If you're spending the day at Main Beach and want lunch or dinner without moving the car, Salt Life Food Shack at 17 North Fletcher Avenue puts itself in the heart of Main Beach, near Main Beach Park. It's one of three Salt Life Food Shacks in Northeast Florida; the other two are in Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine Beach.
The menu covers more ground than the word shack suggests. The Fernandina location lists fresh seafood, rolled sushi, poke bowls, street tacos, fried shrimp, burgers, salads and cocktails for lunch and dinner, and the restaurant names the tuna poke bowl and its sushi rolls among guest favorites.
Outside, the restaurant describes an expansive seating area with ocean views that includes a rooftop bar, a lounge and a shaded patio, and live music plays on the patio during the week. Indoors, the dining room is built around a custom saltwater aquarium that was featured on the TV series Tanked.
The basics:
- Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
- Reservations go through OpenTable, linked from the restaurant's site.
- Online ordering and catering are available.
- Phone: (904) 432-7385.
Sandbar Amelia Island is the other big Main Beach option, set directly on the beach and pouring from a whiskey list of its own. If you own or rent near the Main Beach roundabout and want a table held for a crowd on a summer Saturday, reservations and bookings can take care of the OpenTable side ahead of your arrival.