Sandbar Seafood + Spirits — Restaurant in Anna Maria island

The atmosphere is casual and inviting, with a gift shop to browse (cute signs) and the beach just steps away, perfect for passing the time while waiting for your table. We were told the wait would be 30 minutes but ended up being seated in about 15, which was a nice surprise. They text you when your table is ready, so you’re free to wander without feeling tethered to the host stand.

Once we were seated, though, the pace shifted dramatically. It took about 20 minutes before our server even acknowledged our table. After that, he was mostly attentive, drinks and appetizers came out reasonably fast, but the main entrees took about 30 minutes to arrive. One oddity: the restaurant was out of glassware, so we were served drinks in plastic cups. Not a huge deal, but unexpected for a sit-down restaurant with a reputation.

Unfortunately, we all ran out of drinks during the meal and no one followed up to offer refills, which was a noticeable service miss. One staff member who dropped off our appetizers came off rather rude, telling us to move our menus out of her way with no greeting or politeness.

As for the food itself: excellent flavor overall, though portions were small and prices were steep. The crab-stuffed shrimp and crab risotto had incredible taste, the standout dishes of the night. However, the risotto was a bit mushy, likely from sitting too long before service. The crab itself was flavorful and satisfying.

The clam chowder was likely the best I’ve had in the area, rich, creamy, and well-balanced. It could’ve used a touch more pepper, but that’s a matter of personal preference, and there was pepper on the table to adjust.

One major disappointment was the watermelon mixed green salad—$18 for a small pile of dry greens, barely dressed, and only three chunks of watermelon. Definitely not worth the price.

Overall, we spent about $140 for one kids’ meal, a crab risotto, crab-stuffed shrimp, a cup of clam chowder, and the watermelon salad. While we expected to pay more in a tourist-heavy area, the meal felt more like a $60 experience in terms of portion size and service quality.

Final Thoughts:

Pros: Beautiful location, quick wait time, excellent flavor (especially seafood and chowder), convenient table notification system. Cons: Slow and uneven service, overpriced for portion sizes, lack of drink refills, some staff came off as rude, surprising shortages (like glassware). Would I return? Maybe for the view and clam chowder, but I’d go in knowing what to expect and probably stick to drinks...

SADLY, I HAD TO CHANGE MY REVIEW. BEEN A LOYAL CUSTOMER FOR YEARS BUT AFTER TODAY... IM DONE. Just went to Sandbar today after excitedly waiting for their reopen. We spent about $600 and waited over 3 hours to eat, slow but we were patient. When we got to valet we were treated appallingly. We were smirked at and laughed at and told we had to pay the $20 dollars for "beach parking" even though our own waiter had spoken to manager and was aware of how long it took for the meal to come for 6 people.

We had to call the manager, we were treated like garbage by the valet jerks who seemed to really relish in their disrespect. We had to reprint the receipt from lunch but because we had no receipt from bar purchases they wanted to charge us $20 "no matter what"... 3 hours from arrival time to departure. It's not our fault you are understaffed... They wanted us to show receipts for our drinks at bar which is ridiculous. We didn't have them, or the ones from the gift shop because we clicked "no receipt". We spent an hour or more having drinks and over two hours just to eat.!!! Two hours to eat!!!!

Ps I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. FROM NOW ON IS RECEIPTS FOR EVERYTHING. Get your receipts if you go to Sandbar from now on. They will ask you for them and treat you like a criminal if you don't produce them. We all had rhum punch buckets.... One of their most expensive cocktails. What's joke this place has become.

The manager had to be called out even though our server told us he had spoken to her, our server got a 28 percent tip and still we get treated like garbage.... All over 20 dollars. I know the restaurants were sold to a conglomerate, but they are going to have a hard time getting people to return if this is how they are going to treat folks. I loved Sandbar so much I even have one of their paintings in my home in Holmes Beach. I WILL NEVER RETURN TO SANDBAR, MAR VISTA OR BEACH HOUSE AGAIN. I'm just giving you a friendly warning. Avoid being treated like crap and go somewhere else. That place will never be what it once was.

My family deserved to be treated with respect and kindness. Goodbye Sandbar.... ...

Sandbar review My family & I went to Sandbar on Thursday 3/21. We have been coming here for years and this visit was beyond disappointing. We put our name in & it was 1.5 hour wait (typical!).

I went outside to get a drink at the outdoor bar. I ordered, paid for my glass of wine, & then the rest of my family arrived. They ended up closing the outdoor window & told them to come inside to order, despite just serving me.

We finished our drinks & sat in the lobby waiting for a text to let us know that our table was ready. In the 30 minutes we were waiting, multiple parties were coming in without having their name on the list & were seated right away. When this happened again with a party the same size as us, I got in line to speak to the hostess Brianna. As I was in line, we received a text that the table was ready. She then told us that she ‘accidentally’ gave away our table earlier, which made no sense as we just got the text.

We asked to speak with a manager about the incident. Manager Moody, who was very moody, never once apologized or took any accountability. As someone who is also in the hospitality business, I suggested they be more thorough with adding last names to the reservation. Moody said “we sat 4 parties with your name” and was extremely dismissive. He then said “anything else i can do for you”, clearly not wanting to engage in conversation further.

As someone who represents the business as a manager of a nicer restaurant, I would have expected a simple apology & some willingness to discuss how to improve our experience & those of others waiting.

The food was very mediocre at best. Calamari was clearly frozen & undercooked, described by my family as ‘mush.’ I had the steak which was good, however the vegetable of the day was collard greens- very disappointing.

My family & I will not be dining here & will no longer be recommending this restaurant to our renters,...