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Beach Bistro Holmes Beach
Restaurant Review

Review - 1=Excellent - 2=Very Good - 3=Good 4=Fair 5=Poor

 

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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