A Restaurant Where the Dead Still Dine
Located on the bayfront in St. Augustine's historic district, across Avenida Menendez from the marina, OC White's Restaurant occupies a house whose history reaches back to 1790, when it is associated with Don Miguel Ysnardy, a prominent St. Augustinian of Florida's Second Spanish Period. The house has lived several lives since: as one of St. Augustine's early hotels, as the longtime home of the family of General William J. Worth, and, after it was moved a short distance from Marine Street to its current site in 1961, as a restaurant. Its rooms have seen more than two centuries of meals, celebrations and family life, and the stories told about it have piled up just as long. Staff and guests have told of a lady in a long dress gliding down the stairs, a gentleman in a bowler hat who appears in a mirror, footsteps and voices in an empty upstairs dining room, and a ghostly cook whose aromas drift through the dining rooms. According to legend, some of the spirits are colonial-era diners who still keep up their conversations at favored tables, and others are Civil War officers who gather upstairs over dinner. From the main dining room to the upstairs rooms overlooking the bay, every corner of OC White's carries a story that is part of [St. Augustine's haunted past](/st-augustine/why-is-st-augustine-haunted/).
From Spanish Colonial House to Bayfront Restaurant
The house that holds OC White's Restaurant dates to 1790, and venue histories credit its construction to Don Miguel Ysnardy, a prominent St. Augustinian, during Florida's Second Spanish Period, after Spain had regained the colony from Britain at the end of the American Revolution. It originally stood at 116 Marine Street, on the lot that is now the restaurant's parking area, and it served for a time as one of the first hotels in St. Augustine. In 1868 the widow and daughter of General William J. Worth, the U.S. Army officer who led American forces at the close of the Second Seminole War and for whom Fort Worth, Texas, is named, bought the home, and the house came to be known by the family's name. The Worths held it for more than three decades before selling it to a cigar maker in 1904. In 1948 George L. Potter, who once owned Potter's Wax Museum, purchased the home, and in 1961 its owners moved the building from Marine Street to its current location at 118 Avenida Menendez, freeing the old lot for new development. Because of that move, the house no longer stands on its original foundation, though it keeps the character of an old St. Augustine home. The O.C. White family bought the building in 1992 to establish OC White's Restaurant, which has served seafood on the bayfront ever since. Over its long life, the house has also gathered a rich store of legends about the people who lived, worked and dined here, and those stories are told below.
The Eternal Dinner Party
The ghost most often described at OC White's is Mrs. Worth, the general's widow. As News4JAX has reported, people tell of seeing her come down the stairs in a large, full dress, walk into the kitchen and vanish, in a part of the building with no exit door. Another figure appears in the men's room mirror: Colonel Sprague, husband of the Worths' eldest daughter, who is said to show up in a bowler hat before fading away. The owner has described hearing a man and a woman walking across the empty second-floor dining room and opening the balcony door. Staff and guests also tell of Chef Eduardo. Legend tells of a Spanish cook named Eduardo who died in the kitchen during a yellow fever epidemic, and kitchen staff say he still lends a hand during a busy dinner service, when pots seem to stir themselves, oven temperatures shift and dishes receive finishing touches nobody remembers adding. Some cooks say they have felt a sudden burst of inspiration while preparing traditional dishes, and his presence, they say, comes with the warm scent of saffron, paprika and cumin even when none is in use. One story told about the house names its most distinguished ghostly patron as Colonel James Grant, the British governor of East Florida, holding court at a favored table in the main dining room. Servers have told of that table appearing set with old silverware and crystal, and of guests nearby hearing quiet conversation and the clink of glasses raised in invisible toasts, most often during evening private parties. Upstairs, according to legend, gather the spirits of Civil War officers from both armies who once shared meals in these rooms, heard as low voices deep in strategic discussion, the rustle of maps spread across tables and the drifting smell of tobacco and brandy.
Supernatural Seasoning
The activity reported at OC White's tends to pick up during the dinner hours, and staff say the evenings between about 6 and 9 PM are when the house seems most awake. The kitchen has the most stories: cooks have described equipment switching on by itself, ingredients found rearranged, and plates gaining garnishes no one recalls adding. A security camera on the third floor caught a moment staff still talk about, when a tray flew off the top of a freezer chest like a frisbee and knocked over a five-gallon bucket of rice, according to News4JAX. Guests and servers have told of cold spots at certain tables, which they connect with the favorite seats of the house's ghostly patrons, and of the sound system suddenly playing music from another era. The old mirrors are part of the lore too: besides Colonel Sprague in the men's room, some guests say their photos have shown shadowy figures in period or military dress seated at nearby tables, raising a glass to invisible companions. Servers tell of cutlery and glassware shifting during service and water glasses that seem to refill on their own. In the wine room, the story goes, bottles change places overnight, empty glasses turn up with a trace of wine, and soft voices speaking Spanish echo among the racks. On nights of the full moon and on dates that matter to the city, among them September 8th, the anniversary of St. Augustine's founding in 1565, and Civil War anniversaries, staff and visitors have described whole phantom dinner parties, with ghostly servers waiting on period-dressed diners who vanish when approached.
Dining with the Departed
OC White's Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner at 118 Avenida Menendez on the St. Augustine bayfront, across from the marina, so a visit means a seafood meal inside a house with more than two centuries of stories. Reservations are a good idea, especially in the evening, when the dining rooms are busiest and, staff say, the house's spirits seem most active. Ask for a seat in the main dining room if you'd like to be near the table that legend gives to Colonel Grant, or keep an eye on the stairs where Mrs. Worth is said to appear on her way to the kitchen. Some guests notice cool spots at certain tables, which staff connect with the house's ghostly patrons. Bring a camera, and if you visit the men's room, take a look in the mirror for Colonel Sprague and his bowler hat. The evening dinner service has the most atmosphere, though lunch offers a quieter look at the house in daylight. The upstairs dining room and balcony look out over the bay; this is where the owner has heard footsteps and the balcony door opening in an empty room, and where legend places the Civil War officers at their dinners. Staff members know the house's ghost stories and are often happy to share their own experiences when the restaurant isn't too busy. Check the restaurant's website for current hours before you go. To explore more of St. Augustine's haunted bars and restaurants, join our [St. Augustine Haunted Pub Crawl](https://ghostcitytours.com/st-augustine/haunted-pub-crawl/). You'll visit historic drinking establishments throughout America's oldest city while hearing the ghost stories and dark history that make St. Augustine one of America's great haunted cities.
The main dining room of O.C. White's, in the 1790 Worth House
The kitchen at O.C. White's, where legend places Chef Eduardo
The restaurant's wine room
