Checked by The Things To Do In Fernandina Beach editorial desk. Hours and menus change; confirm with the restaurant before you travel.
Photo: The Florida House Inn on South 3rd Street.
Leddy's Porch is the dining room at the Florida House Inn on South 3rd Street — the oldest hotel in Florida, and one of the buildings that makes the downtown historic district worth walking. The restaurant that operated here as the Verandah now trades under this name.
The format is Southern brunch: fried chicken, shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles, with bottomless mimosas and bloody marys alongside. There is porch, courtyard and indoor seating, and the porch is the seat to ask for.
What to expect
A weekend brunch operation rather than an all-week restaurant — listings put the main service on Saturday and Sunday mornings into the early afternoon, with a bar (the Mermaid Bar) in the same building. Confirm the current schedule with the inn before planning around it, because a hotel restaurant's hours move with occupancy and season.
The building matters as much as the plate here. Eating on the porch of an 1857 inn, in the middle of the historic district, is the kind of thing the island does well and the reason to choose this over a diner.
Where it sits, and where to park
22 S 3rd Street is inside the walkable downtown core, half a block off Centre. Downtown's on-street parking is changing — the city's paid programme is due to end on 18 November 2026 — so check the parking guide.
It is a natural pairing with a morning walk of the historic district, which passes the inn on any sensible route.
Quick tips
- A weekend brunch room — confirm days before you plan around it.
- Ask for the porch, not the inside tables.
- It's the restaurant formerly known as the Verandah.