"Poe's is the kind of place that has its own gravity. You go once for the burger, stay for the beer list, come back because the patio on a warm evening is hard to improve on. The concept — burgers named after Poe's works, the bathrooms lined with book pages, a haunting voice reading poetry while you wash your hands — should be insufferable. Somehow it isn't. It's just a very good bar that also happens to serve one of the best burgers at the Beaches."
Poe's Tavern is a gastropub at 363 Atlantic Blvd in Atlantic Beach, Florida, at the corner of Atlantic Boulevard and 3rd Street/A1A — two blocks from the ocean. The original Poe's opened on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina in 2003; the Atlantic Beach location followed in 2011 and has been one of the anchors of the Beaches restaurant scene since. The concept is Edgar Allan Poe: the burgers are named after his works, the walls are covered in illustrations, and the bathrooms play a haunting voice reading Poe while you're in them. It works because the food is genuinely good — half-pound burgers ground in-house daily, cooked to order, with hand-cut fries — and the beer list, with over 50 selections emphasizing craft and high-gravity regional pours, is one of the better ones at the Beaches.
The Burgers
Every burger is half a pound, ground in the restaurant each day, and cooked to order on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, fried onions, and your choice of hand-cut fries, potato salad, or the bacon-blue cheese slaw — which reviewers consistently call out as worth ordering on its own. The patties are real burgers, made with intent. Order medium and they arrive medium.
Each burger takes its name from a Poe work, which sounds like a gimmick until you start reading what's actually on them. The Annabel Lee has a Charleston-style crabcake on top with fresh vegetable remoulade. The Berenice has roasted garlic blue cheese and buffalo shrimp. The Amontillado uses Edgar's drunken chili, grilled onions, applewood bacon, and pimiento cheese. These are not novelty burgers wearing literary costumes. They are well-constructed plates that happen to have good names.
The outdoor patio at night. The string lights and white picket fence have become part of the Atlantic Beach visual vocabulary — you'll recognize it before you read the sign.
The Beer List
Over 50 beers, with a deliberate lean toward craft, high-gravity, and regional selections. The list changes and rotates, which is the point — Poe's is not running a static tap list aimed at the lowest common denominator. There are domestics for the people who want them, but the interesting work is in the craft and import section. Ask what's on draft when you sit down rather than defaulting to what you already know.
The bar also has a full cocktail menu and wine. The cocktails are competent beach-town versions — nothing that will redefine your understanding of the form, but solid and reasonably priced for the location.
The Space
Poe's Tavern occupies a building at one of Atlantic Beach's busiest corners, with an outdoor patio running along the front, enclosed by a white picket fence and lit at night with string lights under palm trees. The inside is darker — intentionally so, with Poe illustrations on the walls and the general atmosphere of a place that has decided to commit to its theme without irony. The bathrooms are lined with pages from Poe's works, and a recording plays a voice reading poetry while you're in them. Guests either find this delightful or unsettling. Both reactions are correct.
The entrance and covered patio. The outdoor bar and dining area flows from here — the setup that makes Poe's work on a warm evening.
The menu cover. Every burger inside is named after a Poe work — the concept extends from the decor all the way to what you're ordering.
The Mural
On the wall behind the building, a large-scale black-and-white mural of a leopard emerging through an oval frame flanked by elongated hands. It is striking, well-executed, and photographed constantly. Whether it connects to Poe is a question worth leaving unanswered. It fits the aesthetic — dark, precise, slightly unsettling in a way that makes you look twice.
The mural on the building exterior. A consistent photo stop — you'll see it on social media before you see it in person.
Insider Tips
- Order the bacon-blue cheese slaw as your side. Reviewers consistently call it out as something they'd order as a dish on its own. The hand-cut fries are also excellent, but the slaw is the differentiator.
- Read the burger menu before you go. The names are evocative but do not tell you what's actually on the burger. Know what you want before you sit down — the Annabel Lee with a crabcake on top will surprise you if you order it blind.
- Ask what's on draft. The tap list rotates and the interesting beers are not always the ones you know. The bartenders know the list and are happy to talk through it.
- The outdoor patio is the right call on a good evening. The inside is darker and moodier — appropriate for the concept, but the patio under the palms at night is the version of Poe's that people photograph and return to.
- Don't skip dessert if you have room. The Chocolate Midnight Cake — three layers of devil's food with white and dark chocolate ganache — is worth the commitment. The key lime pie with fresh raspberry sauce is the lighter option.
- Tables turn over quickly — if there's a wait, it typically does not last long. They don't take call-ahead reservations, so show up and get on the list in person.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan Your Visit
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
11 AM – 10 PM
Walk-in only