Now it’s your turn: <\/strong>Help pick the next ‘essential restaurant’ in downtown Jacksonville. Vote for your favorite<\/a><\/p>\n bb’s BB\u2019s Restaurant and bar is shown, Wednesday, July, 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n 1019 Hendricks Ave., (904) 306-0100, bbsrestaurant.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n A Southbank institution since opening in 2000, bb\u2019s offers separate lunch, dinner, dessert and brunch menus packed with items ranging from a Fried Green Tomato Sandwich to Roasted Chicken with a cherry and Coca-Cola glaze. The brunch menu, served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is one of the city\u2019s best.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a popular pre-show dining spot, with the city\u2019s performing arts center, the Florida Theatre and VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena located just across the river. <\/p>\n Restaurant review: <\/strong>Good service, inventive food at San Marco’s excellent bb’s<\/a><\/p>\n More restaurant news: <\/strong>What’s new or coming soon to Jacksonville’s downtown, San Marco in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Bellwether Bellwether is shown, Wednesday, July, 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n 117 W. Forsyth St., (904) 802-7745, bellwetherjax.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Local is important at Bellwether; meal ingredients are almost exclusively sourced locally or made in-house (or at sister restaurant Orsay). Even the beer comes from Jacksonville-area breweries, and local distillers provide most of the spirits. Bellwether is often packed with downtown workers at lunch, but dinner service ends early (7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 p.m. Saturdays). Info: bellwetherjax.com<\/a> <\/p>\n Restaurant review: <\/strong>Bellwether offers fresh, new downtown dining option<\/a><\/p>\n City Grille & Raw Bar City Grille & Raw Bar is shown, Wednesday, July, 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n 1314 Prudential Drive, (904) 298-8989, citygrillerawbar.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Located on the Southbank of the St. Johns River (which the restaurant\u2019s website calls San Marco but the \u00a0city considers to be \u201cdowntown\u201d), City Grille has grown a following since its 2023 opening. From the 300-year-old live oak out front to the themed dining rooms to a menu that includes items such as escargot, Iberico pork and New Zealand rack of lamb, City Grille\u2019s a dining experience you\u2019re not likely to soon forget.<\/p>\n More on City Grille: <\/strong>Caviar and prime steak: New Jacksonville fine-dining restaurant promises ‘sophistication’<\/a><\/p>\n Cowford Chophouse Cowford Chophouse is shown, Wednesday, July, 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n 101 E. Bay St., (904) 862-6464, cowfordchophouse.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Long-time Jacksonville residents will recall the building housing Cowford Chophouse as the downtown \u201cjaguar\u201d building. The Chophouse opened in 2017 after a multi-million dollar renovation on a century-old bank building that had been decorated with a prowling jaguar in its windows. Today, it\u2019s known for its rooftop bar offering views of the Main Street bridge and some of the finest steaks and add-ons in the city. It\u2019s not cheap, but it\u2019s a meal you\u2019ll remember. <\/p>\n Restaurant review: <\/strong>Cowford Chophouse a throwback to downtown’s fine dining era<\/a><\/p>\n Indochine Indochine is shown, Wednesday, July, 23, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/p>\n 21 E. Adams St., (904) 598-5303, indochinejax.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Top-notch Thai food was difficult to come by in downtown Jacksonville before Indochine opened in 2010. It shares a century-old building with the new Dorothy\u2019s Downtown.<\/a> <\/p>\n Indochine has become a go-to for fans of pho, Pad Thai and curry dishes. You can build your own dish, choosing between noodles & rice, wok dishes or curries. You then choose your own protein and heat level on a scale of 1-6 (and anything above 4 is seriously hot).<\/p>\n Restaurant review: <\/strong>Downtown gets very good Thai with Indochine<\/a><\/p>\n What are the Essential Restaurants of Jacksonville?<\/p>\n Jacksonville has plenty of great restaurants. But in a city as big as ours \u2014 it is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, after all \u2014 it’s easy to overlook some of the true gems. That’s where our new guide, Essential Restaurants of Jacksonville, comes in. We’re sharing some of the must-try restaurants based on our experiences, past reporting, including Times-Union reviews, and online review sites, in a neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide. For now, we’re starting each list with five destination restaurants. Next year, we’ll add one more, selected by readers like you.<\/p>\n More Essential Restaurants of Jacksonville<\/p>\n Look for future Essential Restaurants of Jacksonville lists here as they become available.<\/p>\n Want more Jacksonville restaurant news?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udce8\u00a0Sign up for Dining Notes, the free weekly restaurant newsletter from the Times-Union’s Gary Mills delivered to your email inbox each Wednesday.\u00a0Sign up now<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcbb\u00a0For the latest restaurant news, including restaurant openings and closings, anytime, visit jacksonville.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"BB\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0749ad60aec0eae9ce308ede909ec550.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Bellwether](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fe0f5b5f596e35fb6d266a109642a62f.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fd26382ce8de2ab5ccb832cc12155b7f.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Cowford](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/747ce924f73d4450f8d04e158013430a.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Indochine](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/38e86a872733a8fe5862b997833b6cb4.jpeg\"\/)
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