Blackfly The Restaurant

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you’re in St. Augustine and want a great meal away from the crowded tourist spots, I definitely recommend Blackfly The Restaurant. The atmosphere was relaxing and welcoming from the moment we walked in. I had the trigger fish, and it was absolutely excellent — fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. The house Old-Fashioned was also fantastic and paired perfectly with dinner. Everything from the food to the service made for a really enjoyable experience. This is a great spot if you want amazing food and drinks without the busy tourist-area vibe. We’ll definitely be back!

So disappointed 😔. I shouldn't have ordered pasta but still.. It was absolutely mush clearly prepared early in the week. The rock shrimp were cut into little pieces, probably so they can give you less portion. And to top it off, they didn't even bring it up to temp before tossing some micro greens on top and sending it to my table. I've had better frozen microwave meals from the grocery store. My Coke was $4.75 and I drank the melted ice because no refills were coming. The bacon on my husbands pizza was still white and raw I thought it was mushrooms at first. Finally, I had to watch the manager on duty go in and out of the kitchen, bar, and pizza area in his open toe flip flops. Really just 🤢 all the way around. I will never be back. Not even for the waiters fake apology free dessert. Very expensive for the really loud and rushed experience as well.

5 stars because I don’t like giving local businesses bad reviews but man was I disappointed by this place. Wanted to check out the new location, to be honest I was never a huge fan of the old location but figured now that they have a new kitchen with the mellow mushroom pizza ovens that they probably have improved or at least their pizza would be better than it was before.. I was wrong. First of all they bought one of the coolest buildings in town and absolutely maimed it. Completely removed its soul, & gutted its spirit. Mellow mushroom had such a whimsical and welcoming environment. Unbelievably cool and inspiring decor in there.. and they just got rid of.. all of it. Painted black over amazing murals, built a tacky fish shaped pergola over the bar.. and of all things I thought nobody would ever be evil enough to do.. they got rid of the 30+ft giant tile mosaic mural of Jerry Garcia that was a breathtakingly awesome art piece, and I don’t even like the dead! lol. Decor aside, the food was pretty bad too. The calamari had a weird slaw and aioli all over it and was not put in the fryer long enough.. no dipping sauce with it.. it was sac-religiously anti Italian, easily the worst calamari I’ve ever had. Mac and cheese balls were very bland, tasted like they didn’t use salt or seasoning. The pizza I got was also pretty sad for having moved into a building of a restaurant that used to make great pizzas. It even looks like they got rid of the mellow mushroom ovens and put in a new pizza oven, and which was so confusing to me. I left this place just beingbummed mellow mushroom is gone, and genuinely wondering how they put so much money into this place only for it to be.. Kinda worse than it was at the old location? It’s still very new, think they’ve only been open for like a month, so maybe they’re just ironing out the kinks, but idk man…

My husband and I had dinner at Blackfly Friday night. This is definitely our new go to spot! The food was absolutely amazing. My husband had the duck special and let me tell you, he was in heaven from his first bite. You can tell their head chef, Joe is very passionate and creative with what he does. The service was also great! We sat at one of the bar tables, and the entire bar and bar seating was full, but all the bartenders were super on point. I spent a lot of time managing restaurants, so I pay attention to everything going on when I'm out to eat, and I was highly impressed with every aspect of our dining experience. Thank you, Blackfly. We will see you again soon!