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Jay Wollin party of 6 had dinner at Beach Bistro
and rated the Duck, Bouillabaisse, Lamb Chops, Crème Brulee fair
because, "mostly average to below at VERY high prices." and
writes on 12/19/2009: "The restaurant was highly recommended,
and we were warned it was expensive. Six of us went there for a
Birthday celebration. Expensive was correct; recommended was a
big overstatement. The service was fine, attentive waiters were
as we expected. Ambiance was nice, though the general decoration
was no better than any average beach tourist restaurant.
Colorful but amateur poor quality "Florida" art on the walls
balanced nicely with the draped cloth ceiling right out of the
1950s. It is a very small, tight restaurant with every square
inch used for something- leaving tables very close and waiters
dancing. There is NO "waiting" space for tables once inside.
View of the Gulf was fine; crying baby in baby buggy parked in
aisle was not. Best touch were red roses and rose petals on
table. Ladies Room has crude hand-lettered "LADIES" sign on
outside- what you might expect in Joe's Grill, not in an
upper-end restaurant. Rest rooms very clean inside; real towels
included.
Several of the party had duck- both ducks were remarkably tough
and bland, saved somewhat by a good berry sauce; one diner left
half of his as inedible. Potatoes that came with the duck were
delicious. The lamb chops were fine. Bouillabaisse was tasty but
not extraordinary, and for over $40 should have held more than
the 3 shrimp, 2 mussels, 5 or 6 tiny clams, a tiny lobster tail
and a few chunks of fish that were in the bowl. The free tasting
of their tomato soup with blue cheese was by far the best
creation we tasted and was actually the most memorable part of
the meal. Two of us had the triple-flavor crème brulee for
dessert. Indeed, three separate small bowls of the crème were
served, but having fun with a blind tasting showed that it was
very difficult to tell which flavor you were eating- differences
in flavor were very minor, although the basic crème was good.
The bill for 2 of us, including 2 entree and a shared dessert,
no wine or coffee, was $110. While there were a few good items
they were outweighed by basically average to disappointing
entrees. There are MANY area restaurants with better decor that
serve a better meal for half that price. We don't understand how
the Beach Bistro has received such high ratings."
Service Rating: 1
Ambience Rating: 3
Cleanliness Rating: 1
Value Rating: 5
Overall Experience: 4
Anonymous party of 2 had dinner at the Beach
Bistro and rated the food very good because, "One word...
Lobsterscargot!" and writes on January 22, 2005: "This is one of
the few "Old School Service" restaurants in the
Sarasota-Bradenton area. This is a small & cozy restaurant on
the beach with a great view. the service staff is mostly men who
work well as a team to get the job done, there must have been 4
or 5 different servers that visited our small table of 2. this
makes you feel special. the food was a bit pricey but, it was
very good plus the view and service made up for it."
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