The best Jekyll Island restaurants {and where to dine outdoors!}
One of my favorite things about visiting other areas is getting a taste of the local fare and the great ambience that comes with it. I’ve found that navigating that can sometimes be cumbersome, especially when you’d rather spend your time enjoying the beach or exploring an area rather than planning your meals.
We spent the week on Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia. It’s such a quaint community, you’d think that finding where to eat would be easy, but I could find very little information in our search and thought I’d share in case someone vacationing in Jekyll stumbles across this little blog ‘o mine.
I think ambience is equally important to great food when vacationing, but am willing to compromise in times of bad weather.
The Best Restaurants on Jekyll Island for an Ocean View or On the Water
Tortuga Jacks
It’s no secret that we love Mexican, but when paired with an ocean view, well, that was a combo that led us to eat there 3 times during our stay. They had a fantastic guacamole and salad, the girls loved the kiddie cocktails and there were plenty of great views indoors and out. If sitting outdoors, the best views are under the tiki hut and indoors to the right. You can find live music there on evenings and weekend.
The Reserve at The Westin
Website photos fail to show that you can dine outdoors not only at their upper level bar {which is uncovered}, but on a beautiful patio sitting just below the dunes. You can catch a cool breeze while enjoying their extensive menu. The food is nothing to write home about, but the ambience more than compensated for it. The girls played just below the patio and made several friends during our visit.
The Anchor at Holiday Inn
This outdoor beach eatery is much more charming than you’d imagine. It boasts just a few tables, but plenty of ocean views and a beautiful breeze. The cheeseburger and mahi mahi were both great.
The Wharf
Beautiful views and great music. We biked through the Historic District until we came across this fun little stop, which also happens to be where the Dolphin Cruises depart from.
Zachry’s Riverhouse
Beach House Restaurant
Bar and grill with a few outdoor tables and views of the ocean.
Picnic by or On the Water in Jekyll Island
Of course the best way to take in ocean views are on the beach. Grab sandwiches at the Jekyll Island Market and dine al fresco.
What is surprising, yet charming to find are that some of the best Jekyll Island Restaurants aren’t on the water!
Where to Eat in Jekyll Island on Land
Courtyard at Crane
This restaurant was by far the best we encountered on Jekyll. We watched a summer storm blow in from the beautiful brick patio while enjoying an incredible wine list. Photos do not do this venue justice. We started with the chorizo and caramelized onion dip {recipe coming soon}. I loved the artichoke pasta and Chris loved the Fried Oyster Salad. The service was equally impressive. This restaurant captured so much of the island charm we hoped for when we planned our vacation.
Grand Dining Room
Also at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.
Driftwood Bistro
We knew that Driftwood Bistro would be good when we arrived and saw an abundance of guests waiting to be seated. It was worth the wait. I recommend trying a few of their sides and taking advantage of their $17 bottles of wine! After dinner, venture onto the beach for spectacular views of Driftwood Beach.
Love Shack
A quick bite near the convention center.
The Pantry
We Pub Beach
Red Bug Motors Pizza
Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar
The Reserve
The Pool House
Boardwalk Deli
The Anchor
Jekyll Island Seafood Company
Where to Get Ice Cream on Jekyll Island
Sweets Shoppe in Historic Jekyll
Jekyll Market
They also offer great ice cream (try salted caramel or cotton candy complete with pop rocks).
Fuse Frozen Yogurt
Jekyll Island has a site for dining, but we found that some of those restaurants have closed, never opened, or have yet to open. In addition, it lists out many of the same restaurants in a different format, which is confusing. I hope this makes your dining adventure as enjoyable as ours was!
There are a limited number of places to eat on Jekyll Island, so you just may be able to enjoy them all!
Originally published June 2016, updated May 2019
This seems like a great place to visit in general, and it looks like they have some really nice dining spots! Thanks for sharing a bit of your adventure with us!
Thank you for all the info. Much nicer than what I was finding online. I was wondering if you found places that you could take your dog to sit out and eat.
I believe you can at the Mexican restaurant and the sandwich shop/market downtown. I don’t think the cute little restaurant at the holiday in with mind either but you may want to call first.
So happy to have stumbled upon your post! We live aboard a small sailboat and just docked at one of the marinas. You’re right – I expected to find more info on eating here but came up empty handed. Thanks for the insight!
Sounds like an adventure! I’m glad it helped and hope you enjoy your time there.
Just FYI for anyone also researching good eats in JI, it looks like Latitude 31 is now closed. 🙁
Oh no! Thanks for sharing.
There is a new restaurant in the same location (I believe it’s just called The Wharf now) and is very good. It is now run by the hotel and I find the waiters and service to be much better. I wasn’t actually looking for info about JI I am just a regular blog reader and my family happens to have a home here so thought I would update would update.
Thank you SO much for sharing, I truly appreciate you following along and updating so I can update the post as well. Have a beautiful weekend!