The Restaurant Times - Guide to Dining and Entertainment in and around St. Augustine
The Restaurant Times Dining Guide for St. Augustine
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Bistro de Leon

Cafe Atlantico

La Pentola

La Strada

The Raintree

Shenanigans

The Tasting Room

Wildflower Cafe

 
 

St. Augustine’s Masters
  of Food and Wine

St. Augustine is home to many of the finest restaurants in the state and the region. Much of the credit goes to the chefs, who take painstaking care not only in preparing and presenting food but also in creating the perfect ambiance for its full enjoyment.

Sometimes a thankless job, the chef’s role is steeped in history and tradition. And, while in the past, they rarely left the confines of the back of the house, today, as restaurants play a key role in our society, chefs are enjoying newfound prestige. With the rise of celebrity chefs, the Food Network, and open kitchen designs, chefs are receiving recognition for the hard work they do and the artistry they often achieve.

So, the next time you have an excellent dinner, remember the hard-working, dedicated professional behind the scenes such as the following chefs and restaurateurs who make dining one of St. Augustine’s most enticing attractions.



Back to Top Bistro de Leon
Bistro de Leon Chef
Second Anniversary Celebration

Opened in 2008, Bistro de Leon is located within steps of St. Augustine’s famous Bridge of Lions. “This restaurant is a bistro de quartier,” says Chef Jean-Stephane Poinard. “It is a small, cozy café in a treasured town, like at home in Lyon.” French home cuisine—la cuisine de meres—is what propelled Poinard to the top of France’s gastronomic scene. Proud of being a fifth generation chef, Chef Poinard built his reputation by delighting international patrons with his passion for cooking.

Richard Villadoniga, leader of Slow Food First Coast, had this to say: Recently, I sat down with Chef Jean-Stephane Poinard, owner and creative mastermind behind Bistro de Leon, located in downtown St Augustine. His restaurant ... added sophistication and authenticity to a dining scene that often caters to tourists. Poinard, an energetic, charismatic chef originally from Lyon, and his wife, a former wine maker, aspire to make French food accessible to locals with their Old World hospitality and impeccable culinary talents. Poinard has been cooking for 23 years professionally and is a fifth generation chef, learning his skills from his father, who studied under Poinard’s grandfather ... As Chef Poinard puts it: “Cooking is more than just preparing food, it is a lifestyle. I want people to come to my restaurant and take their time, enjoy good food ... and realize that time is the ultimate luxury.”

In the two years since opening, Bistro de Leon has received numerous awards: “Best Restaurant Worth a Drive” by Orlando Home and Leisure magazine; “Snail Approval” from Slow Food USA; Top 25 Best Restaurants by Jacksonville Magazine; and Best French Restaurant in the 2009 Best of St. Augustine awards. Chef Poinard invites his guests to “Enjoy my little Bistro as if it were a sip of Beaujolais Nouveau every day of the year and come celebrate the moment with us.”

12 Cathedral Place • (904) 810-2100
www.bistrodeleon.com


Back to Top Cafe Atlantico Italian Grill
Cafe Atlantico Chef - Paolo Pece
Award-Winning Contemporary Italian Cuisine

Hailing from the vibrant city of Naples, Paolo Pece is a certified master chef by the Italian Culinary Institute located in that ancient city. Chef Pece completed his training in his brother’s bistro during a two-year apprenticeship working under a European master chef before moving to New York City. There he worked as a sous chef in Al Bacio restaurant on the Upper East Side. Before opening his own restaurant in 1999, he served as Executive Chef for Il Ristorante in Chambersburg, Penn.

At Cafe Atlantico, food and art provide a sensory feast in Chef Pece’s intimate and elegant contemporary Italian restaurant. The freshest seafood, pork, steak, pasta, poultry, and Italian specialty ingredients are prepared using classical cooking techniques, and the menu changes seasonally. Housemade desserts include authentic tiramisu, panna cotta, and torta caprese; and the wine list features numerous Italian varietals and vintages as well as boutique wines from all over the world. The interior, designed by a local architect and other artisans, is art gallery-elegant with contemporary tabletop elements, expressionistic paintings and sculpture, and use of interesting textures and materials such as tabby stone, mahogany, copper, and brass. A new alfresco seating area features a circle of swaying palms and cafe tables for a unique and elegant dining experience in St. Augustine Beach. For its unique ambiance and outstanding menu, Cafe Atlantico received Triple A’s Three-Diamond Award, Florida Trend’s Best 500 Restaurants in Florida, and Jacksonville Magazine’s 25 Best Restaurants in Northeast Florida award.

