Lillo's Tuscan Grille — Restaurant in Gulf Breeze

Went to Lillo's today with my mother and other family and friends at around 5:45 as a girl's outing after my grandmother passing. We had a young newish server he was sweet.

Big Cons: No protection from the sun when it sets, was in our eyes for an hour about. The restaurant had bad timing in the kitchen with how food came out, not everyone got their order at the same time. We had to ask for our salads. My mother, who only got fried shrimp and veggies waited well over 20 minutes past when everyone else was served. She asked to speak with the manager, we received the owner's wife. My mother by then was very upset, the woman was not very professional at all, I'm assuming she had a bad day too. My mother angrily explained why she was upset and didn't seem to really care, just got angry and huffy. My mother expressed she would leave a bad review because of all this. The owners' wife then asked my mother why she wanted them (the restaurant) to fail. You should NEVER ask a customer this (it's really rude...) and get an attitude with them, especially raising you voice and saying angrily after they state they lost a loved one. "Well I'm sorry to hear that!" And then come back to place an item down on the table with anger in your voice. Of course we don't want you to fail! Your a local business! But you should know how to treat a customer properly, don't escalate situations like that. Another mistep was jumping in ti the conversation as my mother was talking to the waiter, making excuses about fresh batter for her shrimp! It takes 45min to make "fresh" batter? (It took 45min to get our food from order to table). I've cooked for sampling at tripple the size of her order from fresh and it never took that long to batter and fry shrimp. Please tell people the truth, it got backed up in the kitchen and they messed up.... It's ok to be backed up, just be truthful and let your customer know right away if it will be a few minutes late, it's better then letting people get upset over their order not coming.

I am very sorry my mother was upset and that you were upset, but you should not treat a customer as if they are nothing because they don't go to your place all the time or because they are not from out of town. My mother is a local Pensacola girl as I am, and she just lost her mother.... my grandmother.

You didn't even comp her bill, or offer her sincere condolences, instead you tried to wash over it.

We paid full price plus tip.

After this experience I will never recommend this place to anyone.

Pro: The food was good, I had the shrimp Oli, it was hot fresh and we'll seasoned.

They need better customer service and management training. I have worked in food service and retail for a long time (over 13 years) Don't treat customers like that. I'm appalled at how my mother was treated at this establishment, I've never seen a restaurant owner act like that. Clearly, they don't care about their customers, just how...

We were vacationing in the area and I had heard quiet a few recommendations for this place from some locals and decided to give it a try because everywhere else had a minimum of an hour wait and we were all starving and tired after being at the beach all day. We had a party of 6, three adults and three children.

Lillo’s is in an old hotel and felt very 70’s. It was kinda nostalgic and reminded me of vacationing with my family as a kid so I didn’t mind that too much. They had a musician singing and he was great! There was a great view of the sunset and the place wasn’t loud and mostly empty. And now I know why…

The food left a lot to be desired especially for the price. The Calamari had no flavor and was a bit rubbery. The lasagne tasted much like a frozen pre made one from the grocery store. The chicken Alfredo barely had any chicken in it (I never saw any but was told there were a few small pieces buried in there) and it was $30.

The crab cakes were pretty good but certainly not worth $14 for one crab cake and 2 for $24. They’re double the price of most places. For dessert we also ordered a piece of cake (6 slices). The cake looked amazing but was not impressive at all, especially for $60!! It was a little dry and lacked flavor. We took the dessert home but no one finished theirs, not even my sugar & sweets loving kids.

Our waitress was very nice but not attentive enough, especially considering they add their own gratuity on the ticket. She certainly didn’t do $57 worth of work. For that tip she should’ve been getting on our nerves but we barely saw her even though the restaurant was pretty much empty. We got 1 refill on our drinks and had to ask the person that brought the food out to find our waitress so we could get refills. We have both worked in the food service industry and never skimp on tips for good service but we also believe in tipping accordingly. I almost fell out of my chair when we got the $367 bill. Not in a million years was it worth almost $400 bucks to eat there. We could’ve gone to an upscale restaurant and had a mind blowing meal for that price. All in all we were extremely disappointed and would not return or recommend...

An utterly abysmal experience, and to add insult to injury, I didn't even get to sample the food. One of the owners—an individual whose involvement in our wedding reception was as tenuous as their connection to the event space next door— decided that an unscheduled visit was just the thing to elevate the occasion. My profound disappointment is reserved for only one co-owner, whose conduct could only be described as shockingly atrocious.

Despite having zero official role in our wedding reception, they intruded with a level of rudeness that defies belief. Their uninvited presence was not merely unwelcome but a grotesque display of entitlement.

Watching them was like witnessing someone overturn a meticulously arranged dinner table simply to showcase their own misguided sense of importance.

It's truly astonishing how someone in their position can exhibit such a glaring deficiency in basic courtesy and professionalism.

Their ability to intrude into an event space they not only did not cater, but had no actual claim or ownership to in the manner they did is a testament to their incompetence and disregard for anyone outside their narrow, self-serving perspective.

If this is the caliber of behavior endorsed by the restaurant, then clearly, a hospitable experience is as much of a delusion as the notion of them being a competent professional.

This co owner is a shining example of how to drive customers away with sheer disdain and unearned arrogance. Their conduct was disgraceful, and it's unfortunate that their actions could detract from what might have otherwise been a pleasant evening. I'd strongly advise against any engagement with this establishment if you value respect and professionalism.

As for the food, well, I'll never have the pleasure of knowing, but I suspect you could enjoy something similarly uninspired at Olive Garden without the added drama.

On a rare note of commendation, the other co-owner appears to be a decent and professional individual.

It's a shame to see their business undermined by a counterpart so intent on repelling customers with their...