Restaurants in Cocoa

Before heading into his kitchen, chef and owner of Frappes North Bobby Frappier makes a detour at the restaurant’s organic herb and tomato garden, harvesting ingredients for the day’s menu. The armful of herbs and tomatoes make cameos in that evening’s sauces, such as dill compound and thyme jus, as well as in the bottled pasta sauce sold at the restaurant.

In addition to its fresh cuisine, Frappes North has earned nods for its ambiance, which the New York Times calls “sophisticated [and] hip.” Wine tastings, held on the first Tuesday of every month, bring oenophiles and the oeno-curious together for a sample of delightful vintages, paired with appetizers. Sunlight spills across the exposed dark wood beams that support the canted ceiling and tiled flooring that supports the live acoustic music on Friday nights.

Ocean waves swirl steps from The Beach Bucket's umbrella-littered patio, where white tables groan beneath fried-shrimp baskets and plates of burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Blenders churn frozen libations to the pulse of weekly live music performances, and mixologists also stir sea-inspired drinks such as shipwreck, bay breeze, and water on the rocks. Personable staff and a selection of 28 bottled beers leave sippers grinning as broadly as the exultant shark on The Beach Bucket's souvenir T-shirts.

Though Clubhouse Restaurant’s wall-size windows look out on the rolling greens and fairways of Daytona Beach Golf Club, the steady stream of regulars often have a difficult time prying their eyes away from the plates in front of them. Locally renowned for its juicy steaks and handmade, all-beef burgers, Glen Leizear’s restaurant has become a community staple since he moved to Daytona Beach from Maryland more than a decade ago. The key to his success, as he once told the Daytona Beach News-Journal only begins with the food—he works more than 100 hours a week to ensure that prices stay reasonable and his customers feel welcome, whether stopping in for full meals or friendly games of cards. Though the restaurant’s familial atmosphere encourages guests to drop their guard and relax, Glen keeps things interesting by routinely hosting catered banquets, old-fashioned cookouts on holidays, and indoor driving-range practice.

Burritos, enchiladas, and tacos stuffed with cheese and meat share space with Cuban specialties and six savory forms of steak on Chaparral Mexican Grill’s menu. Inside the eatery, wagon wheels and scenes of cowboys dot the walls and a fleet of red and black stools flank the oversize bar. Here, libation wizards top off glasses with the eatery’s pride and joy: the margarita. House recipes and fruit-filled varieties of the quintessential Mexican drink cool down diners who’ve run their tongues along sizzling churrasco, spicy shrimp, and their dates' overheating cell-phone batteries.

The crew at Mister Beaujeans Ice Cream Company is committed to crafting soft-serve ice-cream treats and American fare with wholesome ingredients and minimal environmental impact. They combine all-natural cream, vanilla beans, pure Belgian chocolate, and evaporated sugar cane juice to make rich ice cream, and utilize certified carbon-free cane sugar and renewable products as part of an eco-friendly philosophy. Staffers dress up cups and cones with seven types of syrup and rainbow sprinkles that guests can separate into neatly color-coded piles.

For lunch and dinner, cooks steam cheeseburgers and deep-fry hot dogs, serving them on house-made buns alongside razor fries in flavors such as salt and vinegar. Early morning patrons can get their hands on breakfast sandwiches, waffles with house-made caramel syrup, or handmade beignets with cinnamon sugar, while they last.

From a young age, chef Wesley Campbell would watch, rapt, as his parents made jerk chicken and pork, steamed fish, and fried chicken at their restaurant in Jamaica. Realizing that this was his calling, he began his career as a prep chef at the age of 16 at the five-star Half Moon resort in Jamaica, where he was quickly promoted to head chef. By age 20, Wesley was offered the executive-chef position––which he turned down. His real aspirations were to start a restaurant in America.

In the time since, chef Wesley has been nominated to represent his country in the International Culinary Olympics competition, and traveled to the United States to hone his skills at four Washington, DC, restaurants. Today, he blends Jamaican, American, and continental preparations into the menu at Mo-Bay Grill, whose dynamic flavor profiles have earned the eatery four palms from Florida Today.

In its dining room, decor details such as palm-tree wall murals and wooden wind chimes evoke “an afternoon by a tiki hut on the beach of Montego Bay,” according to a 2006 review in Hometown News. As island music swoons over the speakers, servers ferry in authentic Jamaican dishes such as baked jerk chicken, apple-glazed pork chops, and hearty stews of oxtail, vegetables, and beef. Afterward, guests can dunk forks into desserts such as banana-rum cheesecake, which gives meals cheesy finishes without quizzing servers about their favorite knock-knock jokes.:m]]