Pogo's Kitchen — Restaurant in Fernandina Beach

I typically do not always share my poor experiences but to save others from the same level of dissatisfaction, I am sharing this. On 12/31/24 my friend booked a table of 8 at Pogo's Kitchen for a NY's eve dinner. Two of the folks had never eaten dinner there so I bragged ahead to them about the wonderful warm peanut hummus and warm pita bread, that for all the times I had been there in the past was complimentary served. This evening I guess it was 1 of a 5 course meal only option. I was terribly sad that it was served instead cold with slivers of cold pita. Just lost its wonderfulness. Now I know some high end restaurants serve small portions, but this was beyond anything I had ever witnessed, plus the food was all cold. The one appetizer I had was 2 tiny shrimp on a bed of some type of whipped vegetable that was not tasty, so I ate the 2 tiny shrimp. The seared tuna, although only a tiny 4 slice item, was tasty. The halibut entree was the size of two postage stamps and cold. The pear dessert was laughable. A tiny single piece of some type of cheese and 3 teeny weeny specks of pears with nuts. My husband liked his filet and chocolate cake but the surf and turf Scallops/Duck were cold and some chopped up beef appetizer was not good. We had 2 wines and 3 beers. Now for the real kicker. Our check was $404.50 for 2 people for drinks (nothing top shelf was asked for) and lesser than appetizer size meal items, that were mostly served cold. Sticker shock from every couple at the table was felt especially when you can go right down the street to your competitors, get great serving size quality meals and pay far far far less than this. We felt completely ripped off and will never ever suggest or eat at Pogo's Kitchen again. This experience is what I refer to...

Pogo's Kitchen is a hidden gem located at Amelia Island. I found out about this restaurant when I was looking for a venue place and this place pop up on zola, i was intrigued so I told my husband I want to go visit this place and the rest was history. Pogo's Kitchen is in the middle of Oak trees when you are driving around Amelia Island, It is closed to Omni hotel, they have plenty of parking spots so it's a win win already on that part. Food: Highly recommend, went here this past Saturday evening to have our food tasting (yes, we booked Pogo's Kitchen) for our appetizer we tried the oysters, we picked the Pogo's version and the regular version which was both pretty good! Oysters was so fresh and the seasoning they put in there was fantastic! we also got the chance to try the she crab soup which was creamy and the lump crab on the middle was perfect! as for dinner we had the braised beef, char grilled fillet and the pan seared halibut as for our sides we had fingerling potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, asparagus and we added broccolini. the favorites was the char grilled fillet and the halibut. ohhh you know the chef knows what they are doing if they did not ask you how you want your steak but when it came out it was AMAZINGLY PERFECT!, the Halibut, the freshest and juiciest fish I ever tried! as for the sides winner was the mashed potatoes, asparagus and the broccolini, but of course we have to try dessert we had the berry cobbler and the pecan tart... I was obsessed with the pecan tart! I can eat that everyday lol. all in all, i love Pogo's Kitchen, the staff are always on point. Wade did a marvelous job serving us and he was very attentive! also, this place gives a very romantic and yet elegant vibe! they have outdoor seating as well not much...

Update (#?) Bree was absolutely wonderful & we hope we get her again next time!!! Started with Pogo’s oysters, espresso martini & sangria and was flawless per usual. I had their duck & my partner tried their shrimp (last thing on the menu we haven’t tried). Even a simple southern dish like shrimp & grits was crafted perfectly by their Chef. Their hostess Becc was a sweetheart. She spoke German to my very thick accented 89 year old grandmother when she recognized her accent (who traveled all the way from Frei Laubersheim just to visit Amelia Island) & learned she knows 6 languages! Pogo’s Kitchen is first class service in every way.

Update: Their trout is amazing! The flavor in every dish here is out of this world. The food, the cocktails, the service, the atmosphere.. it’s a one of a kind place. This is the number one of only four restaurants we recommend in our welcome guide for our renters! This visit was trout, smoked ricotta ravioli, Pogo’s oysters (obviously!), bread board, sangria & espresso martini. AMAZING!

Update: I recommend highly their scallops, duck, pogos oysters, espresso martini, Bloody Mary, sesame crusted mahi, mushroom stroganoff, eggplant Tikka masala, even their pogos burger and fries are delicious. They serve homemade hummus with pita that’s fantastic and I love their shishito peppers as an appetizer. You can tell that they put a lot of effort into every item on the menu. Their patio is TOO cute! Wade...