Being the oldest city in America, St. Augustine is filled with Spanish-styled architecture and is booming with unique restaurants and fun activities for all. Whether you are coming up for a weekend or a week long trip, you will always find something to do.
My best friend and I wanted to take a mini-trip just to get out of town and enjoy some delicious food. After some research, we decided on St. Augustine. St. Augustine wasn’t too far from me and it wouldn’t break the bank, so we thought it would be the perfect place for a mini-weekend getaway.
WHERE I STAYED
While there were various air bnbs and hotels to choose from, we decided to stay at Home 2 Suites. It’s right off the I-95 highway and it was a short drive from all the places we planned to go. The rooms were incredibly clean and we had free breakfast every morning which saved us a ton. A (one) two queen bedroom cost us $391.67 for three nights, so we each paid $195.83.
WHERE I ATE
There are so many food options in St. Augustine and it would take a few trips to eat at every place, but all the places we chose to eat at were divine to say the least.
- When we drove in Friday night and checked into the hotel, it was pretty late, so we were just trying to find a quick bite to eat. We stumbled upon the Taco Shop called Burrito Works Taco Shop right on St. George St.
We both chose the Mexican UFO. I got mine with mahi mahi and Baja style. It was delicious and it had a spicy kick to it. Definitely was one of my favorites of the trip. It was $10.45 for the UFO and $2.75 for the Guava Mexican soda.
2. On Saturday, we decided to go to the Ice Plant Bar for lunch. The restaurant is in a 1927 industrial building and offers amazing comfort food and cocktails.
For lunch I had a “Dirty Shirley” cocktail and Skillet Fried Chicken & Hoe Cakes. This was my ALL TIME FAVORITE meal in St. Augustine and I still dream about that meal to this day.
The chicken was so juicy and crispy and the gravy was mouth-watering. The hoecakes came with this amazing fruit-filled butter and drizzled with syrup. The collard greens were the best part of the dish and it wrapped the whole dish up into a pretty little bow. Every part of this dish complimented each other. It was amazing and I will definitely be returning back to St. Augustine for this dish. The meal was $21 and the drink was a specialty drink, so I did not order it from the menu.
3. For dinner we decided to go the Hangar Bistro. This is an airport eatery and bar and, yes, it is located on an airport. We had the choice of a window seat or a seat on the main floor. We went with the window seat because we got an up close view of the planes.
For dinner I got a Peach Mojito and the “Fruity Di Mare” Risotto. The mojito was very refreshing and the risotto had chunks of seafood in it that were quite tasty. The oysters are nicely prepared and the risotto had a nice kick to it. I do wish that the risotto was not as runny, but it was still tasty. The mojito was $9 and the risotto was $32.
4. For lunch the next day, we decided to get our “Bridgerton” on and go to The Chatsworth Pub and Tea Room. This was such a cool experience and I felt like I was getting tea with friends in a corner cafe in London.
They offer various tea packages, but we decided on the Afternoon Tea. This package came with our choice of tea and three tiers of goodies. We selected the White Raspberry Champagne tea which was amazing.
For food, we selected the salmon and cream cheese sandwiches for the first tier, were given fresh scones with devonshire cream and preserves for the second tier, and for the top tier we were given pastries selected by the pastry chef.
The sandwiches were amazing and the scones were so fresh and soft. I also loved the cookies that were in the shape of a coffee pot.
This was definitely an amazing experience and the staff was so friendly. I would recommend coming here on your trip to St. Augustine. This whole experience came to $32.
5. For dinner we kept it pretty casual and decided to try the St. Augustine Seafood Company. I got The Anchor Burger with a side of fries. This came to $15. The anchor burger is topped with friend shrimp and their datil-buffalo sauce. It was delicious and very filling. My friend got the shrimp basket with the conch fritters. The conch fritter were amazing, as well.
6. The next day was our last day of the trip and we were both filled with sadness as St. Augustine had wiggled its way into our hearts. Before we had to say goodbye, we made our way to the Maple Street Biscuit Company.
I got the squawking Goat and my friend got the Five and Dime. Mine came to $9 and pretty much all of their food is very affordable. The biscuit was really good and the chicken was very tender. I also loved the house-made pepper jelly they put on mine.
LANDMARKS I VISITED
We wanted to visit a landmark a day during the weekend. The first landmark was the Classic Car Museum. It was $12 for entry. The cars were so beautiful and each had its own character. It was a pretty big indoor-lot housed with so many different cars.
The next landmark was the infamous Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. There is a $15 fee to actually enter the castle, but we just walked around and were able to view the castle up close with no issues.
This is a massive castle, but it was such a fun-time and the breeze from Matanzas Bay helped with the Florida heat. There is paid parking directly in front of the castle, but there is also free parking by the meters on the street (during the weekend) and you can always park there and walk over to the castle.
Our third landmark was going to see the boats on the docks of Matanzas Bay. There were so many cool boats and it’s a nice walk along the dock.
All in all this was one of my favorite trips and I was truly sad to go. The food was amazing and all the landmarks were the absolute best. I definitely will be returning for a longer trip next time. This is definitely a go to city for anyone traveling to Florida, even if you’re driving through on your way to another city. The people are so nice and welcoming and I felt so relaxed on this trip.
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