5 best new restaurants in Jacksonville, the Beaches for a special night out

For many of us, 2022 has been a year of returning to favorite neighborhood restaurants to recapture the experience of treating ourselves to a night out with a special meal after a couple of years of takeout and delivery due to the pandemic.

And now, many are looking for new dining experiences, reasons to get in the car and drive across our big city for a special night out.

Fortunately, Jacksonville has plenty of new restaurants worthy of a trip down the block or across town. Here are five of our favorites that have opened this year.

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Refinery

831 1st St. N., Jacksonville Beach

Located four blocks north of the Jacksonville Beach Pier, this multi-concept restaurant offers something for everyone – with an ocean view. On the first floor, there’s the Ocean Bar and First Street Pub, perfect for meeting friends for a drink or a quick bite to eat in a casual setting, each with a patio offering views of the beach or First Street. Think appetizers, ranging from Boiled Peanuts ($6) to Salt & Pepper Shrimp ($15) to Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Sliders ($14) and more; handhelds, including Baby Swiss Mushroom Burger ($18), Patty Melt ($17) and Bacon Jalapeno Manchego Burger ($19); and more.

Upstairs, expect a more refined dining setting with a menu of “Euro-American-inspired cuisine,” including entrees Forbidden Togarashi Spiced Seared Tuna ($30), Everything Crusted Snapper ($34), Lamb Chop Cassoulet ($30), Salt and Pepper Crusted Chicken ($28), Slow Cooked Buckhead Pride Short Rib Tomahawk ($65) and more, all with an unobstructed view of the Atlantic Ocean.

There’s even a marketplace offering a variety of freshly made-to-order sandwiches, seasonal salads, wine by the bottle, specialty beers and smoothies, available to eat in or grab and go.

O-Ku

502 1st St. N., Jacksonville Beach

Closer to the pier is O-Ku, an upscale Japanese restaurant with a rooftop bar and dining area offering postcard-worthy ocean views like its neighbor up the street. In addition to a selection of Nigiri and Sashimi, O-Ku's menu offers a selection of chef specialties and small plates, including Otoro Spoons (market price), described by reviewer Caron Streibich as “dreamy, one-bite spoons are an amalgamation of bluefin tuna belly, wasabi stem, uni, caviar and truffle soy. The most perfect bite!”

Among the Makimono favorites are Blazing Saddles ($18, tempura shrimp, avocado, seared wagyu beef, cilantro aioli, sweet soy, crispy onions) and Firecracker ($16, crispy panko fried roll with spicy salmon, avocado, cucumber, goat cheese mousse, sweet soy).

Bar Molino

1538 Hendricks Ave. (San Marco)

Described as “a love letter to Spain,” Bar Molino offers a menu of traditional tapas, sherry cocktails and an extensive wine list. Featuring fresh seafood, produce and other ingredients sources locally, tapas selections include Pulpo a la Plancha, grilled Spanish octupus, marinated gigande beans, mojo rojo and saffron aioli; Tortilla Espanola, traditional Spanish potato and onion omelet with garlic aioli; and Crispy Chicken Oysters, fried chicken oysters and skins, piparra peppers and bravas sauce.

Also on the menu is a selection of conservas, or canned seafood from Spain, and jamon, a kind of dry-cured ham, popular on charcuterie boards. (And fans of charcuterie will want to step inside neighboring The Swinerie, a sister concept of Bar Molino, which offers dry-cured meats and sausages and a selection of pates, rillettes, confits and cooked meats.)

Blue Orchid Thai Cuisine

1551 Riverside Ave. (Riverside)

Showcasing the cuisine, hospitality and culture of Thailand is Blue Orchid, one of the new additions this year to Riverside’s busy dining scene. In addition to staples curries, stir fries and noodles, Blue Orchid offers a variety of house specials, including Blue Orchid Pad Thai ($42), Curry Duck ($38), Volcano Shrimp ($31) and Seafood Paradise ($46), featuring lobster tail, scallop, squid, mussels and pineapple.

The restaurant includes an outdoor garden with seating and a water feature. Even better: it’s just steps away from Memorial Park, the perfect place for an after-dinner stroll with a view of the St. Johns.

M Brothers at Mayo

4500 San Pablo Road S. (Intracoastal)

Just because it’s located within Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, don’t mistake M Brothers for anything less than you’d expect from Jacksonville’s David and Matthew Medure, the creative forces behind some of the city’s finest dining establishments.

Expect Pan Seared Salmon ($32), Ginger-Orange Chicken ($30), Slow-Braised Short Ribs ($40) and even a 28-Day Dry-Aged Boneless Ribeye ($65) as well as a variety of starters, soups and salads. For lunch, the menu offers entrees, including Pad Thai ($18), Steak Frittes ($22), Shrimp Etouffee ($22); handhelds, including Lobster Roll (market price), Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich ($19) and Carolina M Burger ($19); and more.

Also at Mayo, the Medures launched Zest, a gourmet grab-and-go market offering flatbread pizzas, hot sandwiches and more for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as take-and-bake dinners.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 5 best new restaurants in Jacksonville, the Beaches