AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – Northeast Florida’s Amelia Island will host its eighth annual Restaurant Week, Jan. 22-31.
The 10-day event will showcase more than 25 of the island’s top restaurants, bistros and cafes, giving hungry visitors and locals a chance to try new culinary hotspots and enjoy old favorites.
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Participating restaurants will offer special fixed menus for both lunch and dinner. The lunch option is $12 per person and includes an entrée and a beverage, while the dinner option (priced at either $19 or $31 per person) includes three courses and a beverage.
During the 2016 Amelia Island Restaurant Week, several special events will celebrate the destination’s dining attributes. On Thursday, Jan. 21, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island will kick-off the week with “A Tribute to Amelia Island Cuisine.”
Starting at 6 p.m., the event will feature a Moët Hennessey wine tasting and passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a seated dinner featuring chefs from several of Amelia Island’s most popular restaurants, including Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen, Ciao Italian Bistro and several of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island’s chefs. Tickets for the dinner are $72 and available by calling 904-277-1087.
Beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22, Coast at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island will mark its debut with a full day of culinary and beverage events sponsored by The Local Palate magazine. At 2:30 p.m., Moët Hennessy will present the art of martinis, sidecars and brandy punch with mixologist Ariel Juver, followed by the Coast Fish & Fowl cooking demonstration and tasting led by Top Chef Hugh Acheson.
The event will also include Ritz-Carlton chefs teaching the art of infusing flavored salts and cooking on Himalayan Salt blocks; local honey tastings from the Chef’s Garden on property; and an evening bonfire with Cordials and scrumptious s’mores, while gazing at the night sky with the resort’s astronomer. Tickets are available for $65 per person by calling 904-277-1087.
New this year is the Farmers Market Tour with Amelia Island Culinary Academy at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 30. Guests can join Chef Bill to learn to shop the market’s produce like a chef, and then enjoy a cooking class using the fresh ingredients purchased that morning. Tickets are available for $40 per person and include the walk, cooking class and tasting.
Also new to Restaurant Week is a nightly tour and tasting at Marlin & Barrel Distillery for just $5 per person.
On Saturday, Jan. 30, the Omni Amelia Island Plantation will close Restaurant Week with an exciting four-course dinner paired with wine and moonshine cocktails during its “Outlaw Dinner,” which will highlight ingredients that had once been outlawed. The event will start at 7 p.m. with cocktails in the Sunrise Café. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased through opentable.com or by calling 904-432-1467.
Menus, restaurant listings, special event information and discounted hotel packages can be found online at www.ameliaisland.com/yummy.
Restaurants participating in the 2016 Amelia Island Restaurant Week include:
29 South 904-277-7919 Dinner
Alley Cat 904-491-1001 Lunch and Dinner
Bar Zin Bistro & Wine Bar 904-310-6620 Dinner
Beech Street Bar & Grill 904-572-1390 Dinner
Brett’s Waterway Café 904-261-2660 Dinner
Café Karibo 904-277-5269 Dinner
Ciao Italian Bistro 904-206-4311 Dinner
Coast 904-277-1087 Lunch and Dinner
Crab Trap 904-261-4749 Lunch and Dinner
Cucina South 904-432-7920 Dinner
España Restaurant & Tapas 904-261-7700 Dinner
Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen 904-310-6374 Lunch and Dinner
Hola! Cuban Café 904-321-0163 Lunch
Horizons 904-321-2430 Lunch and Dinner
Jack & Diane’s 904-321-1444 Lunch and Dinner
Joe’s 2nd Street Bistro 904-321-2558 Lunch and Dinner
La Mancha 904-261-4646 Dinner
Le Clos 904-261-8100 Dinner
Lu Lu’s at the Thompson House 904-432-8394 Lunch and Dinner
Marina Seafood Restaurant 904-261-5310 Dinner
Oceanside 904-491-4113 Dinner
The Patio Place 904-410-3717 Lunch and Dinner
Pi Infinite Combinations 904-432-8535 Lunch
The Salty Pelican Bar & Grill 904-277-3811 Dinner
Sandy Bottoms 904-310-6904 Lunch and Dinner
The Surf Restaurant & Bar 904-321-6191 Lunch and Dinner
Verandah 904-277-5958 Dinner