling over each other. Or it would create great memories for a group of close friends.
Name: The Melting Pot
Location: 418 E Gregory St # 500, Pensacola, FL, 32502
Phone: (850) 438-4030
Price: $$$-$$$$$
Website: HTTP://www.meltingpot.com/
Categories: Dessert · Dining with Friends · Downtown · Drinks · Fondue · Gregory · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Business Lunch, chocolate, Dessert, Dining with Friends, Downtown Pensacola, Fondue, Gregory Street, melting pot, Pensacola, Restaurant, Romantic Dinner, Steak, wine
What a surprise! This is a chain. It is not unique to Pensacola. I am not a huge fan of chain restaurants and do not frequent them often (aside from Carabas, but that’s a different review). To further set the stage on this review, I have eaten at this Bonefish location in Pensacola on three prior occasions. I found the food bland and uninteresting on all three occasions, as you would expect at any franchise restaurant.
Last Tuesday however, I had a completely different experience. We dropped in to use a gift certificate, and walked out impressed. We started with the chicken spring rolls. They were tasty but nothing extraordinary. The salad was less exciting, though the bread is always a great touch. We both order the tilapia special, because our server sold it so well. Tilapia Withdrew, or something like that. It is a healthy piece of grilled, but delicately spicy tilapia, covered with a spinach-gouda cream sauce topping.
This plate is fantastic. It rivals anything that the Fish House may create and truly trascends the franchise restaurant fare. We will return to see if this experience can be duplicated. Stand by for that review.
Name: Bonefish Grill
Location: 5025 N 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504
Phone: (850) 471-2324
Price: $$-$$$
Website: http://www.bonefishgrill.com/home.asp
Categories: Business Lunch · Cordova · Dessert · Dining with Friends · Dining with Kids · Drinks · Food · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Romantic Lunch · Salads · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Romantic Dinner, Restaurant, Seafood, Steak, Dining with Friends, Cordova, Pensacola, grill, bonefish
I’ve had mostly great though mixed experiences at this Pensacola Beach restaurant. Let me first say that until you get to the roof bar, this restaurant is well furnished and decorated. Lots of Key West style wood beams and earth tones- not the neon-pastel Caribbean stuff. Most tables give a sense of seclusion and intimacy, even the outdoor dining area. All this lends itself to a great atmosphere makes us expect great food and service.
Great service is almost always executed. Even the new server I had once indicated that she knew what she should have been doing, though she didn’t do it. The servers are professional, friendly, and attentive without being intrusive. Larger parties are well doubled and tripled with service.
The food is not always so well done. Its up and down and around, like it depends on which chef is on that night. The fish is not always tasty and is sometimes quite bland. This is inexcusable for a place name after Hemingway that sits on a beach. I will say that when the food is “on” is on par with better seafood in the area, though not the best (see Fish House and Altas reviews).
One thing that Hemingway’s has a wealth of is location. Spectacular views of the Santa Rosa Sound are available and this is one of the few restaurants in Pensacola with a sunset view. (That is a strange thing, is it not?). The roof top bar lends even better views, though as noted earlier, the utter lack of ambiance around this bar leaves a HUGE amount to be desired. This rooftop bar is another place that Hemingway’s has completely dropped the ball and is missing an opportunity to clinch the spot of the best restaurant on the beach.
Let me say that last, but not least, Hemingway’s has some absolutely delicious desserts. It is worth going just for dessert, coffee, and drinks. And yes, the Key Lime pie, is some of the best you’ll find anywhere in the world.
Name: Hemingway’s Island Grill
Location: 400 Quietwater Boardwalk, Pensacola Beach (west end of boardwalk on sound side)
Phone: 850-934-4747
Price: $$$
Website: none
Categories: Business Lunch · Dessert · Dining with Friends · Dining with Kids · Drinks · Food · Outdoor Dining · Pensacola Beach · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Seafood · Steak
Tagged: Business Lunch, Dessert, grill, hemingway, hemingway's, island, Outdoor Dining, Pensacola Beach, Restaurant, Romantic Dinner, Seafood, Steak
Talk about atmosphere? McGuires Irish Pub has it in spades, or should I say clovers? This is a true Irish pub, in every corner of its massive and growing number of dining areas. Loud and noisy, but also intimate and conversation, McGuires Irish Pub begs you to drink just one more beer. Brewing seasonals and standards onsite, there is plenty of beer to choose from. If you like your beer you may want to consider getting your own mug. If you are not a drinker, try the root beer made in house.
