Meet Chef
Norberto Jaramillo
Chef Norberto Jaramillo was born in Colombia and came to the United States at sixteen, alongside his three brothers, first settling in Morristown, New Jersey. He brought with him a belief in brotherhood that his own family had instilled in him, one that would shape every kitchen he would later lead.
Over more than two decades in the kitchen, he built La Cocina International into a St. Augustine institution, running it for nineteen years on A1A Beach Boulevard. Roughly ninety-five percent of his guests were neighbors rather than tourists, a loyal following earned the way he earns everything, one honest plate at a time.
In the summer of 2024 he closed those doors and carried the restaurant downtown, to the top floor of the historic San Sebastian Winery at 157 King Street. There, reborn as La Cocina at The Cellar Upstairs, his cooking found its setting: Latin-American fine dining, plated directly above a working winery in the heart of historic St. Augustine.
With his wife, Cristina, Norberto cooks world cuisine threaded with Latin-American flavor, built on local and sustainable ingredients and a deep, technique-driven respect for the craft. The menu shifts with what North Florida's farms, fisheries, and artisans bring in, because the people who grow it and catch it are part of the story too.
From Colombia to the heart of historic St. Augustine. One chef, two decades, every plate his own.
Above the Winery
On the top floor of the historic San Sebastian Winery at 157 King Street, in the heart of downtown St. Augustine, with an open-air third-floor terrace above the city.
Rooted in North Florida
Technique-driven, seasonal menus built on relationships with the farms, fisheries, and artisans of North Florida. Local and sustainable is not a tagline here; it is how the kitchen sources.
Brotherhood in the Kitchen
Norberto has taken the idea of brotherhood literally, mentoring many chefs over the years, some locally acclaimed, some who have gone on to international awards.
