Local Provisions — Restaurant in Florida

We had a very disappointing dinner at Local Provisions. This is the second time I had been. There are a few things I like, including the atmosphere and the ability to open up the big windows when the weather permits. I also like the cocktails. However, as a vegetarian, the options are fairly limited and if one is vegan, there is basically one option. My main problem tonight though was the manager’s attitude.

I ordered the vegan burger with a side of roasted brussels sprouts. When they arrived, they had bacon in them. I told the server I was vegetarian and that I did not want them. She did not offer any substitutes or offer that they could cook them in a vegetarian way. So I ate my vegan burger without a side (side note that you have to ask for ketchup and mustard (the latter of which comes in plastic packets – seriously?) and they have just obsessively pushed this dill sauce for fries that really is not that good. Just give us ketchup already)). The manager came to help clean up our plates and we started to mention that we had an issue she immediately said “Oh I know where this is going”. Presumably the server had mentioned this issue. The manager did not come to our table to apologize or offer to try and fix things or substitute anything; the only reason it came up was because we mentioned it. I explained I was surprised that a vegetable side dish had come with meat and suggested politely that they should indicate on their menu which items were vegetarian or vegan to help non-meat eaters. She stared at me blankly like this was an incredibly dumb idea. She then said “Did you ask the server?” (as in, did I ask when I ordered if it contained meat). Seriously????? No, I do not ask if vegetables contain meat. Should I truly have to ask if each item on a menu contains other ingredients that aren’t obviously usually included in a dish? Her attitude was also very condescending. She clearly did not care about this issue at all. The server should most definitely have noted that I ordered a vegan burger and then a side that contained meat. Perhaps this was poor training or lack of experience. However, the manager’s attitude was just unacceptable. She did ask if she could get me anything else while she was there in a way that indicated she was just asking because she had to, not because she wanted to make things right. Additionally, a person I was with asked to substitute the brussels sprouts that came with his meal with parnsips (for a $2 upcharge no less! Give me a break) and the meal came with brussels sprouts anyway. They also incorrectly split up the check. My brussels sprouts were not on the bill, but nothing was comp’d or discounted to make up for the disastrous dinner. We will...

My assumption is the 4-5 star reviews are paid for. Our experience on two different occasions including tonight, Thursday night, was totally different. First the High Points. There are only two. First is the setting and the way the restaurant is decorated with plenty of outdoor spaces and windows and fresh air. However how anyone can build a restaurant in Florida without any ceiling fans is beyond my belief.The second High Point is the grilled salmon. One of the other reviews mentioned it and several of our friends have had it. It is the only dish that really stands out except for the fact that the sides were pretty miserable. The other big issue on this and when several other friends went is that the waitresses and the menu will offer you something and then come back and say they don’t have it. I wanted to have the chicken dish but they didn’t have any tonight. Several friends have repeated the story and send it back one night they actually had to close because they ran out of food.So I ordered the buffalo chicken wrap which was pretty decent but did not have the accompanying blue cheese sauce even though I was offered the sauce and when I asked for it they said they didn’t have any. The other thing is that for some reason the burgers only come well-known. Their regular burger came with a piece of cheddar cheese. Their Roman burger came out with a piece of provolone cheese. When one of the people in our group asked for the regular burger but substituted the provolone cheese, they up charged one dollar. I am incredulous over that.Why didn’t I get a rebate for the piece of cheddar cheese they didn’t use? Why didn’t I get a rebate for the missing blue cheese sauce?No I’m not being serious just sarcastic! After we ordered our drinks actually at the end of our dinner I noticed that some of the other tables actually did have a bar menu but we were not offered that menu to make a choice. I can go on and on but you get my point. The owner is supposedly an experienced restaurant tour, having on the swamp restaurant near the university. It appears that he did not transfer his prior knowledge to this restaurant. Bottom line is the this restaurant is not ready for prime time so don’t waste your time or money.It is really sad that this restaurant is in an incredible location with great potential and I just wasted an opportunity...

After not being able to get a reservation at one of our favorite local restaurants, my husband and I decided to give someplace new (to us) a try. We were celebrating our anniversary and Local Provisions looked promising. We were excited by the menu and pictures on their website. Unfortunately, it ended up being a very disappointing experience. My husband started with the oysters on the half shell appetizer and I ordered the charcuterie. The oysters were very small and he said some of them tasted a bit off. The charcuterie was just meh. It was a nicely presented board, but not very flavorful. My husband had the hot chicken sandwich for his entree, which he said was fine. It was a very large portion of chicken and was quite spicy. It was a bit over cooked, though. I had the filthy cheddar burger. The bun was completely soaked through with grease and the outside of the burger was burned. The charred flavor overpowered the rest of the ingredients. The bacon was also a bit burned. I was excited about the house made pickles, but they were pretty flavorless. I will say that we both really enjoyed the dill fries. The cocktails we ordered were fine. My husband had The Gilly, which was refreshing. I had the Farmer’s Fizz. It had some nice flavors and reminded me of strawberry lemonade. It was a bit sweet for my taste, but that is just personal preference. The service was good. Our waitress came to our table promptly after we were seated, our drinks and food arrived quickly, and she checked back with us a few times during the meal. The interior of the restaurant is nicely decorated and bright, but pretty loud.

From reading other reviews, it seems that Local Provisions really struggles with consistency. Perhaps we just ended up going on an off night, but we will not be back any time soon. For the price we paid for our meal, we were very disappointed with the quality...