A funky Old Florida seafood shack
JB’s is a funky Florida kind of place where sheets of craft paper are rolled out for tablecloths and the seafood is fresh. It’s a step back in time.
The seafood served at JB’s is local when available, and the restaurant has its own leased oyster beds in Mosquito Lagoon. Clams are harvested locally in the lagoon, supplemented by sweet littlenecks brought across the state from Cedar Key.
Shrimp and crabs are kept alive in tanks outside the restaurant until they are ready to serve.
The menu features Florida standard fare of mahi, grouper, flounder, scallops and JB’s “world famous” crab cakes, My favorite is the hard-shell rock shrimp (tastes like lobster), an uncommon find in most Florida seafood eateries.
I’ve been visiting New Smyrna Beach for many years and rarely skip a visit to JB’s. It has undergone some changes and expansion over time, but it has retained its character as an Old Florida waterfront eatery.
The vintage bar inside remains as it always was, and the long booths in the main dining room have rustic church-pew seating. The outdoor tiki bar and patio dining deck overlook the bays and islands of Mosquito Lagoon.
The view is soothing back-country wilderness, the beer is cold, the food is good and moderately priced.
Kayak and paddle-board rentals are available at JB’s, and fishing remains a popular activity in the lagoon. Redfish abound around the oyster bars and islands. Flounder and black drum are also abundant.
A few hundred yards south of JB’s is the north entrance to Canaveral National Seashore, where you can launch your own kayaks or boats to access the lagoon. The park also offers miles of pristine beaches, native shell mounds or visit historic Eldora, a 19th Century community of orange groves, long abandoned. The only remaining house is now a museum.
To get to JB’s, you have to travel through New Smyrna Beach, a classic Old Florida beach town that has managed to avoid the oceanfront condo towers that scar nearby Daytona. Like Daytona, you can drive on New Smyrna’s beaches.
JB’s Fish Camp, 859 Pompano Ave., New Smyrna Beach, FL . Phone: (386) 427-5747. Hours: 11 am to 8 pm, Mon-Thurs; 11 am to 9 pm, Fri-Sun. Kayak and paddle board rentals: 8 am to 4 pm daily.
Bob Rountree is a beach bum and camper who has explored Florida for decades. Bob and his wife Kathy live in South Florida and roam the Sunshine State in their RV with kayaks and bicycles on board. A retired news editor for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Bob co-founded FloridaRambler.com with fellow journalist Bonnie Gross in 2010.