Restaurants in Fruit Cove

The Grape was voted first place best wine bar by CityVoters. Eighty-five percent of Urbanspooners recommend the restaurant. Six Yelpers give it a four star average:

Ancient City Subs' creative menu features old-world flavors infused with contemporary twists such as Segways and pickles. One of Ancient City's house specialties, the hot-pressed Cuban sandwich, layers freshly sliced pork with baked ham, cotto salami, and your choice of swiss or American cheese ($6.99 for whole); the classic Italian sub is stuffed with baked ham, pepperoni, genoa, cotto salami, and provolone and is doused in a roasted-garlic balsamic vinaigrette ($7.19 for whole). Grapes, pecans, and a tiny bit of minced onion delicately sweeten the chicken-salad croissant ($4.99), and vegetarians perk up for the spicy, jalapeño-topped veggies and cheese sandwich ($4.99 for whole). For some lighter fare or as a nice complement to your sandwich, enjoy a fresh mandarin-orange and chicken salad ($7.99 for whole), a sweet three-bean salad on the side ($1.49 for 8 oz.), or a 12 oz. bowl of homemade soup ($3.49 with sandwich or croissant purchase).

Presenting traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine with an American twist, Pastiche offers seasonally changing lunch and dinner menus crafted with high-quality and locally procured ingredients. Offset afternoon digestive-tract deficits with a bowl of classic French onion soup ($5) or artichoke-parmesan fritters ($7.50), then segue to a grilled chicken salad nicoise ($9) with asparagus and pickled potatoes. For dinner, engage entrees of flock, fowl, and fish by sampling a roasted beef tenderloin bordelaise ($28), a sautéed duck breast with shallot marmalade ($23), or salmon roasted tandoori style with couscous and plum-tomato chutney ($19). For dessert, share a bouquet of lavender crème brûlée ($7) with your sweetie, or try a refreshing raspberry sorbet served with rosemary shortbread cookies ($4.50). Observe proper throat-lubrication etiquette with a drink from Pastiche’s wine list, which offers a lengthy selection of wines both domestic and imported as well as several beer options.

Named one of Jacksonville magazine's Top 25 Restaurants in 2009, Marker 32, nestled across the Intracoastal Waterway from San Pablo Island, serves up dazzling sea fruits on the waterfront for optimal reflection and potential mermaid visitations. Start an elegant evening or celebrate making it through croquet camp unscathed with oysters on the half shell ($7) or broiled with bacon, spinach, and sundried tomatoes ($7). With the opening ceremonies slurped from their handsome shells, customers may graduate to the main course, which may include seared scallops served over creamy grits with a red-wine-and-mushroom gravy ($18), or caked blue crabs with a caper dill aioli, cozily nestled on a scenic platescape of steamed spinach and new potatoes ($19).

Vinny's extensive menu is a robust melting pot of classic Italian and American savories. Full dinners and pasta dishes evoke visions of the Italian countryside, with its soup streams, salad orchards, and rolling fields of rolls. The meat lasagna ($11.95) halts hunger, the lobster ravioli ($13.95) triggers taste buds, and the chicken parmigiana ($13.95) charms noses with its marinara aroma.

Like the Phoenician traders who set out from Lebanese ports in ancient times, the Barakat family has voyaged far and wide, spreading culinary excellence across three continents since the 1930s. Founded in 2008 by Pierre Barakat, Mandaloun Mediterranean Cuisine is the latest outpost of a dynasty that includes UK restaurants run by Pierre's nephews and his father John's original eatery back in Lebanon. Family tradition finds expression in recipes honed over decades, guiding chefs as they transform fresh ingredients into Mediterranean classics from veg-friendly falafel to meaty shawarma and kebabs. Sunlight glints off outdoor tables in front during the day, and belly dancers maze between white-linen-topped tables inside on some weekend nights.