New Smyrna Beach, the charming and eclectic beach town on Florida’s Atlantic coast, just an hour from Orlando, is known for its colourful streets, 17-mile white sand beach, laid-back coastal vibe, thriving shopping and dining districts, and vibrant arts scene.
The relaxed pace of life and small-town feel is the attraction of New Smyrna Beach, and big developments are rare, but there’s always a busy calendar of local events, innovative new dining options and something new to discover for locals and visitors alike.
Dining updates
New Smyrna Beach’s two distinct downtown districts, Flagler Avenue and Canal Street, as well as the hub of East 3rd Avenue and the route to Canaveral National Seashore, are home to many independent restaurants, seafood joints, bakeries, quirky cafés, buzzy breweries and local distilleries. But there’s always room for more, so newly-opened and coming soon are:
- The Yardery – Following a successful launch in Sanford, FL, The Yardery is set to open a second location on Canal Street, NSB, in 2025. The Yardery will offer laid-back outdoor dining and outdoor games that are perfect for entertaining guests of all ages. The venue will feature a large turf lawn, fun games like cornhole and foosball, a pet-friendly vibe and a bar serving local craft beers and cocktails.
- LUMA – In July 2024, LUMA NSB opened its doors on NSB’s sand-dusted Flagler Avenue, offering a family-oriented, predominantly outdoor space, with a laid-back and bohemian charm. The restaurant offers casual dining, coffees, juices, wine, beer, cocktails and charcuterie boards in the heart of the action in NSB.
- Bar Leona – New for 2025, Bar Leona has opened close to Canal Street, in NSB’s historic arts and business district. The sister-venue to family-owned, Italian gem, Prima, Bar Leona continues the tradition of serving fresh fish, tender meats, pasta creations and vegetarian delights. Each sauce is crafted in-house daily, ensuring that the flavours are always vibrant. Bar Leona also has a focus on pouring thoughtfully sourced wines and artisan spirits from local distilleries.
- Shebeen Suspiciously Sweet – This new eatery has a 1920’s speakeasy vibe, harking back to the US’s prohibition era, when alcohol was hidden in ice cream parlours. Opened in late December 2024, on Canal Street, Shebeen Suspiciously Sweet is the hot new place offering the coolest sweet treats – ice cream, coffee, artisan chocolates, plus waffles, baked goods and sandwiches. The alcohol-infused ice cream, including Peppermint Schnapps and Irish Cream, is for adults only!
Events worth travelling for
The New Smyrna Beach area has a packed calendar of events, from daily live music at bars and restaurants across the city, to monthly rituals like the sip-&-stroll, wine walk and vintage car show. The local community is always dreaming up ways to gather a crowd, whether that’s for a festival, cook-off, beach run or cultural event. Visitors looking for something new should try and catch one of the following upcoming events:
- Atlantic Center for the Arts: Residency with Dani Ferreira Amaro
The Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) continues to shape the global arts landscape with its innovative residency programmes. The ACA Soundscape Field Station, in partnership with Canaveral National Seashore, welcomes transdisciplinary sound artist Dani Ferreira Amaro as the 2025 artist-in-residence. This residency coincides with the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service’s designation of Canaveral National Seashore as a protected area. Amaro will spend her residency at ACA creating a site-specific tactile sound sculpture made from Sargassum seaweed and cultural materials representing Florida’s heritage, such as Sankofa ironwork, and highlighting parallels between ocean preservation and cultural preservation. The public is invited to view Amaro’s sound sculpture from 17 – 30 March 2025, at Canaveral National Seashore, where entry is free with park admission.
- NSB Coastal Catch Restaurant Month
Launched in 2024 and set to return for 2025, New Smyrna Beach area is buzzing to welcome back the NSB Coastal Catch Restaurant Month. From 1 – 31 October 2025, visitors and locals can experience the finest culinary delights of the area’s top eateries as they come together to celebrate NSB’s coastal heritage and diverse dining offerings. Restaurants across NSB will curate special prix-fixe menus, priced at $39 and $59 for three-courses, highlighting their signature dishes and the freshest local ingredients.
Participating restaurant details to be announced, but with exciting chef collaborations and special tasting menus in the works, this is a month-long event is not to be missed.
The latest NSB Trails
Discovering the area has never been easier thanks to the ‘NSB Trails’, 25 online guides that offer visitors different ways to explore the destination. Some trails can be completed in a day, whilst others should be split over a few days. Tailored to a variety of themes and activities, holidaymakers can choose the trail that suits them best, whether that’s discovering the great outdoors, going on a journey through the past, pampering the mind and body, plunging into watersports, tasting local culinary delights, sampling craft beers and much more.
- One of the newest Trails added to the collection include the ‘NSB Keep it Like New Trail, which includes attractions, accommodations, restaurants and businesses that are committed to developing sustainable tourism and preserving the beauty of NSB’s coastal area for future generations.
- The ‘Retreat to Romance Trail’ takes visitors on a journey that includes tranquil garden strolls, intimate dining venues, relaxing spa sessions and beachside moments, perfect for couples seeking quality time together as they discover NSB.
For more information on New Smyrna Beach, please go to www.visitnsbfl.com.
About New Smyrna Beach
Only an hour’s drive from Orlando, yet a world away, New Smyrna Beach offers holidaymakers a lush tropical landscape, white sand beach, land and water activities, unique and branded accommodation, colourful architecture, and a friendly welcome from the vibrant community.
Both charming Canal Street and beachy Flagler Avenue are lined with boutiques, art galleries, antique shops and unique stores, as well as buzzing bars and breweries, independent restaurants and artisanal coffee shops.
New Smyrna Beach occupies a notable place in history as the second oldest city in Florida, site of the largest single attempt at British colonisation in the new world.
Natural attractions include 17 miles of sandy beaches from Ponce de Leon Inlet to Canaveral National Seashore. The Indian River Lagoon, North America’s most diverse estuary system, runs through NSB and is home to more than 4,000 species of plants, animals, birds and marine life.
The city’s barrier island is recognised worldwide for its incredible surf with Surfer magazine touting it one of the “Best Surf Towns in America” and National Geographic magazine including NSB in its “World’s Top 20 Surf Towns” list.
The New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau offers a variety of informational resources readily available for business and leisure travellers. Visitors can learn about the area’s many options for fun, dining, shopping, overnight accommodations, attractions, recreation and more.
For more information on New Smyrna Beach, please go to www.visitnsbfl.com
Images supplied
