9 Places Where Locals Love to Eat on Jekyll Island

Driftwood Bistro is a top dining destination for casual Lowcountry cuisine on Jekyll Island. Located near beautiful Driftwood Beach, the bistro is locally owned and operated, and has become a local favorite serving a range of Southern dishes with locally sourced ingredients such as wild shrimp from the immediate coast.

Along with delicious seafood and meats, Driftwood Bistro also serves Southern favorites such as fried okra, squash casserole, and bread pudding. In the restaurant's bar and lounge, you can choose from an extensive wine list, beer list, and specialty cocktails for a smooth evening out on the island.

Love Shack BBQ Shrimp and Yard Bird is a top place on Jekyll Island if you’re looking for some delicious Southern seafood and barbecue. This casual restaurant on Main Street serves delights like smoked pork and wild Georgia shrimp, rotisserie chicken and Brunswick stew in a low-key setting with indoor and outdoor seating.

You can get cocktails and beers to go with your fresh regional seafood and barbecued meat dishes. There are plenty of other choices to suit your taste, the likes of sandwiches, pickles and mac and cheese. The restaurant offers eat-in dining, but you can also order for takeout if you're heading out to the beach.

Sunrise Grille near the Jekyll Island Convention Center in Beach Village is a delightful casual restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and offers a full bar.

The menu presents a wide variety of options to suit every taste, such as classic breakfast dishes like home fries and pancakes with eggs and bacon, regional seafood like shrimp and scallops, and hearty Southern options like biscuits and gravy. From the bar, you have a good variety of beers available on tap together with a selection of specialty cocktails.

Zachry's Riverhouse is a classic American restaurant that serves coastal cuisine on the waterfront at the end of Jekyll Island’s Harbor Road. With a history in the shrimping industry, Zachry's Riverhouse is a mainstay in the community and is also a local favorite.

The restaurant has a deck overlooking the Jekyll River and live music for a night out, and you can opt for a low-key dining experience inside. You'll find a little bit of everything at Zachry's Riverhouse, from green lima beans and cheese grits to fried shrimp and a classic cheeseburger.

The Pantry at the Jekyll Island Club Resort is a casual, local-favorite spot for breakfast and lunch. The menu here features Southern fare like biscuits and gravy, healthy options like salads and yogurt with granola, and hot-pressed sandwiches.

You can dine inside or have your meal on the veranda to enjoy the fresh air and scenery. In addition to a wide variety of sandwiches, salads and flat breads, The Pantry also serves a selection of gourmet coffee drinks, juices, smoothies, and beers.

Red Bug Motor’s Pizza is a charming pizza place on Beachview Drive where locals flock to drink, dine, and socialize. The restaurant is known for its made-from-scratch pizzas with flavorful ingredients, but you can also find salads, wings, pasta, indulgent fried appetizers, hoagies, and desserts on the menu.

All salads at Red Bug Motor’s Pizza are served with club crackers and your choice of dressing from 8 available selections. You can also choose your pizza prepared traditional or thin crusted. You can dine in but it also offers takeout and delivery options as well.

Wee Pub Beach is a charming Irish pub with drinks, food, and excitement. Capturing the spirit of the 'public house,' the pub offers a casual environment where regulars come to socialize with friends.

The pub serves classic bar food with the likes of buffalo bleu cheese chips and onion rings and fries, as well as their homemade chili Cormac, burgers, wings, sandwiches, and fish and chips. You'll also find a full bar menu to turn dinner into a night out.

Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar at the Jekyll Ocean Beach Club on Ocean Way offers oceanside dining and Mediterranean cuisine. You can order wood-fired pizza from trained pizzaiolos, Lowcountry cuisine, pasta, seafood, and handcrafted cocktails for a diverse dining experience.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with cocktails and wine, and dessert. It has an open-air dining space in warm weather, allowing diners to enjoy their meals with fresh sea air and beautiful ocean views beyond the teal pool.

The Wharf is a nautical-themed restaurant on Jekyll Creek that serves Southern comfort food and regional seafood in a lively environment with live entertainment and cocktails. As its name suggests, it sits on a wharf-like platform overlooking the water and provides cool views.

The menu features oysters, shrimp, fish, sandwiches, and burgers, and you can sip cocktails while listening to live bands on the weekend. You can dine inside and see the water from the window or relax on the deck and take in the fresh air by the dock.