By Irene Merenda

St. Augustine Fish Camp, 142 Riberia Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084. 904-827-7000

The St. Augustine Fish Camp restaurant is located on Riberia in the area south of the St. Augustine Distillery and boasts  a lovely view of the marina and river.  According to the restaurant website, Ben and Liza Goshell opened the restaurant in 2020.  Their other other Fish camp locations are in Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and Jacksonville.  

St. Augustine Fish Camp is one of the few area restaurants that I have found willing to take a dinner reservation.  Our party of 5 was lucky enough to have an outside table on a beautifully clear evening and so we enjoyed a perfect sunset while we dined.

My husband and I arrived a few minutes early for our 6:15 reservation and we waited for our friends at the restaurant’s well-appointed bar, where we were almost immediately served a glass of wine by a very friendly bar tender.

When our friends arrived right at 6:15, we were shown to our table.  The outdoor seating area was quite crowded, especially for a Monday night.  That, however, did not affect the quality of the food or the service.  Our waiter greeted us quickly and took our drink and appetizer orders. He was friendly and efficient, but obviously very busy.  In fact, we saw him literally RUNNING through the restaurant several times throughout the evening.   Drinks were brought quickly, but we waited a little longer than expected for our appetizers.  This gave us time to enjoy our cocktails and the scenery.  

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The calamari appetizer was tender, lightly breaded and delicious.  The peel and eat shrimp huge and very fresh.  The Chef’s seafood soup was similar to minorcan conch chowder, but not as spicy.  I would have preferred a little more spice, but adding some hot sauce made it perfect for me.  The beet salad appetizer was served with a delicate dressing that enhanced the beet flavors rather than over-powering them.

Andree, the restaurant manager, came to our table twice to check that we were happy with our dinners and that everything was served at the right temperature.  We all agreed that this was a nice touch and helped us to feel valued as customers.

My entree, the broiled seafood platter had several large, firm shrimp and several large sea scallops. This entree is usually served with cod, but my request of mahi substitute was honored.  Everything was spiced perfectly and broiled to perfection, without the excess  butter which is sometimes unpleasantly present in other broiled seafood platters I have had in other restaurants.

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My husband’s seared rare tuna with sesame salad was fresh and prepared beautifully with just enough seasoning.

Two of our party indicated that they thoroughly enjoyed their entrees of rib-eye steak with gorgonzola topping, which was one of the daily specials,  and broiled plank salmon served with spinach and roasted red potatoes.

Another friend ordered the spicy linguini with seafood, which she had requested to be”very mild.”  Unfortunately, and perhaps because she ordered it that way, it had very little flavor, and so was a bit disappointed with her selection.

The appetizers and entrees were sized well.  We were certainly not hungry after the meal but couldn’t resist ordering two desserts to share.  The key lime pie and the pecan pie slices were very good, but not noteworthy. A dollop of fresh whipped cream might have made them a bit more special.

St. Augustine Fish Camp has become one of my favorite area restaurants and is awarded 4 & 1/2 spoonbills out of 5.