Beaches at Vilano — Restaurant in Florida

Beaches At Vilano -

In these uncertain times we all need a little reassurance and extra comforting from time to time. Having travelled the globe extensively over the past two indelicate and troubled years as, essentially, Covid refugees from our retirement home of Thailand, it is an absolute delight for my wife and I to return for our third visit to embrace once again the sense of arcadian tranquility offered so readily by this delightful city, its wonderful people and the incredibly diverse and eclectic choice of dining venues available. To celebrate our return to St.Augustine we chose to take an early supper at the quite fabulous 'Beaches at Vilano'. At 3:30pm, the restaurant was still busy as the late lunch customers were finishing up and a steady trickle of new guests were arriving. We were greeted at the host station by Tom, an older gentleman whose enthusiastic greeting, despite having what appeared to be some kind of slight physical or mental challenges, instantly put us at our ease with his warm and genuine welcome. This was already a very strong plus point in my mind. I do so admire an establishment that gives the opportunity to the less able of taking a positive role in the workplace. It was evident that Tom was as proud as punch in his role as host and greeter, the joy simply shone from his eyes. Tom advised us that there would be a thirty minute wait as the servers and bus folk busied about clearing and resetting tables on the wonderfully appointed outdoor terrace. With five minutes still to go on our advised wait time, which we had spent supping our pre-dinner drinks and soaking up the very relaxed Caribbean vibe of 'Beaches', we were told our table was ready. At this juncture I noticed a new group of waitstaff arriving to take over from the lunchtime crew. Even though there are still worrying staff shortages that have been plaguing many of the city's dining venues recently, it was evident that the management here clearly understood the ebb and flow of customers and that the staff had been extremely well trained as the transition from one service to another passed seamlessly. Our server Tonda was attentive, friendly and very knowledgeable about all the menu items. My wife opted for the Cedar Key Conch Chowder followed by the Fish Dip. The soup was simply divine. Thick, creamy, unctuously flavourful and loaded with tender, perfectly cooked Conch. The Dip was heavenly. Beautiful flakes of subtly smoked fish accompanied by triangles of delicately spiced crunchy flatbread. Our friend who had joined us chose the signature dish of Shrimp Tacos. These she assured us were some of the best she had ever had. The succulent shrimp were exceptionally fresh, lightly fried and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce nestled in soft warm Taco shells accompanied with an excitingly tangy and rich Pineapple and Mango salsa. I decided to order the Fried Clam Strips. Unlike some I have tried before at many and various restaurants, these were just perfect. The moist and tender strips of fresh Clam were enrobed in the lightest, crispiest of batters and, delightfully, not even the vaguest hint or taste of the fryer oil in which they had been prepared which can be so off putting. The well considered homemade Island Style Remoulade provided a little extra zingy flavour and was an ideal dipping sauce for this dish. By the time we had finished our meals and were preparing to leave at about 5:30pm the restaurant was hopping. With the warm evening sun on our faces, surrounded by the buzz of conversations from other contented guests and the occasional delicate sound of ice cubes clinking in glasses, we vowed to return soon to this unpretentious highly affordable waterside haven of pure gastronomic and...

As a member of a bachelorette party that recently visited this establishment, I feel compelled to share my disappointing experience with the hope that it serves as a cautionary tale for others.

Our evening took a turn for the worse when we parked. Our boat tour ticket said to park in the restaurant parking lot. Instead of being met with a polite request to move our vehicles until we were ready for dinner- we were subjected to an outburst of verbal abuse from an incredibly rude employee. This individual's behavior was not only shocking but also completely uncalled for, considering we were paying customers.

The employee's aggressive and disrespectful approach left us feeling humiliated and embarrassed. It is disheartening to think that someone representing this establishment could treat customers with such disdain and hostility. We were simply trying to enjoy a special occasion, and instead, we were met with unwarranted aggression.

To make matters worse, when we brought the issue to the attention of the manager, he came out and engaged in a heated argument with the employee right in front of us. Witnessing this unprofessional exchange only added to our frustration and disbelief. It was clear that the management had failed to properly address the situation, further tarnishing our experience. The manager ended up coming over to us and telling us this rude parking attendant was in the right! He said he is aggressive because people are aggressive with him. We had not said a word to this parking attendant before he was yelling at us. He even put his arm out at me. We absolutely couldn’t believe this manager was defending this disgruntled parking attendant. Now after this whole experience we are running late for our boat tour and the manager then tells us we actually are supposed to park in this parking lot.

As a member of the bachelorette party, I had hoped for a memorable and enjoyable evening. However, the rude behavior of the employee, coupled with the unprofessional conduct of the manager, overshadowed any positive aspects of our visit. It is disheartening to have such a negative encounter during what should have been a joyous celebration.

I strongly caution potential customers against choosing this establishment, as the presence of such ill-mannered and unprofessional staff members reflects poorly on the entire business. No one should have to endure such mistreatment, especially when they are paying for a service.

After our cruise we did have plans to dine at this establishment- we decided to take our business to Barley Republic instead.(it was AMAZING). Beaches restaurant lost out on serving 11 people because of this encounter. They also lost any chance of our group recommending this establishment to anyone visiting in the future. Word of mouth goes a long way.

In conclusion, the rude behavior of the employee, followed by the unprofessional argument between the manager and the employee, completely marred our bachelorette party experience. It is my sincere hope that the management takes immediate action to address these issues and ensure that no other customers have to endure such mistreatment...

First time coming here. Let me start from the beginning. We sat outside, but it was a little too warm, so we requested to go back in. We were very apologetic, and our server sat us inside no problem at all. She quickly took our drink order and we were set, and the final member of our party arrived during her lunch break. Then we waited about 20-30 minutes to place our food order. After our order was placed, we waited for well over an hour for our food. It was as if the staff completely forgot about us. Our server did check in on us occasionally and let us know our food was coming soon, but we were getting hungry and impatient. And our friend was running out of time for her break. Meanwhile, several tables came in after us and were served immediately. They even got their food before we did. One of these tables had a party of 8 and they got their food before us. We requested to get our checks right away so our friend could get back to work. We had two separate checks that were both incorrect. I also asked to speak to a manager to tell him our experience. At first, our server asked what the issue was. After I explained our situation and wait time, she became immediately defensive and gave the excuse that was Memorial Day weekend. We were at the restaurant at Noon on a Friday, and the place was barely at half capacity. We finally got our food and then the “supposed” manager came out (I say supposed because he didn’t bother to introduce himself at all). I explained our situation again, only to be given the same excuse that it was Memorial Day. Then he thought it was a good idea to tell our friend that coming out to eat here during her lunch break was a mistake. Nice. There wasn’t a single apology from him. No offer to maybe discount or comp something on our bill. Zero accountability whatsoever. We shouldn’t have tipped, but we did just to be decent. But good lord… I’ve worked as a bartender for 6 years in a space half the size of Beaches and had rushes ten times more intense than them. So if being at half capacity and having trouble serving a mere three-person table is difficult for them, I can’t imagine how they fare when they have a REAL rush of people. Poor staff, poor management, zero accountability, but the food was excellent. It just wasn’t worth waiting over...