The Conch House (Saint Augustine, FL)

Resturant Name: The Conch House

City: Saint Augustine, Florida

Visit Date: 3/23/12

Food Type:  Seafood + American

Meal: Lunch

Address: 57 Comares Avenue  St. Augustine, FL 32080

Food Rating: 9/10

Environment Rating: 8/10

Price: 7/10

Service Rating: 10/10

Overall Rating: 34/40 (Excellent)

tl;dr Great location to grab lunch or dinner. Friendly staff and lovely view. Slightly more expensive than I would have liked and could do without the random birds walking around.

A good friend from out of town drove up to Saint Augustine for the day and wanted to have lunch. I of course scrambled online to check out a location nearby that wasn’t too far away and that would be tasty.

Google tossed me this recommendation as one of its top 5 listings for the Saint Augustine. And so as it stands I didn’t have much reason not to at least try it out.

First of all I have to say that the out of the way location is great for having a meal. Now I do realize that out of the way means a tad bit of a drive. But going over the Bridge of Lions is a lovely view if you aren’t stopped one side of it or another because of bad traffic or a boat crossing.

Anyway parking was plentiful and today wasn’t that unbearably hot. The hostess area had no wait when we arrived at 12:30. Apparently there’s 3 seating zones. One outside with umbrella coverage, another set under tiki style thatched roofing and the final set that is indoors but with large glass doors that can be moved to allow the breeze in.

Interestingly enough there weren’t traditional cloth napkins that I had originally expected. Instead there are what appears to be wash cloths wrapped around the cutlery. Not necessarily a detraction from the appeal of the place but that’s just because I’m too used to standard cloth napkins. Anyway these were perfect for the intended purpose of keeping one’s hands clean.

The biggest draw for me in deciding this particular location was the fact that it was near the water front yet offered a slightly out of the way feel. Situated next door to the marina the Conch Restaurant offers its guests a charming view of the Saint Augustine salt-grass that fits well with the seafood theme of the location.

Our server was a lovely gentleman named Erik. Friendly and polite, he was by far one of the best waiters I’ve ever had in ANY establishment. He offered us just amount of time between getting our appetizers situated and then asking for our main orders as well as being able to crack jokes and in general being a welcoming host to keep the meal enjoyable.

Conch Fritters

For an Appetizer we decided on the Conch Fritters. For the price I would have liked a few more of the delicious morsels but I feel it’s acceptable for the 6 balls of deliciousness that we received. At the Conch House, their fritters are made with what I can assume is Atlantic-caught conch. The meat is sliced and mixed with an interesting but delicious blend of red peppers, cornmeal and a few spices as well as something that leaves a refreshingly sweet afternote. These fritters are deep fried until a delightful shade of golden and served with a side of key lime mustard. As I would like to note, the perfect beginning to a delightful meal.

While we were waiting for our main courses to arrive, I had the opportunity to look around. We ended up deciding to sit inside and enjoy the comforts of air-conditioning. At this point I must make a small note that arguably would be one of my only 2 real negative points as to the restaurant. And while I understand that based on the location as well as the idiocracy of guests there is no possibility of the contrary, I have to make the note. I think it’s slightly unsanitary that more than one pigeon simply walked through the doors and began pecking at my feet before I shoo-ed it away with great gusto.

Yes I’m quite happy that it was a pigeon and not the somewhat aggressive sea-gulls that my time in Florida has exposed me to. But even then a restaurant should realize that animals randomly walking around and pecking at scraps is less than slightly. And while this may be due to location as well as guests who feel inclined to toss scraps at said animals… I would hope something could be done.

But aside from that the rest of my luncheon was a charm. In the middle of the lunch hour there were several other parties of individuals present but the builders and restaurant planners had enough foresight to leave space between tables. Thusly we were able to actually hear each other even with the baby behind us and the random kids (probably staying at the motel) running out of the pool. The thatched roofing, regae music and random tiki-themed statues aren’t over the top and offer diners a pleasant view.

Conversation flowed freely between myself and my friend and likewise the server was EXCELLENT about everything I expected from him. Even before my soda was empty, he rushed back with a refill; he was polite and actually stopped by to check up on us every few minutes and arguably the best part of it was that he knew what was on the menu and made real recommendations as to what he could personally vouch for.

Fried Oysters and Fries - Amazing

As for the main course of the meal, I chose the fried oysters; arguably an odd choice. However I wasn’t in the mood for the fish and my companion had already decided on a burger and I didn’t want to seem too traditional with my visit to a new restaurant.  The plate which I felt was slightly overpriced at $10 consisted of 6 lightly friend oysters accompanied by fries and a Cesar salad.

And I must say these were amazing oysters. Now in the past I’ve had fried oysters. And I was kinda hesitant on that matter because the ones I had previously consumed were almost jerkey like strips of some type of shellfish in a rock hard batter dipping. The ones at the Conch House are near perfect. The batter they use is light enough to make a good shell but taste neutral and amplified the flavor of the meaty oyster within. The oysters themselves had clean crisp flavor of the ocean and were pleasant enough that I wish I had gotten more than 6 of them. Fries were as expected decent and the Cesar could have done without the croutons but I’m ok because the focus of the meal was exactly how they deserved to be.

At the end of our meal, Erik offered to grab us each a slice of key lime or mud-cake but we were both quite stuffed with the luncheon and kindly refused.

I would definitely come back here.  The theme, the feel, the location; all of it proved to be perfect in making me enjoy my luncheon.  Thank You Erik. If you get a chance to read this, you did your job perfectly and I would be honored if you would serve me again if I get the chance to visit your restaurant again :)