If you want to eat on the oceanfront while the kids dig in the sand, Sliders Seaside Grill at 1998 South Fletcher Avenue is set up for exactly that. It calls itself Fernandina Beach's only oceanfront tiki bar and restaurant, and the spot has drawn beachgoers since the Seaside Inn opened there in 1934. There's an oceanfront playground and sandbox, a dining room and porch facing the water, three bars, and live music from local musicians on a weekly calendar.
The menu leans on seafood the kitchen makes from scratch. You'll find oysters raw on the half shell, Rockefeller or Southern fried, plus lobster bisque, baked lobster and crab dip, and fried green tomatoes. The shrimp and grits, which the menu calls award winning, pairs Georgia white shrimp and andouille with redeye gravy over smoked gouda grits. There's a low country boil, a crab-topped flounder, and a Captain's Platter of catch of the day, shrimp, scallops and a crab cake. Burgers, tacos, a kids' menu for ages 10 and under, and Udi's gluten-free buns round it out.
What to know before you go, from the restaurant's own pages:
- Seating is first come, first served. Sliders doesn't take reservations.
- Lunch and dinner run 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with lunch baskets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- The balcony breakfast opens at 6 a.m. every day but Tuesday. Breakfast isn't available for takeout.
- Tortuga Jacks, a sister Baja Mexican concept, now operates on the second floor.
- Parties of six or more get one check and an automatic 20 percent gratuity.
- Live beach and band cams on the website let you check the surf and the stage first.
Sliders sits on the Fletcher Avenue oceanfront, south of the Main Beach pair of Sandbar and Salt Life. Its renovated banquet room and second floor hold up to 250 guests, and concierge help can keep a rehearsal dinner or reunion there on track from out of town.