Note: Menu offerings and prices may vary.

If any restaurant truly epitomizes St. Augustine’s seafood intentions, it’s Salt Water Cowboy’s. This is one restaurant that even if you know how to get to it, you will likely have to look for it, even by following the signs! (Thank goodness for the sign that tells you you missed the turn.) Fortunately, the food is worth the trip and the effort.

The house specialty is high-quality local seafood dishes “served in a turn-of-the-century fish camp setting.” They also feature outdoor barbecue items, stating that they are “the best this side of Suwannee and, in fact, the other side too!”

Start your dining experience with Cowboy’s Spicy Red Clam Chowder or their award-winning Creamy White Clam Chowder. You can also choose the “Florida Cracker” combo: frog legs, cooter (softshell turtle), and alligator tail. For the less adventurous, there are boiled shrimp and freshly shucked oysters, and my personal favorites are the Dondanville oysters (prepared with garlic butter, vermouth and scallions, served on the half shell) and the large bucket of steamed oysters.

Let’s hope you’re not too full, yet. Dinner selections are plentiful, affordable, and cover a wide range of seafood that is available fried, broiled, blackened, broiled, and baked. On our visit the fried shrimp were slightly battered and HUGE! The grilled scallops were sweetly cooked in their own juices with a touch of lemon and butter, and the shrimp and fried oyster combo delivered big, tender shrimp and flavorful oysters. Other notable menu items include soft shell crabs with Cowboy’s famous rebel sauce, catch of the day baked in a sour cream vermouth sauce topped with Parmesan cheese, Cooter, Cowboy baby back ribs (okay, that’s not seafood, but looked really good on the next table), and a 12-ounce blackened New York Strip. I can’t wait to go back soon to try the fried blackened catfish. All dinners include hot bread (it’s really good), salad or coleslaw, and a choice of two of the following: French fries, baked potatoes, potato salad, baked beans (my choice), or the vegetable of the day .

A recent visit confirmed my previous assessment of this restaurant. As usual, their fried shrimp was amazing, and the rellenos were very good. I also enjoyed the spicy sauce on the grilled shrimp. Other members of our group tried the fried combo plate and really enjoyed the seafood selections. This item is served with some of the biggest, sweetest and most tender scallops I have ever tasted. The shrimp are large and the fish is quite tasty, obviously not an afterthought like the fish served in mixed platters at many restaurants.

The service was fast and very attentive. Salt Water Cowboy’s is not a fast food restaurant, so sit back and enjoy the view from the picture windows that surround the modestly sized dining room on three sides. [If you have time now, preview an artist’s rendering of the restaurant.]

Salt Water Cowboy’s can be found at the end of Dondanville Road, just off A1A in St. Augustine Beach. They open for dinner only around 5pm. I highly recommend getting there early unless you don’t mind waiting as they don’t take reservations. They have an open-air bar and a beautiful terrace from which to gaze out over the water while enjoying a drink. For information and directions, call (904) 471-2332.