The Blu Halo — Restaurant in Florida

I had been very excited to make reservations at Blu Halo after my friend told me it was some of the best food she'd ever had. Unfortunately, my experience was not the same. I must start by saying our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable. I think she did a great job throughout the evening. She recommended a frozen "nitro" chocolate martini that evening which sounded delicious. I was told it would be cold - they have a process where they freeze the liquor with nitrogen or something to that effect. What they failed to warn me about by the time it arrived to my table was just how cold it would be. There was a spoon in my glass so naturally I was instructed to eat it like ice cream. Unfortunately for me, the spoon, the glass, and the alcohol were so cold that when I took a bite, it immediately burned my mouth - the inside of my mouth. The waitress told me this numb feeling would go away soon (cut to 20 min later), but I know it was more serious than that. (Incidentally, today my tongue and the roof of my mouth are still burnt and my taste-buds have still not bounced back from the encounter with the frozen, aka frostbite-inducing, drink.) Moving on from the dangerous drink, we ordered our steaks. I ordered med, my husband ordered the Chief - a $50 stake which he ordered med-rare, and our friend ordered a $30 stake med-rare as well. We all ordered sides. When the food arrived it looked beautiful. I only wish the taste lived up to the presentation. My steak was med-rare (which turned out to be a good thing - so I didn't complain). My husbands steak came out med-well, as did our friends. At first they were going to just eat it as it came, but then realizing they were spending $80 on their steaks thought better of it and called our waitress' attention. She was very kind and apologetic, and the manager came out to apologize as well. Unfortunately, by the time their steaks came back out, the wives had already finished eating, and their sides were either consumed or getting cold. The sides.... "smashed potatoes" which looked more like a plain baked potato that was hit with a fork a few times - had no flavor and was very dry. Could have used some sour cream or something to give it some texture and appeal. I tried the King Mac but it wasn't that great to me, though the table seemed to enjoy it.

The manager comped us two deserts for the trouble with the steak - but I would have preferred a discount on our $300 bill. We took the deserts at the bar since we had been sitting there for 2 hours waiting on corrected food and consumption, and our friends had arrived to enjoy mouth-burning cocktails with us.

The atmosphere was cool, but unfortunately I felt the steak was nothing I couldn't have found at any other Western Sizzler, and I have had better tasting steaks at Outback.

The staff was very nice, the food was disappointing, and the aftermath is just annoying at this point.

Good luck - I have heard great reviews from...

I am giving a 3-star rating, although I am extremely disappointed to say that I myself have not had a bad dining experience here. Every time I've been the food was delicious. I was going to book a reservation for brunch for my upcoming baby shower in a few weeks and while my mom was visiting town she didn't say anything to me about it. She was trying to stay positive about Blu Halo. Then while we were out to eat the other night she tells me a story about my dad at Blu Halo recently. He is NOT a picky guy, in fact he generally tries to stay neutral even if the food isn't great. He is the guy that will take your overcooked food and give you his meal so that complaints don't need to be made. Well, on one occasion, my parents went to Blu Halo for dinner and my dad orders a steak. It was served to the table well done if not more, and he ordered it medium (just as he always does). He tried it, but it was truly too chewy to even enjoy so he decided to say something to the server. The server took it back to kitchen and then brought the plate back out to the table, sat the steak down in front of my dad and stated "the chef said it was cooked perfectly". OKAY....I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE, NOT EVEN AT APPLEBEES HEARD OF A SERVER BRINGING A DISH BACK IN THE SAME CONDITION IT WAS ORIGINALLY AFTER A COMPLAINT. Very disappointed. Honestly, I was looking forward to spending time with my family at Blu Halo for brunch. Just hoping that this review can bring light to a problem that has occurred, maybe this is just a one-time thing, and I sure hope nobody else has this experience. I work with very high end clients at my job and no matter what, "the client is always right". And if they are not (because sometimes they are not) the owner gets involved. I don't think it is the chef's call to decide if it is cooked properly, there may be standards that need to be met when it comes to cooking a steak, but what does it hurt to remake a steak? I eat money all of the time at work just to maintain my reputation (within reason). Word of mouth is everything. The profit margin of one steak is not worth losing...

Had a lovely brunch with two friends today... Service is exemplary. Cheerful, focused and attentive. From the hostess at the door to our waitresses: whoever is training and managing their staff is doing a GREAT job!

Two of us had the shrimp and grits with andouille sausage, and two of us had the classic Eggs Benedict. Grits were tender, buttery and flavorful, shrimp was perfectly cooked and the sausage and spice level was great!

The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is because the chef may want to rethink this dish a little bit. They included some boiled and sauteed potato chunks in the grits, as well as some corn kernels. Neither of them are necessary. They don't really contribute anything to the dish and if anything they're kind of a strange, unexpected texture. But it was beautifully plated and expertly cooked and very flavorful!

Eggs benedict: poached eggs were perfectly cooked, runny but not undercooked, hollandaise was smooth and silky but it could have used a bit more of a punch. Either more lemon or seasoning. Especially because the (excellent)crunchy potato chunks were so spicy the hollandaise didn't really stand up to it well.... But overall a very nice Benedict and potato brunch dish.

Suggestion for the kitchen and the chef: since you already have salmon on the menu in your salmon bowl, you might want to try a salmon eggs Benedict as an option for people who don't want to eat ham? Just a thought...

The atmosphere is lovely. Soft lighting, very clean and our booth was cozy and comfortable.

Had peach Bellini's and orange and guava mimosas.. Generous pours and made perfectly.

I really appreciated that the music wasn't overwhelming and that we didn't have to shout to hear each other.. So many restaurants nowadays are just so noisy... Overall a very pleasant experience and I'm sure...