Food + Beer - Florida Sports Bar — Restaurant in Florida

I really wanted to like Sarasota + Beer. I stopped in a couple days after they opened for a night cap and had a chance to speak with one of the owners of the sports bar and restaurant in the Fruitville Road area. He had very high hopes for the restaurant/bar and was accommodating when it came to putting on the TV to try and catch a hockey game. We talked a little bit about how eclectic & cheeky the menu was and how well received it was at the other location at Gulf Gate in Sarasota. I told him that we would come back during a football game and try the food.

We decided to go back on a Sunday to eat some wings and try a handful of items from the menu.

I ordered chicken wings first with the house buffalo sauce. First, it seemed like it took forever to come out of the kitchen. Second, when they finally came out, they were small in size and lacking any flavor. Finally, they were cold. I am sure that the wings sitting under the warmer for a while and our waitress just forgot about them.

As soon as she dropped the cold wings, our main entrees arrived from a different food runner. My buffalo chicken grilled cheese had an odd seafood-esque flavor and I didn't bother finishing it. We also had a Malibu Barbie Lettuce Wrap entree. While lettuce wraps are less than ideal for keeping a sandwich together, there was no chance the chicken had a chance to fit in the lettuce. It was just piled on top of the sad bibb lettuce. It became a knife and fork meal, that had no flavor.

Not once did the waitress ask how everything was and we didn't see anyone from management, otherwise we would have expressed it directly at the time of the meal. I understand growing pains and shaking the jitters out of a new restaurant opening, but I think someone should have stopped by and chatted with us about the meal.

Also, Sarasota Food + Beer has no kids menu. They have coloring books and crayons, but no children's menu. Seems like there is a disconnect somewhere or maybe it was leftover from Norma Jean's.

FWIW the french fries were good, but that's not enough for...

Called in to see what was available and what options are on the menu. This due to this crazy last few months making many restaurants unstable. The lady that answered the call was noticably flustered and busy so I gave her the benefit of the doubt. She was very keen to tell me about the options but didn't know many details. Overall her customer service was a 4 because she could be new and she might not work the kitchen options much. She Did give me a recommendation that I went with afterwards hence the 4 stars. However upon entering the establishment the place for pick up wasn't noticable and the lady who I assumed took my order did not smile or ask my name. Simply a "do you have a pickup order" was communicated. I paid the other bartender when my food was up and didn't get a bye or thanks from either. Now the confusion gets greater Real Quick... The sandwich tasted fresh as it was seafood and texture and overall flavor was very solid. However the sauce was smothered And very runny. I am a very meticulous eater so I was not pleased. Also it is not saucy in consistency but very watered down. I don't love that I got quite a bit of it on my shirt. Overall I'm giving you guys a very fair rating. Let's work on these things. The hype was overated tonight but I...

Went at the suggestion of another but had heard good things about this local chain. Staff was very friendly, quickly greeting us. The server was right behind the greeter, bringing menus and taking drink orders within 60 seconds of us sitting down. It was Burger Monday ($5.99 cheese burger) so we both went with a straight up cheese burger that comes with fries on Mondays. All burgers come with lettuce, tomato, onion & pickle unless you don't want that. Ketchup is on the tables, mustard, mayo, A1, et cetera, at your request. Now for why it's only a 3 star rating. The burger was very well done - doneness was not asked by server - nearly charred on one side. Not a lot of flavor or juice left in that. The fries were overcooked, almost scorchingly hot at arrival but cold, limp and tasteless a minute later. How does that work? The beer menu was exceedingly short for a place called food + beer (see picture) - though points for being mostly local - and only covering 4 styles of the over 125 that exist. The rest of the menu has some interesting looking options. If/when I go back, I'll either try one of those or hopefully remember to ask for my burger to be cooked less than a...