Speaks Clam Bar - Italian & Seafood - Lakewood Ranch — Restaurant in Florida

Sadly, our days of going to have what we felt was the best chicken parm in the area are over. I'll point out THREE main reasons:

1. Starting the moment you walk in. I always thought that the layout was clunky having this huge ugly thing in the middle of the dining room. From the back side, the host station looks horrible as well. But the biggest issue is having very unqualified, unmotivated young humans there to somewhat greet you. It's been awful 3x in a row from three different people who have zero experience working in restaurants or eating out themselves. Twice they were on their cell phones and last week the girl was a zombie just staring at us. These are very simple kids thrown up front who barely do anything. We break the ice after an awkward few moments each time. Last week she eventually proceeded to walk over trash to show us to our very uncomfortable booth. To not put a priority on mature, skilled employees at the front is a reflection of the culture and management. Get people who don't make it so awkward. These experiences with people horrible at their job ruins it before it starts. How clueless are you not to notice this yourself? What we've encountered three times in a row over the last year is nothing short of a bad joke. These can't be isolated exceptions. Clearly, there is zero attention to detail.

2. The place is dirty. I dare anyone who frequents or loves Speaks LWR to say or prove otherwise. We went there at about 11:30A for an early lunch. They opened a half hour before. The place was basically empty (understandably) but as I mentioned earlier there was trash in the main walkway that a few employees were just walking right over + our booth was dirty, the table was dirty and the menus dirty and the windows as well. We walked out immediately.....

Bonus points for having one of the worst bathroom layouts in the area as well. It's like an afterthought how tiny they are for such a large restaurant. Obviously the build-out was done poorly and no improvement since.

3. The fact that they have not come up with a better solution for the booths is ridiculous. You could watch a Gordon Ramsay show, and he gets a crew in there and can do custom work like that overnight. Sure, it costs money, and it's a decision that has to be made. They have done neither for far too long. The seating is horrible. Enough to make anyone honest just walk out.

My advice would be to revamp the entire entrance. And pay a couple more dollars to get better employees. And get management that focuses on discipline and cleanliness.

Not sure if the bartender is still there that brags about everything he can do from being a scratch golfer to a gourmet chef to a sommelier. At first I thought he was entertaining but after 3 or 4 times of the same abrupt service and bragging it got way old. We would avoid that area and go to the uncomfortable,...

The food was good and came out in a timely manor but the service was less than impressive. We dined on the patio trying to enjoy the fresh air and evening setting on June 12th 2022 our drinks were consistently empty we asked for some vodka sauce for our bread and it didn't arrive till way after I mean at least 10-15 min after our appetizers were consumed and honestly it reminded me of nothing more than Campbells tomato soup nothing to really rave to your friends about. The part that bothered us the most was one of the employees that ended theyre shift had his car backed up right next to the outdoor seating. He was driving a newer style mustang with an EXTREMELY loud aftermarket exhaust (and for me to say loud is an understatement considering Im retired military with a constant ringing and hearing loss, probably louder than my Harley Davidson) and after firing up his wanna be street racer he allowed it to nauseously run for a good 5 minutes as if he were warming it up in 30° weather. I saw an older woman probably late 50's get up and signal him to please drive away (as if everyone there were delightfully enjoying his foul exhaust with their meal) and instead of just putting his pride aside and leaving he had the audacity to leap out of his car as if he were some tiny superhero and insisted on pathetically arguing with the woman trying to enjoy her meal directly behind that car probably covered in god knows what from his exhaust. I was completely flabbergasted on how this individual handled the situation and honestly if I ever saw my kid disrespecting a woman like that I don't care how old they think they are I would have spanked him infront of all those people trying to enjoying their exhausted soaked meal. Glad our friend from out of town got to experience Florida and the little delinquent along with his childish pre puberty bad attitude....... such a shame. Ordered a dozen gulf coast oysters they had good flavor the meat was huge minus the exhaust fumes was not impressed they were still attached to the shell. I thought the pan seared Corvina was good but I would have enjoyed it more without an extremely loud exhaust or exhaust fumes or some little delusional punk disrespecting and elderly woman. I WILL NEVER recommend you dine...

Update: Still one of my favorite restaurants, but I went in today to find a menu change with significant price changes. The Lobster Roll was either $18 or $19 dollars last week and to my shock today it is $23.00. I totally understand the supply change issues and labor prices, but from $19.00 to $23.00 that is a 20% increase in price. I was going to order that today but I ended up ordering something less expensive and will reserve the Lobster Roll for once in a while now. Also, chips are no longer included and fries to add on are $3.00 a basket. Maybe some people don't notice prices, and I wouldn't either if it were small changes, but this is a whopper. Don't mistake this complaint as I don't love this restaurant, I still highly recommend, but maybe keep an eye on the prices and hope they don't change again--or keep fingers crossed that they start a locals' discount!

Delicious! An eclectic mix of menu choices from oysters to soups to lobster rolls to pastas and sandwiches. I want to note that my husband's and daughter's pasta tasted fresh and looked house made by the fact that the pastas were in different shapes, none were manufactured perfect.. The mozzarella sticks (huge) are so good and the sauce that goes with it comes in choices of heat in the flavor (we chose med.) and we loved it. I have been here twice now. First time, I had chicken Parmesan sandwich which was pretty good. Today, I had the cold lobster roll and wow, it was so delicious! The last time I was there I also had the lobster bisque which was good on a cold day. This is such a little gem of a restaurant in Lakewood Ranch. It is pretty casual, but classy restaurant. I highly recommend. My favorite serve is Dean--he is so charismatic, funny, and extremely attentive and you never go dry on a drink. A++ server.. So many restaurants in this area, Bradenton, Sarasota and St Pete are tourist traps, but this is a nice locals' place. This is going to be our new regular restaurant to go to because of the friendly service and the delicious variety of choices. Good vegetarian...