New restaurants on Jacksonville’s northside are a rarity, so locals rejoiced when New Berlin Fish House and Oyster Bar opened. The restaurant is owned by Nathan Stuart and Margo Klar, a husband and wife team who have already opened three other establishments, including the popular Orange Park Fish House and Oyster Bar. The menu is focused on shrimp, fish, and seafood that came off the boat that morning. Daily specials at the restaurant include .60 oysters on Wednesdays, and $15 whole Maine lobsters on Thursdays.

Ice cream cures just about anything, from bad days at work to heartbreak. In Jacksonville’s historic Springfield neighborhood there’s a brand new ice cream shop that’s serving up more than 100 different flavors and dozens of mix-ins. Springfield Scoops gets all of its ice cream and frozen yogurt made by a Florida-based family who has been making ice cream for almost 40 years. One of the most popular flavors available is the “Garbage Can,” which is vanilla ice cream with seven different candy bars mixed in.

A new restaurant from chef Kenny Gilbert has hatched in the Springfield neighborhood. Part comfort food and part upscale champagne bar, Silkie’s is known for its chicken sandwiches that are loaded with local ingredients, drop biscuits that come in four different varieties, and champagne cocktails that put mimosas to shame. The Flavor Bomb sandwich is the most popular dish on the menu, made with a fried chicken thigh, orange blossom honey, and Fernandina Beach hot sauce on a truffle gouda biscuit. For those not craving a chicken biscuit sandwich, then opt for one of its rotating daily specials like jerk chicken and chicken tikka masala. 

This new taqueria located in the Five Points neighborhood, which is also home to some of Jacksonville’s most beloved restaurants, boasts over a dozen different styles of tacos and almost 20 different margaritas. While it may be difficult to find parking near the restaurant, it’s worth circling the street a few times to snag a prized spot to eat here.

One of the city’s best new bakeries happens to be on the backside of a building and down a small alleyway parking lot — and it has people in line up by the bakers dozen to see what the team behind Mixed Fillings Pie Shop are dishing out. Alongside the seasonal and weekend specials, mainstays include its take on peanut butter pie, the Peanut Butter and Jealous or the strawberry-chamomile pie, All We Need Is Love. For those who can’t decide on just one slice, pie flights of four or six slices are available too. 

The one spot to get proper Nashville-style hot chicken in Jacksonville is Huey’s Nashville Hot Chicken in Murray Hill. Hughes Brown and his family opened the restaurant to bring a taste of their hometown of Nashville to Jacksonville, and by doing so opened a culinary portal to the Music City. Be warned though, this chicken is hot, with heat levels ranging from no heat, classic, and the very spicy, Hotter Than A Mother Clucker.

Co3 Vietaco combines Mexican and Vietnamese dishes into well-made tacos with a variety of fillings. Each of the tacos are made with banh xeo, otherwise known as sizzling crepes, made with a base of rice flour, coconut cream and turmeric, which gives the shells their yellow hue. The restaurant’s name pays homage to the restaurant team’s mom, who has been making Vietnamese dishes since 1962. 

A new concept from executive chef and owner, Tom Gray, Prati Italia takes influences from all around Italy, with house-made egg pasta dishes and Roman-style pizza. One of the biggest hits on the menu is the 13-layer crispy lasagna, which combines pasta sheets, bolognese, provolone and Parmigiano cheeses, marinara, garlic cream, and herbs into a towering heap of comfort. After the lasagna is baked and is almost ready to be served, the team in the kitchen deep fries the portion of lasagna for about a minute helping get the edges of the noodles crispy, almost like chips, but keeps the integrity of the fillings.

Hana Moon has been the talk of sushi lovers in town since it opened late in 2020, serving up fish in hand-rolled sushi that look like pieces of art. In fact, the popular Hana Moon roll is served on a plate by itself so diners can admire how beautiful the soy paper wrapped roll is. The interior of the roll has a selection of tuna, yellowtail, salmon, avocado, and cucumber. The entire thing is topped with red tobiko and served on a mix of sauces. If sushi isn’t craved consider the special with any four specialty rolls and any two regular rolls for just under $53.