Permanently Closed - Gilbert's Underground Kitchen

We had a reservation and were promptly directed to sit at a table by the door even though the restaurant wasn't crowded at that time. On our own, we decided to sit at an adjacent table. The entry opens to an anteroom that houses a small bar and a waiting area for patrons. Windows face west so at dinnertime the sunlight is unpleasant. After all this is Florida in July. The overall ambiance wasn't relaxing or tasteful. We never did see the actual dining room. The food was decent for barbecue. However, the sliced brisket had more fat than I care for. The brussel spouts tasted good but were dessicated. The rolls were Parker House from the grocery store. If you like barbecue it's worth a visit but we won't be going back.

Authentic and amazing bbq in a warm, welcoming environment with great customer service. Highly recommend!

Great food!!!!! Friendly staff! Must if you’re in the area!

The ambiance was like sitting at home, however the Food and service was The Best !! Im from Texas and that was some of the best BBQ I have ever eaten! The staff surprised my wife with a delightful birthday treat that was outta this world ! Recommend this place to EVERYONE !!!!!

Fantastic food! Loved this restaurant! Will definitely return for dinner before I leave Amelia Island.

GREAT BBQ with a variety of sauces... Lickin' hot!

Price was right but servings were small. Bump up serving size and price. In this tourist market, people happy to pay $5 more for bigger serving. Brisket was good. Burnt ends a bit more fatty than my previous experience elsewhere. Having said that, food overall was very good and the restaurant has a nice local fave feel.

Food was amazing and a great value. BBQ was moist and flavorful. Sangria varieties were delicious. Huge portions. Parking limited. Would definitely go back

I would normally have given 5 stars but my brisket was very tough. When I mentioned this to the server he took my meal off the bill and gave me a take home packet of brisket and it was awesome.......could cut it with a fork so tender.

Excellent authentic food. The brisket was delicious and so was the mac and cheese.

Outstanding bbq! I had the sliced brisket... melted in my mouth. There was plenty to take home. I had the collard greens and they were tender and delicious. The wedge salad with avocado was cool, crisp and the dressing was light, but very tasty. Our waitress was helpful with menu questions and everyone was friendly and welcoming. Would go often if we lived there.

Brisket disappointing very tough and very fatty
Good brisket should be tender and not have fat running throughout
The prices were rather high for the quality received
Many flies swarming aroundl in all a big disappointment

This was our first visit to Gilbert’s. The food was good but a little pricey. I ordered the trio of meat which was 1 rib, pork and 2 pieces of sausage. The price was $20 which is well above most bbq spots. In addition the sides were extra and. The side of watermelon salad was maybe 4 bites. The Brussel sprouts were good a decent portion.

It is also fairly noisy in the back room, especially with larger groups in the room.

Very good in all aspects. We had ribs and pulled pork. Great flavor and lots of sauce choices. Sides were great. Love the Mac& cheese!

The server was very nice and the food was good. The "southern" decor doesn't seem to match the cosmopolitan menu, though. I was a little put off that the menu did not give descriptions of the dishes. I had the potato pie for dessert. It was not so good because there were a few too many flavors for my simple taste. The field peas were absolutely delicious!

Gilbert’s has some really good BBQ and sides. The brisket was moist had a nice bark and you could really get a sense of the smoke. Same goes for the smoked turkey although being turkey breast it was in the drier side. The remedy was a nicely balanced assortment of home made sauces that run from Carolina vinegar based all the way to the mayo based Alabama White. The collard greens are some of the best I have ever had. Again a really well balanced dish with the smoke, tang and touch of sweetness.

I thought it was very expensive for the food.

I thought the food was outstanding. The barbecue was great. The sides were outstanding. It is a small place. Limited seating. Well worth it though.

Food was very good and the service was inconsistent. They kept forgetting about me and apologized too much trying to recover. Don’t have that little bar area if you aren’t going to pay attention to the people sitting there. I was dining alone so the service made me feel invisible. I was disappointed.

Great food. Great people.

After reading all the reviews and looking at the menu, we thought we would be in for an amazing dining experience with outstanding food. We both had the brisket, which is one of the main things they're known for. I had grits and collards as my sides while my husband had the baked beans and mac & cheese.
The brisket was more like pot roast. Neither of us detected any smokiness to the meat. The baked beans were delicious, as were the collards. The grits was tasteless. I make better at home. The mac & cheese was good but nothing special. While our waiter was very nice, he had very little knowledge of the beer selections.

