Comparison · checked 2026-09-03
Jacksonville after work splits two ways: Avondale, the St. Johns Avenue seafood strip with raw bars and printed cocktail boards — or the Beaches, the A1A bar row where the ticket is a $3 draft and the window runs long. Same city, different drive. Here is how the cited windows compare.
Avondale: the seafood room
The Blue Fish (3551 St. Johns Ave) posts Monday–Friday 3–6:30 PM, with prices from the venue's own hosted happy-hour PDFs: well mixed drinks $5.50–$5.75, martinis, margaritas, and mojitos $7, domestic bottles $4, house wines $6, plus a dozen house oysters $16, sautéed PEI mussels $12, Baja taco $5, and beef or chicken taco $4.50. Down the avenue, Restaurant Orsay (3630 Park Street) posts cocktail hour with Gulf coast oysters $2, shrimp cocktail $12, sea scallop tartare $12, and marinated octopus $14 — Sunday and Tuesday–Friday 4–6, Saturdays 11–6. Avondale is the district for a seated hour: raw bar first, cocktail second, St. Johns Avenue outside.
The Beaches: the long ticket
The Beaches trade the raw bar for time and price. JB's Jax Beach Bar & Grill (265 Fifth Ave N, Jacksonville Beach) posts Monday–Friday 2–7 PM with a $3 domestic draft, $3 house liquor, and $4 house wine, plus a Monday industry night 9 PM–12 AM at the same three prices. The Brix Taphouse (300 2nd Street North) posts Monday–Friday 3–7 PM with $1 off wells, $1 off house wines, and $2 off bottled beers, seltzers, and teas. No happy-hour food prices sit on either Beaches page, so treat both as drink tickets and eat at menu price.
| Avondale | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|
| Vibe | Seafood dining rooms; St. Johns Avenue polish | Beach bars; sand-adjacent ease |
| Window shape | Afternoon into 6:30 (Blue Fish runs to 6:30) | Long afternoons (JB's runs 2–7 + late Monday) |
| Price signal | $7 martinis; $2 oysters; $16 dozens | $3 drafts; $3 liquor; $4 wine |
| Best for | Date night, oysters, seated first round | Groups, post-beach rounds, late Mondays |
The call
Oysters and a seat: Avondale — Orsay's $2 Gulf oysters at 4, then the Blue Fish board. Sun and a cheap rail: the Beaches — JB's $3 draft window from 2, Brix after. Check On now before the drive east: the Beaches are a separate trip from the river. All windows above come from the venues' own pages — full cards on Deals.
Sources
- The Blue Fish (bluefishjax.com)
- The Blue Fish — Happy Hour Drink PDF (bluefishjax.com)
- The Blue Fish — Happy Hour Food PDF (bluefishjax.com)
- Restaurant Orsay — Cocktail Hour (restaurantorsay.com)
- JB's Jax Beach Bar & Grill (jaxbeachbarandgrill.com)
- The Brix Taphouse — Specials (jacksonvillebeachbar.com)
Poured here: The Blue Fish · Restaurant Orsay · JB's Jax Beach Bar & Grill · The Brix Taphouse