Gecko’s Grill & Pub — Restaurant in Florida

I sat at the bar the bartender lady remembered me from two weeks ago she forgot my name and I also forgot her name. I always look for a name tag but no name tag was on her shirt. I ordered a drink and a shrimp basket with the sauce on the side. My food order took about 30-minutes. It was not very busy at all at the time that I was there not even many people sitting at the bar either. A lady came in and sat about four chairs to my right of me. The bartender walked up to her and they evidently knew each other very well. The woman gave her the bartender a Christmas present they continue to talk and talk and talk well I was trying to get her to look at me so that I may ask her for more napkins she continue to talk to this woman telling her all about the presents. her boyfriend or maybe he was the husband not quite sure ?? gave her for Christmas and how wonderful that he cleans the house,he cooks for her he does the shopping the laundry cleaning of the house & etc. The bartender was still speaking to Woman and telling her all of the above that I posted already and how he go's to work all day long & stops to see his girlfriend to have lunch every day so that he can see her. He started to pull money out of his wallet for the bill she said no this one's on me she took the bill & put it somewhere but not in the register. Well he was there two weeks ago & so was I. I kept trying to get her attention to ask her if she could she handed me the napkins and I thanked her she went right back to the lady again like I said and continue to talk talk and talk and laugh and laugh and the lady pulled on her wallet and ask her how much was the bill the bartender said no this is on me she took the ticket and did not put it in the till again like she did with her boyfriend's bill...And did the same thing well the bill then went right back & continue to talk and talk and talk with/the lady I was trying to get her attention by then my food was cold. Then she went right back to her lady friend and continue to talk and talk. By that time I was getting pretty agitated I needed another drink but by the time I was done with my cold lunch but should have been nice and hot I was fed up with her. She is not one of the best bartenders that I've ever run across. It seems to me she picks and chooses who gives free drinks and free food to the only reason I know what was going on was because the till was and front of me register was right in front of my eyes and I could see where she put money in the till and gave change back and put the receipts and her pocket.that she presented to each customer that she chose to have them pay or not pay for their drinks and food. That's called stealing I think she should be reprimanded or fired. I will not be going back there unless I want else would wait on these besides her she does a lousy job at trying to take care of your needs as a paying customer. To hell with her she must need the money more than the restaurant itself....

It is very rare that I leave a review of a restaurant but this time I felt compelled. Usually, I go to the Geckos off of Fruitville Road, that location is consistently good in every way, so I thought I’d try the one on Clark. Colossally bad idea. We were seated promptly where we waited for quite some time for someone to acknowledge us. It didn’t happen, we asked to move. Once in our new seat, we were promptly helped by a young man named Duncan who was very pleasant. Honestly, he is the only reason I’m giving 1 star instead of none. When our drinks arrived our glasses were a little more than half full at best. We asked to have them remade. We could see from our seating that the bartender was none to happy with our request. It did not appear that she remade the drinks even though we were told that they were. In lieu of torturing poor Duncan and returning them a second time we drank them. Horrible. All mixer and very little alcohol. Even at happy hour they were $6.50 each, which would be ok but I could have just had juice which is essentially what I got and paid considerably less. Our food arrived and was decent, no real complaints there except, we were not given plates or. napkins we had to ask for both. The manager came by dropped the plates with a “here you go” and ran. After the disappointment with the first drink we ordered a beer, can’t screw that up right? Wrong. Beer had a weird smell and tasted worse. Couldn’t even drink it. We waited forever for our check. Finally we paid an left with two full glasses of beer on the table. I will never go back there. If you want to try Geckos, you should but please save yourself the aggravation and go to the one off...

I’ve started to come here over the last 5 months of being in Sarasota FL. It’s clean, friendly and adequately priced. I am always met with a friendly hello and a smile. But! Today I was met by a guy with a smile, his name is Chris. He asked me right off the bat, how many is dining, I said just me. what is your name sir? What kind of seating do you prefer? Booth, table, high table or the bar?

He sits me down asks what I’m drinking and off he went. On his (very quick) return he proceeds to explain the menu you to me and what his recommendations were. It’s a simple menu and easy to navigate, but! He still took the time to go over it with me.

I decided to go with one of his recommendations as I’ve not tried it. It was delish. Simple Cajun chicken on a warm pita bread with tatter tots.

He returns to ask if his recommendation was the right choice. Yes Chris it most definitely was. He sees I’m finish and asks (not assumed) if I’m finish and if I’m ready for the check. Yes Chris I am.

Chris brings my check with a to go cup of what I was drinking during my meal including the two lime slices I use in my drink.

Why am I making such a long review? I’ll tell you why, that kind of service is what I get in the more expensive restaurants I visit. This is just a generic pub bar and Grill where people will greet you with a smile and leave you to it. Chris went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable knowledgeable and I enjoyed my experience. It’s just the little things that go along way. Thank you Chris for an amazing experience, a gecko’s Grill and pub in...