Bortell's Lounge — Restaurant in Anna Maria island

I shared with Eli (bartender) about another patron who was creepy, much older and WAY too touchy during my time here (i excused myself and didn’t return). He stated this creepy patron was a married man and occasionally brought creepy vibes. Another patron came up to me while sitting at the bar and asked what occurred to make me move spots. I was accused of causing problems and “creating tension” by Eli for simply answering questions. Last time I checked, this is a free country with free speech. If I want to share my experience, I will. He called the police and asked to have myself and my friend removed. it was like he was taking the man’s side who was incredibly rude, creepy and giving creep vibes. it was sad to see a man taking the side of a predator. not only that but calling the police when all we were doing was sitting there having a drink and talking. The officer was great (Officer Bowman) and understood and apologized for our inconvenience. We left without issue but I will NEVER return here. How sad that the staff chooses predatory men over the safety of women....

Of all the bars we went to during our week long stay on AMI, Bortell's (or Bort's as I heard locals call it) was the bar we went the most.

Had good prices but was unfortunately cash only. The bartenders were friendly and gave great service. There are a few pool tables and an electronic dart board. Tons of big screens for watching the game. Beer selection was less than average but we made do. One of the tap lines was dirty on my pour but they were quick to fix it. I drank bottles after that. Bathroom is small but clean and stocked. Non-smoking inside but still has a faint cigarette smell from when they used to let people smoke indoors. Smoking area out back. Has digital juke box with an app for picking songs.

Overall, Bortell's is a great casual bar...

Bring back the smoky atmosphere and pool tables . Loved it before the remodel . Was Excited to see the changes . Yes it’s new flooring and new seating and a nice bar with TVs. No pool tables and no character . Bartender gave me a bill that was 80% more than what it was supposed to be. I had to add it up myself and she said her calculator had an error ..?? I mean that’s just ridiculous. If I had not been paying attention to what our group had ordered I would have paid $81 over what my bill was. No working computers so everything written by hand . No desire to go back . Very disappointed. We had so much fun at the...