Pomodoro Italian Grill and Bar — Restaurant in Florida

Pomodoro Italian Grill and Bar One of the great things about returning to Mexico Beach-Port St. Joe is finding new and great hopefully eating establishments. This last trip I returned to an excellent addition to the regular dining fare of the area…Pomodoro Italian Bar and Grill at the St. Joseph’s Bay Golf Club. This was my second visit, as I had to see if this was the real deal before reviewing…and it was!!!! Pomodoro is owned and operated by Alejandro and Chef Max Arreguin, these two true restaurateurs have brought their experiences from previous Italian restaurants in San Diego and Mexico City to Port St. Joe, and since their opening in November their popularity has taken off…and for good reason. The last trip to Pomodoro was March 15th to celebrate a great friend Mandy’s birthday, 25 friends and family arrived sporadically and the seating was excellent…we had the chance to gather on the beautifully rejuvenated patio (thanks to the great leadership of Jordan Arnold Director of Golf). We were promptly seated and shortly after the appropriate musical chairs of seating…the experience began. Menus were passed out with drink orders taken and the fun began. There were 50 other patrons in the restaurant but we were separated by a nice wine rack and it was more than enough to truly separate our group from the others, drinks were delivered and orders taken in a very timely matter. The food came out, again, in a relatively timely manner for our group, and after speaking with everyone their food was delicious, The temperatures were very good, portions were excellent and the prices were extremely fair! I can’t remember going out with a large group anywhere and not hearing “concerns”. My first trip to Pomodoro I had the Fettuccine Frutti Di Mare fettuccine w shrimp, bay scallops, clams, mussels, grouper cheeks and kalamata olives…$22 the fettuccine was perfectly el dente and there was plentiful fresh seafood in a delicious red broth that didn’t overwhelm the sweetness and freshness of the fresh seafood it was a home run! My second trip I had the spaghetti and meatball experience. It truly was an experience, as Chef Max brought out a 40lb wheel of Parm and swirled my hot pasta in the middle of the cheese which made for a nice show and then placed the cheese coated pasta in a pan with delicious meatballs and a hearty red sauce again everything hot and delicious…$18. What was truly amazing is that all of this excellent cuisine comes from a very small kitchen and yet all seems to come out right. Pomodoro’s has a modest but adequate wine selection with a small bar service. The service was good and our party was very happy and as I looked around the restaurant I saw no empty glasses…another good sign that attention was being paid. The menu is the perfect size for the establishment with Antipasti, Insalata, Pasta, Piatto Forte (featured entrees) and Paninis…and of course Dolci with Tiramisu, Cannolis and key lime pie (we are on the gulf) and a Bambini (kids menu). Plenty of options in all categories without being pages wide. Alejundro is out walking the floor constantly making sure everything is running smoothly and assisting whenever needed, his warm and engaging personality is just another compliment to Pomodoro. Great food, good service, excellent selections, very good portions with very good pricing and a family that truly gets it, and, is proud of what they have accomplished, as they should be. I am proud to give a 4 fork (out of 5) rating to a true jewel of the Forgotten Coast, Pomodoro Italian...

TLDR: It’s good. It’s so good. You are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try it.

Anyways. We read the reviews and decided that we wanted to try this place, as the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. We had a big party of 9, and we didn’t think ahead to call or make a reservation. We arrived, and were informed by the guy in front that they had no space as they had a reservation for a big party of 38. The owner was around (other reviews commented that he was always there) and heard this, and immediately intervened and said “let me see what I can do”. He personally got a table together for us and less than ten minutes later, we were all seated. Everyone who worked there was excellent and extremely friendly. Our server Bree was top notch. Service all around was amazing. We never went thirsty and it always felt like we were the top priority. Our food came out in a timely manner and everybody loved it. Every single thing we got was excellent. Everything is delicious, the portions are perfectly sized, everything is extremely well priced and affordable for the amazing quality of everything. I cannot stress enough just how good every single thing about this place is. I was full from my pasta, and the table next to us had ordered the prime rib, and when they brought it out on a hot plate for them, steak still sizzling as they place it on their table, the delicious smell wafting from it, I was tempted to order one myself. And I’d just eaten! Sorry, I’m rambling a bit. But that’s just… the quality of everything. The tastes, smells, atmosphere, price, service, there is not a single thing to complain about. This place is a gem in Port St. Joe, and we cannot sing it’s...

Difficult to find as it’s inside the golf club. We went there to try out their raviolies that are supposed to be delicious. The waitress told us they were out! Very disappointing. We asked for a sparkling water No Ice. She came back and said they only have soda water not St Pellegrino, really weird for an Italian restaurant that they don’t even have this brand of water. The waitress came back with the soda water full of ice when we specifically asked for no ice! The place is quite dark, they had all the curtains closed and the lights are decorative but not bright enough. The lasagna and eggplant were ok but not great taste. Tirsmisu was fresh and good. The key lime pie wasn’t homemade, again very disappointing. We will go back to try their ravioles but we have to call them first to make sure they have them. So far not super happy with this restaurant and their service. Average quality for the food. Update will follow. Update: we called before going and were able to try their ravioles. Delicious! Parmesan bread wasn’t baked enough, the dough was basically raw. Yikes! There was a different waitress, she was very nice and attentive. They put us in the back of the restaurant this time, we noticed that the ceiling was falling apart with electric wires hanging down and a lot of dust in the corners. To summarize The place needs a serious makeover and the quality of the food is...