Not known just for its beers, McGuires is Pensacola’s best steakhouse. Super prime cuts of meat and superior spices help this place dominate the steak market admist a number of chain steakhouses (Outback is across the street; Dmaon’s went out of business next door). Their burger menu with 25+ excellent burgers is perfect lunch fare. Though you must be warned the burgers are HUGE and often quite sloppy.
One more thing to note: A McGuires tradition is to write something on a dollar bill and staple it to the ceiling. At last count by the IRS, there is over 700,000 dollar bills stapled to the ceiling of McGuires Irish Pub.
Name: McGuires Irish Pub
Location: 600 E. Gregory St., Pensacola, FL 32501 (downtown)
Phone: 850.433.6789
Price: $-$$$
Website: http://www.mcguiresirishpub.com/
Categories: BBQ · Burgers · Business Lunch · Dining with Friends · Dining with Kids · Downtown · Drinks · Food · Gregory · Pensacola · Restaurant · Seafood · Steak · Sunday Brunch
Tagged: Downtown Pensacola, Drinks, Restaurant, Steak, Business Lunch, Dining with Friends, Dining with Kids, Gregory Street, Burgers, Pensacola, McGuire's, Irish, Pub
If we had to pick one restaurant that would best represent Pensacola, it would have to be the Fish House. Located on the water, this restaurant has outdoor waterfront dining, delicious fine seafood menu, and lots of local flavor. For starters, though the food is fine dining quality and presentation, the atmosphere is decidedly casual. There are many business suits for lunch and the same at dinner, but you’ll always find shorts, flops, and suntans.
It is the Fish House, and they serve the best seafood in Pensacola. This is quite an accolade, as I consider Pensacola seafood some of the very best in the world. But not only is the Fish House good at fish, it is good at everything. For example, their burger sits as one of the best I have ever had. Their steaks are also superior. While the supremacy of the food at the Fish House waxes and wanes with chef moods, it never drops below excellent. The grits in the best in the South.
The Fish House offers indoor and outdoor dining. Indoor dining is marked by a crowded, white table cloth atmosphere and massive fish tanks. Outdoor dining happens on one of many levels of decks, covered by a variety of umbrellas and wide canvas strips. It is heated during Pensacola’s very short winter, and the ocean breeze cools it after noon during the summer (though one should pick summer lunch seating carefully). Delightfully, the Fish House decks sit on the east side of the building. While this precludes a sunset view, it does often a quick cool down at dinner time.
The only complaint that I may have about Fish House comes in the “local flavor”. The Fish House is a favorite watering hole of local socialites and wannabes, and they don’t mind starting early. What this means is that by early evening, the bar areas can be quite loud and somewhat obnoxious. If you prefer more peaceful dining, be sure to request seating away from the bars.
That being said, the Fish House is the first place that I recommend to visitors to Pensacola, my first choice for a business lunch, or a great place to go with Friends. On the right evening, it can be romantic as well. Regardless, you will have a superior dining experience.
(Well-kept secret: Fish house has the best burgers on the face of the earth. Really.)
Name: Fish House
Location: 600 S Barracks St # 10, Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone: 850.470.0003
Price: $$-$$$$$
Official Website: http://www.goodgrits.com/
Categories: Burgers · Business Lunch · Dessert · Dining with Friends · Downtown · Drinks · Food · Outdoor Dining · Pensacola · Restaurant · Romance · Romantic Dinner · Romantic Lunch · Salads · Sandwiches · Seafood · Seville · Steak · Sunday Brunch · Sushi
Tagged: Downtown Pensacola, Drinks, Restaurant, Seafood, Business Lunch, Dining with Friends, Outdoor Dining, Burgers, Sushi, Lunch with Sweetheart, Seville, Pensacola, fish, house, marina
