Pesca By Michaels — Restaurant in Florida

Take this review with a grain of salt however it was quite the let down. I brought a party of eight to try Michael's new fine dining experience in Vilano Beach and was quite disappointed. If you order a cocktail they are quite small and pricey. In fact I think I could have poured my entire cocktail into two shot glasses. On the plus side the waiter really knew his stuff and was extremely courteous and knowledgeable about the menu. The staff was also extremely friendly and courteous. The cuisine while it sounded great on the menu turned out to be a disappointment although all the dishes had a creative presentation. Two of us ordered the pork tenderloin and it was, "well done and overcooked" however the accompaniment of citrus datil pepper glazed maduros was quite a nice touch , another ordered the chicken breast which was so overcooked and dry no sauce could even save it. The tabbouleh which accompanied the chicken was thick & dry and quite frankly looked and tasted like dried couscous, two guests split the Caesar salad which came has whole romaine leaves and a scarcity of dressing. The calamari appetizer was quite tasty on bed of pimenton aioli. Two others ordered the seared scallops with mint risotto and while it had a nice flavor the scallops were way over cooked. Since the new restaurant is located in the Hyatt Hotel if you want to dine there and use the valet they want $5 for two hours and anything over two hours is $15. An added expense no one needs for certain. And no, they do not validate your parking sticker. Restaurant meals have become expensive enough without having to pay added fees for valet parking. Additionally, Pesca Prices are not inexpensive. A tad too pricey for the quality and the portions. The atmosphere gave everyone mixed feelings especially for a fine dining establishment. Aside from some nice booth areas the rest of the dining room looked like a cafeteria, not what we expected for such a fine dining experience. In hindsight, four of us should have sent our meals back however we are a "go with the flow" group and did not want to cause a scene. In total our bill for two came to $129 + tip + parking + valet tip which totaled just over $170.00. Not inexpensive but you would expect as much from a fine dining experience sans the valet. To be honest they may still be ironing out the kinks so, to be fair, we should give it another chance as Michael's reputation is excellent. Anyone who has ever eaten at Michaels in downtown St Augustine never leaves disappointed however Pesca Vilano has a ways to go before I'd put it in the same class...

Overall underwhelmed by the food. Unfortunately, same as when I first went to a certain other downtown restaurant associated with the owner/chef. Service was great, we had several questions for our server that they handled wonderfully. The menu was an odd combo of Latin and Asian. I will preface this review by saying I'm not a fan of fusion cuisine, especially not these two. Started with drinks -- very limited cocktail menu, although it's full bar, I'm sure they'd make anything for you. I was hoping for some creative cocktails unique to the restaurant, or at least more options to them. The ones on the menu read scrumptiously, but the mojito did not match the read. Just watery, not much on flavor. Appetizers... read the octopus description, it was a must try, again super disappointing. The plantain cups were spot on but the avocado was so unnecessary and the octopus (that I think is a better dish cold) is either served warm or sat in the freshly fried cups long enough to warm--so there was no contrast in temp or layers of flavor, one dimensional warm mush. Tuna tataki was super salty, other places in the area do it better. Calamari was good, but that's not too hard to mess up, wasn't my order, I don't order that dish anywhere for that reason, everyone has it. It had those yummy little sweet peppers I like that remind me of Puerto Rico. Caesar salad did the job. Ordered the lobster bao buns just cuz I wasn't hungry enough for a full entre and always wanted to try bao buns. The buns are sweet and rich so I'm not sure why rich buttered lobster was the choice. Something more savory in there would have done it more justice. My parents had the whole snapper. It was satisfying but we were puzzled by the lukewarm/cold mojo/sauce/broth, served on the side. It wasn't a good fit for the fish or the tostones, so I'm not sure what purpose it served. Also one toston was straight up burnt, don't let a plate out like that. The bread pudding was yummy but I was recently blown away by one at another local restaurant so that will be hard to beat. Overall I was disappointed, no "bold latin flavors" mentioned on the Website were anywhere in the dishes and I'm not sure any of the Asian efforts were spot on either. Ambiance--still felt like eating in a caf or hotel lobby, as wonderfully as they decorated. Perhaps the bar or rooftop menu has some more savory options, not sure I would visit again to...

We went here with some friends for a happy hour dinner. We were looking forward trying this place out.

grilled camembert grilled double cream cheese, fig jam, baguette crostinis | 18

5/10 - needed more baguettes and needed to be grilled more. The pairing with fig jam was OK but lacked seasonings. Needed salt but I thought it could have been better grilled with an herb like rosemary or thyme.

harissa hummus plate marinated olives, house pickles, grilled flatbread | 18

7/10 - was good. Ask for the peri peri sauce on the side. It definitely adds to it.

gem caesar salad little gem lettuce, fresh herbs, shaved radishes, parmesan, green garlic vinaigrette | 15

7/10 - was good. My wife said forgettable but I thought it was a standard Caesar.

baja fish sandwich napa slaw, avocado, pickled onion, cilantro lime crema | 22

8/10 - it was Mahi Mahi. Nice put together fish sandwich with the right condiments. It was a bit overcooked or would have got higher marks.

pesca burger smash burger, white cheddar, toasted brioche bun, peri peri aioli, caramelized onion jam, gem lettuce | 20

7/10 - wife didn't hate or love it. The peri peri sauce was awesome and I would put that on everything. I thought it was a bit overcooked.

crispy tots, hohl’s peri peri sauce | 10

10/10 - good solid tot that earned a 10 for the peri peri sauce.

pesca punch lugo’s pitorro rum, guava, pineapple, lemon, bitters 14

9/10 - solid island cocktail with some sweet and alcohol punch.

matanzas margarita arette blanco, watermelon, lime, firewater, tajin

7/10 - good drink. Balanced.

classic margarita tequila, lime, simple, triple sec | 12

8/10 - solid margarita not too sweet.

Glasses of water

1/10 - detracts from the whole experience. They need to filter their tap water. Could potentially improve the taste of every drink that involves water.

Happy hour is buy one get one free but on a select menu.

Atmosphere 8.5/10 - on the rooftop with good views of the ocean and vilano bridge. The bar is well shaded and has outdoor seating with umbrellas.

Service 8/10 - would have liked a tad more visits and attentiveness.

Overall - 7/10 Would come back for happy hour and try different things. I wouldn't drink their water unless it was bottled or...