Estrella Cocina, Downtown's latest rooftop attraction

[thelakelander]

A sneak visual preview of Downtown Jacksonville's latest rooftop dining and entertainment venue: Estrella Cocina

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/estrella-cocina-downtowns-latest-rooftop-attraction/

[Downtown Osprey]

It truly is amazing what something as simple as a roof top bar can do to generate buzz around the city/downtown.

The interest on social media about this place is crazy. Just hammers home the fact that we don't need all these multi-billion dollar projects to really turn things around.

[thelakelander]

^If I'm the DIA, I'm looking at how to cluster complementary development on the surrounding blocks, including working with the owners of the Class A office towers to better maximize and increase the access and visibility of their ground floor retail spaces. Downtown may be sleepy as a whole but that doesn't mean you can't quickly create a lively compact zone in the center of it.

[Ken_FSU]

FYI that Estrella Cocina is now open for lunch.

[MusicMan]

Had the fish tacos a few weeks back. Very good!

[acme54321]

It's got a pretty bad rating on Google and I've heard some spotty reviews.

[MusicMan]

What was your personal experience?

[Dolph1975]

What was your personal experience?

The first time I went (a few weeks after it opened), everything was great - food, atmosphere, service, views - each time afterwards, the food and service got progressively worse.  It's a shame, the space is awesome!  Great views of the city, etc...  Not sure what has caused food and service to become lackluster. 

[MusicMan]

Pretty much had the opposite experience.  It seems to be staying busy however. I did not particularly enjoy "the wait," being held downstairs in the lobby while waiting for a table to clear.  We did call ahead and were told to come right away.  I'm trying to recall but it was 10-15 minutes. Not bad, it's just the lobby of that building is cramped....

[bg904]

I haven't see it reported yet, but I have heard from the owners that Estrella has closed. Apparently customer volume wasn't enough to sustain the business. I have yet to see a social media post or anything online acknowledging that they closed, other than Google having it marked as such.

[BridgeTroll]

It truly is amazing what something as simple as a roof top bar can do to generate buzz around the city/downtown.

The interest on social media about this place is crazy. Just hammers home the fact that we don't need all these multi-billion dollar projects to really turn things around.

The cycle continues.   Jax downtown restaurants seem to have a short half life.  " Not enough customer volume "  Never heard that term used to describe downtown Jax.... Seen this story told wayyyyy too many times.

[fsu813]

I haven't see it reported yet, but I have heard from the owners that Estrella has closed. Apparently customer volume wasn't enough to sustain the business. I have yet to see a social media post or anything online acknowledging that they closed, other than Google having it marked as such.

Or it could be an issue with ownership.

[acme54321]

Weren't these the same operators as Bread and Board?

[thelakelander]

Yes, the same operators. I'm surprised they stayed open this long after Bread and Board closed.

[jaxlongtimer]

One problem with only a roof top is people at street level can forget you are there.  Especially if the food and atmosphere don't create a unique buzz to promote the place via word-of-mouth/social media.

At River and Post and Cowford, the rooftop benefits from having the main attraction below that can send patrons upward.  Unless you are the River Club (not a rooftop but above all other roofs  ) atop a building with a one-of-a-kind view and a 1,000 or so workers in the floors below you (at least before COVID), being on top of a mostly office-only building seems difficult to overcome.

I was there once right after they opened as an invitee of others but forgot about them being there after that.