647 A1A Beach Blvd. • (904) 471-7332
www.CafeAtlantico.net

Back to Top La Pentola
La Pentola Chef Pic
Creative Cuisine in Historic Downtown

Chef Jorge Talavera brings a world of global experience to create lively continental dishes that are as delicious as they are beautiful. This talented culinarian hails from Guadalajara, Mexico and specializes in Mediterranean and Latin cuisines, so popular now in American restaurants. And that is what Chef Talavera showcases on his menu at La Pentola, using only the freshest local seafood and meats, fresh herbs and organic produce from local suppliers, housemade pastas, and premium quality spices and oils.

You could define Chef Talavera’s cooking as a “cuisine of the sun” since all preparations derive their inspiration from regions with sunny climes. Case in point are his Grilled Lamb Chops, twin lamb chops grilled and topped with spinach, garlic, tomatoes, and feta cheese; his Veal Osso Buco, braised veal shank in herbed tomato-white wine sauce topped with gremolata and served with porcini mushroom and poblano pepper risotto; Chicken Saltimbocca, sautéed chicken breast, topped with prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella cheese, and veal demiglaze; or his magnificent Seafood Pasta, a mèlange of shrimp, scallops, New Zealand mussels, and calamari, sautéed with spinach, sundried tomatoes, and artichokes in a sherry cream sauce over egg fettuccini. Chef Talavera, and his talented wife, Susan, make all of the breads and delectables desserts served at the restaurant, making the entire meal a feast of authentic and inspired flavors!

58 Charlotte St. • (904) 824-3282 www.lapentolarestaurant.com

Back to Top La Strada
La strada Chef Pic
Old World Italian • Celebrating 10 Years!

Chef Mark DeRusso has built a career on his passion for the culinary arts. And, true to his birthright, he specializes in the Italian cuisine of his heritage. Chef DeRusso, a graduate of the Hudson County Culinary Institute in Jersey City, N.J., developed his skills working for several restaurants including Aruanno’s here in St. Augustine and took the plunge to open his own restaurant in July 2000. La Strada embodies all of Chef DeRusso’s philosophies of what makes Italian cuisine a worldwide favorite—a comfortable setting, gracious service, and soul-satisfying food crafted from the freshest seasonal ingredients.

Along with traditional Italian favorites such as chicken Marsala, homemade lasagna, succulent lamb dishes, and shrimp scampi, Chef DeRusso has developed a number of dishes that are distinctively his own. Chicken DeRusso features chicken breast rolled with prosciutto ham, mozzarella cheese, and herbs, finished with a Madeira-mushroom sauce, and his Duck a’ La Strada features crispy roasted duckling served in a sauce of cranberries and port wine, finished with fresh mushrooms. His potato-crusted salmon served on a lemon-horseradish cream sauce is always a favorite with customers. Chef DeRusso flexes his creative muscle on a weekly basis, developing a list of innovative specials for lunch and dinner, or making food to order upon request, proof of his improvisational culinary skill.

4075 A1A South • (904) 471-0081

 
Back to Top The Raintree Restaurant
Raintree Owners/Chefs
Casual Dining • Historic Location

The story of the Raintree Restaurant reads a little bit like a romantic novel. On March 30, 1979, the MacDonald family, consisting of father and mother, Tristan and Alex, and son Gaere, and daughter Lorna, left England in their 45-foot yacht, Intsholo III, bound for the United States, just as their countrymen had done in the 17th century, and for just about the same reason. After selling everything—business, house, cars, and most of their furniture—they said goodbye to Europe and friends. At 5 p.m. on Nov. 7, 1979, they left the safety of the Canaries for the open Atlantic. The crossing took nearly 18 days before Intsholo III anchored at Bridgetown, Barbados. The next step was across to Florida and then north to St. Augustine, where the MacDonalds found the old house at 102 San Marco Avenue that became The Raintree after 10 months of restorations and refurbishment. This century-old building is one of the last survivors of the city’s Victorian heyday.

Since opening in 1981, The Raintree continues to be recognized nationally and internationally as one of Florida’s top destination restaurants. The warm, inviting ambience of the restored 1879 home, brick courtyard, and lush gardens surrounding it provide the perfect setting for memorable dining and special events such as weddings and private parties. The menu features hand-cut prime steaks, fresh local seafood, chef’s specials, and handcrafted desserts, notably made-to-order French crepes. Specialties such as the Brandy Peppersteak, Veal San Marco, and Raintree Bouillabaisse have put the restaurant on the map of gourmands the world over. Come see why the Raintree is a St. Augustine tradition not to be missed!

