Café Eleven

Café Eleven is a favorite place of mine to eat a quiet lunch but the one show I've seen there, Tapes n' Tapes, was extremely drum heavy, leaving me with the impression that they don't quite have a handle on sound quality. I knew how their songs were supposed to sound, and the sound quality didn't quite match their rather accurate playing (that I could see from the front row). It was pretty cheap, however, and was set up as a great venue, especially considering that it was converted from a gas station. The turkey sandwich made with apple slices and cranberry jelly is amazing! The sandwiches are huge enough to split and they are probably the sole vendors in St. Augustine of bubble teas, if that's your fancy. more

Café Eleven is a small, contemporary live music venue and café a block from the beach on the A1A in St. Augustine. They serve sandwiches, gourmet ice cream, salads, coffee drinks, tea, and boba (bubble, or tapioca) lattes. Their food is always excellent, with solidly creative combinations and fresh ingredients. They cater to Flagler College students and St. Augustine tourists, and keep a high standard of quality. Their real defining characteristic, though, is the quality of live music acts they've been able to attract. I've seen artists like Denison Witmer and Over the Rhine perform there, in such an intimate environment you feel like they're playing just to you. Other artists like David Wilcox, Rainier Maria, Patty Larkin, the Mercury Program, Iron & Wine, Xiu Xiu, and Bonnie Prince Billy have either been regular guests or are currently scheduled to appear. If a band you like is playing there, it's definitely worth making a trip from Orlando or Jacksonville. You can even sit at a table out front in the evening, listen to the surf a few hundred yards away, and eat s'mores - one of Café Eleven's dessert offerings; it comes with graham crackers, chocolate fondue, and marshallows with a candle to toast them over. more