Overall, it was a very disappointing experience and when we are back in Fernandina we won't return to GUK.

Great food

Sam , Elijah and the rest I’ve the crew were every bit as good as the food was delicious... shout out to the tomato jam... who knew of such a thing

We really enjoyed ourselves!
The server was attentive and knowledgeable.
We are from the North so wanted to experience some Southern favorites so tried the sampler and the boiled peanuts.
The sangria were so good also!!
We would recommend and come back next time we are in the area.

The food was delicious, best burnt ends we've ever had. Coming from South Carolina, we are particular about our barbeque, yet we always enjoy eating here. The bowls are our go to and we love them with burnt ends. Kudos to the staff and kitchen.

I normally do not write a review, but Gilbert’s Underground Kitchen deserves the very best review. The service was exceptional with our server and staff always attentive to our group of 10. The drinks were creatively made and served in mason jars which was a great idea. Best of all was the food. Brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, turkey - all delicious meats. Plus Anna’s Mac n Cheese is the best I’ve had - a must order! Overall, this restaurant is top in the area and has a great value too!!

The biscuits, catfish, sangria and loaded mac and cheese with burnt ends was great.

Food was only ok. They were out of brisket, so got the turkey. Wouldnt order it again.

Auriya was our server . She made wonderful suggestions starting with the smoked wings and June special sangria. Everything was delicious!!

For 2 adults and 3 kids we spent 92 dollars (before tip). A little pricey for just a week day meal for just average barbecue. I enjoyed my brisket & Mac & cheese. Sauces were great, however husband didn’t love most of his. Kids just picked at theirs. Wasn’t their favorite on the island.

We had really enjoyed Gilbert’s last September while visiting Amelia Island and looked forward to another fabulous meal while revisiting the island. The meal this time lacked both the great service and the food was not good. My wife’s fish was “ok” but her broccoli was so over cooked it was not edible. My sister had the shrimp and grits and the sample I tried wasn’t pleasant (shrimp tasted fishy to me...little past prime). I ordered burnt ends, chicken thighs, Mac and cheese and baked beans (sides to share with our group)...burnt ends were good but not great, chicken was very dry and not good, mac and cheese dry with little flavor and the baked beans were good. Service: last time the server was very engaging and made dining fun (talked about the various sauces to choose from , etc) ...this time just the normal taking of the order...nothing selling us on the great meal we were looking forward to. While checking out the server asked how we liked the meal so I passed along my thoughts and there was some effort by the manager to seem interested but no real closure to our thoughts...kind of felt like ...well they are tourists and we won’t see them again anyway.

So amazing I’ve reviewed them on yelp and open table!

The food is phenomenal! The burnt ends are my favorite and I wish they would serve the potato salad in all of their locations bc it’s fantastic! We wanted to buy a rub and they were out of stock. It was a very rainy evening and one of the employees offered to go to the storage unit and bring some back for us, 15 minutes later! It’s hands-down the best BBQ my family and I have ever had and the service is excellent!

Excellent southern barbecue with friendly service. We had the burnt ends, some hot fried chicken, Mac-n-cheese, collards which were all delicious. Cool, casual ambience.

Don’t just drive by Gilbert’s! There are so many awesome restaurant options in Fernandina that you may keep going to the downtown area but do yourself a favor and stop a little short of downtown at Gilbert’s! They have the best shrimp & grits in town (really!) and their southern fried smoked chicken is out of this world! Also, don’t skip the burnt end brisket! My mouth is watering just writing this!!

Fantastic Southern cuisine; second time here. We love the salads, the sweet potato soup, brisket, sides and desserts.

Amazing food and service...every time! Love this place.

Gilbert's is a very special treat. Unique flavors and reasonable prices.

The food was amazing.

We went for the alligator ribs. They are usually a Saturday night special but they made them when we mentioned them. They had a Dijon mustard on them which my husband doesn't prefer so we switched entrees. He had the loaded Mac with pull pork. My 11 yr old devoured the catfish. My 13 yr old had the shrimp which he mentioned were a little spicy for him but he ate them all. We also ordered the bread service which I enjoyed and the boiled peanuts. Very large portions. Neat little place.