102 San Marco Avenue • (904) 824-7211 www.RaintreeRestaurant.com

Back to Top Shenanigan's Food & Spirits
Shenanigans Chef Danny Heffernan
xxxGreat Food in a Neighborhood Pub Setting

What’s the best way to assure you have the best pub fare in town? Find a chef from the heart of Ireland who has been cooking for the dining public since the age of 10! Hailing from County Kilkenny, Chef Danny Heffernan grew up with a love for the hospitality industry and the freshest seasonal ingredients. With a mother who ran a bed and breakfast and as a farmer’s son, he grew up cooking and serving food and even cooked breakfast for guests when he was only 10 years old. At age 16, he entered Ireland’s state-sponsored culinary training program, one of the most rigorous in Europe at the time. It turned out a generation of exceptional chefs and transformed the Irish culinary scene. Chef Danny trained in the finest hotels in Ireland, including Dromoland Castle Hotel, a world-class, five-star hotel and country estate, and Malahide Castle Hotel, a former grand country estate built in 1185.

A vacation to the U.S. turned into a job and he never looked back. While serving as executive chef of The Country Inn on Long Island, and later the Locust Valley Inn, his work was featured in The New York Times, Newsday, and Great Chefs of Long Island annual. In 2001, he and his family opted for the Florida lifestyle and now call St. Augustine home. As executive chef of Shenanigan’s, St. Augustine’s newest neighborhood pub, his attention to quality ingrained from his earliest experiences is what makes Chef Danny’s menu stand out. While the menu focuses on fresh local seafood, steaks, delicious burgers, and the best signature sandwiches in St. Augustine, authentic Irish fare is always a highlight. With a comfortable, friendly atmosphere featuring a full bar and live music several nights of the week, Shenanigans is a great place to bring friends or make new friends. And you won’t leave hungry!

4010 U.S. 1 South • (904) 217-3051 www.ShenanigansUSA.com


Back to Top The Tasting Room
Tasting Room Chefs
Contemporary Spanish Restaurant

Originally from the port city of Marseilles, Chef de Cuisine Matthieu Landillon leads the culinary team at The Tasting Room, along with Sous Chef Kyle Forson, a native of another old port city—St. Augustine! The duo have worked as part of the team for years, helping earn Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence and Florida Trend’s coveted Golden Spoon Award consecutively for the past three years running, making The Tasting Room one of Florida’s top restaurants.

With his diplome gastronomique in hand from Le Cordon Bleu in Toulouse, Chef Landillon moved to the United States in 1998 to work in the ultimate restaurant city—New York. He worked with several top chefs in Manhattan, including world-renowned Jean-Georges. In nearby Greenwich, Conn., he worked in top Spanish-themed restaurants such as Bamba, a popular Neuvo Latino style restaurant, and Barcelona Tapas. These culinary experiences, along with his young life growing up in Provence and traveling to Madrid, Barcelona, and Malaga on holiday, shaped Chef Landillon’s culinary philosophy. In France, food is not an afterthought; it is what makes life worth living! His daily specials at The Tasting Room are based on what is fresh from local markets and vendors and artisanal cheeses, salume, olives, spices, and condiments imported from Spain. The Tasting Room’s smaller portioned, boldly flavored contemporary Spanish dishes are a sensation—meant to be savored and shared.

Sous Chef Kyle Forson was inspired to enter the culinary profession by a great Southern cook and mentor, his maternal grandmother. He began working at The Tasting Room in 2008, first as a pastry chef under Schyler Cook, and now serves as the restaurant’s sous chef. .


25 Cuna St. • (904) 810-2400 www.TheTastingRoomFL.com


 
Back to Top Wildflower Café
Wildflower Cafe Chef Pic
A Casual American Restaurant

After looking for a restaurant to buy for several years, when Chef Brian Helm discovered Wildflower Café, “all the stars aligned.” One of the beaches’ most popular eateries, Wildflower Café was the right size, in a great location, and had a good feel, according to Helm’s wife and partner, Dae Lynn. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., Chef Helm has more than 20 years working in the resort and country club industry. While serving as executive chef of the Sandestin Resort and Club in Destin, Fla., the resort’s signature restaurant, Elephant Walk, was named one of the top 200 restaurants in the state by Florida Trend magazine and several of Chef Helm’s signature menu items were singled out for special mention by the magazine’s renowned restaurant reviewer, Robert Tolf.

For Chef Helm, the purchase of Wildflower Café is the fulfillment of his longtime dream. International cuisines are a passion of this award-winning chef and that is evident throughout his menu—from morning to evening. Popular breakfast items include Crab Cake Eggs Benedict and German Oven Pancakes. For lunch, his award-winning Wildflower Chowder, the Tuscany Panini (grilled chicken breast, peppers, fresh spinach, garlic mayo on panini bread) and Classic Cuban are local favorites. And dinner at Wildflower Café is a highlight. Signature items include: Crab Cakes with Mustard-Chive Sauce and Seared Ahi Tuna served on Asian Slaw to start, followed by Steak au Poivre, Seafood Fettuccini, and Pork Schnitzel. Bon appetit!

4320 A1A South • (904) 471-2691 www.wildflowercafefl.com

 

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