Bonita Beach Balloon Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Bonita Springs

My husband and I have been patrons of the Bonita Balloon since it opened its doors as we live right down the street. Recently, we decided to pop in for some lunch after a really lovely day together. We sat at the end of the bar for some drinks and to order some food. Our bartender was great, the food was as expected, and we were having a great time. We ordered several drinks, two appetizers, and three entrees. However, about half way into our lunch there shortly after we received our food.. the bartender approached us very apologetically to let us know that the owners had arrived and I was “sitting in their spot” and they asked that I move to a different seat for them with my plate of food and drink still in front of me. While I thought it was WILD to have the bartender ask a customer to move on their behalf, I happily picked up my plate and moved to a different seat to make it easy on her. The bartender thanked me and apologized for the trouble. The owners very promptly sat down, rolled out some bright pink table top towels, and played on their phones which changed the whole atmosphere in our little corner. We didn’t receive a thank you or anything from them directly until about 20-25 minutes later as we were leaving. Ultimately, it’s not a huge deal, but left a poor taste in our mouths. I would implore the owners to mark their seats so it’s clear you shouldn’t sit there.. And to maybe enjoy their restaurant from a different view from time to time instead of asking customers to move out of “their spot” while they’re eating.. or to simply brush up on their manners. It’s unlikely that we will return any time soon.

EDIT: Response to the owner comment - While we greatly appreciate the apology and the context (we are of course sympathetic to Linda needing a special bar stool), much of the response has left our experience relatively unchanged in the grand scheme of the situation.

As mentioned, we were more than fine moving seats despite thinking at the time being “in the owners spot” was a goofy reason. I can of course understand that it was done as a kindness to Linda with the extra chair context, and would’ve graciously moved without issue if that was communicated in any way to us. There is interestingly nothing in this response about the lack of thank you for our kindness to move seats mid-meal despite the poor optics in the moment due to the communication. The response reads very much as “Sorry you misunderstood, we hope you get it now though!”

If Jim and Linda had personally approached us and explained their need for that specific chair and that specific spot, I think this interaction would’ve gone very differently and they likely would have offered an immediate thank you, which was the biggest issue after being asked to move on their behalf.

The chairs being differently colored in a dark corner misses the point of clearly marking them if customers are being asked to vacate them mid-meal.

Additionally, ALL of the responsibility is being placed back onto the bartenders as the middlemen in these situations by saying the owners have never asked anyone to move and that it is just the bartenders doing it on their own.. despite the chair never being communicated as a reason within the conversation or the several available seats within the establishment that were empty and do not require a climb on the chance their unmarked spot is occupied by guests. The owners could also easily tell their bartenders not to ask people to move if they truly don’t mind sitting elsewhere if a guest is in their spot.

We hope our experience helps improve communication in the next interaction with this specific...

Poor Service! Waitress never informed us of any specials, is there a happy hour? How about a bit about the new place? Dinner salad came out first, then appetizer and dinner together. Waitress said do you want the cooks to make a new one--I said yes it would be cold. Shortly after, a food runner brings out the same food--but even more cold-nothing worse than cold hard cheese on your food. I believe it is the waitresses responsibility to figure what comes out and when. Waitress informed of how dissatisfied we were--and sent someone over --didn't introduce herself--no idea name or title---asked if i wanted a new one? Really -take the chance you'd bring the same food out again..I don't think so. Major changes needed at this place--if they plan on being successful.

Yes I'll be glad to tell you how to change things. When a customer enters your restaurant--the hostess could say...'Welcome-Table for ?...Is this your first time visiting our new restaurant?'.....'We opened x amount of time ago and specialize in?? Thank you for giving us a try' 'Your waitress will be with you shortly'..Then when the waitress comes over and greets your customers--again says Welcome I'm , I will be your waitress..IS this your first time here? Our specials today are. Happy hour includes**. Can I get you something to drink?....Appetizer is to come out first......Then any salads....then the main meal and when the customer states--I want this appetizer as my meal---that means the waitress needs to take care of that and make sure it is brought out as dinner. By the time your front person came over--to little --to late--all trust was gone..and makes your establishment not credible and no return business....but according to your reviews--your having many of this same type of issues....You missing the mark my...

Terrible experience. I went to the Balloon for the first time on March 5th, Tuesday. I was treated like a nusance rather then a customer. I don’t even know where to begin, it just got worse as the time went on. The hostess sat me and my son, gave me a high chair and walked away... I’ve never been here right so I’m like, hmmm where are the menus... well hostess didn’t bring me any. No big deal, I’ll wait for the server to come and ask for a menu. TWENTY MINUTES later not a single person acknowledged me, other people were being sat down and handed manus and talked to and I was completely ignored. I flagged down a waitress to ask for a menu.. she blatantly ignored me... more like rolled her eyes when I asked for a menu.. someone dropped one off 30 seconds later and walked away. No apology no “has a waitress been by yet” NOTHING. So I’m looking at the menu thinking I’m going to get up, and honestly Idk why I didn’t. FINALLY 30 min later I was approached by Holly- the waitress. “Sorry no one told me you were here” YOU WALKED PASSED ME 10 TIMES- her other tables were right next to mine. OH it gets better. I finally got to order and I repeated my order 3 times, BONELESS wings BONELESS wings BONELESS! Can you guess what happened next... they weren’t boneless... her response “oh you wanted boneless?” Now I’m about done this is just bad! No apology or anything. Well finally was handed the bill, so uncomfortable she stood over me and goes “put the tip in” mind you I was gonna do 10 percent for such the poor service the lowest option she gave me was 20... I was soooooo comfortable! I was shocked a manger didn’t come up to me or anything the food wasn’t discounted NOTHING. This was my worst dining experience I’ve ever had. I will never be returning to this...