Beach Bistro — Restaurant in Holmes Beach

Beach Bistro is an experience unlike any other. From its location directly on the Gulf, restaurant windows meeting sand, to the aura that encompassed us from the moment we stepped foot inside, to the succulent, beautifully prepared food, the Beach Bistro is truly one of the country's finest, and by far the most all around, perfect food experience on the West coast of Florida.

My wife and I went to the Bistro on a Friday night, reservations at 8:15. We were early and grabbed a quick drink from the bar, fully stocked with anything and everything you could ask for. I had a Booker's, neat, and my wife had the Persephone Kiss, one of their many specialty cocktails. The drinks were fairly priced, even on the low side I thought for such a place with such a big reputation. And my pour was on the generous side. The bar itself was a thing of beauty, transported, it seemed, from a Maine or Massachusetts, giving you the feel of being in the captain's quarters, sharing a drink on his finest boat. Seriously, everything about the Beach Bistro transported us to a different place, a different time. It was quite a fantasy, and the more wine and food we ate, the better the fantasy became!

After drinks we were promptly sat by the far window. Being night, the view didn't add much to our experience, but I'm sure that it would have had it been a different time of day. However, the ambience at night was superb. Although the quarters are tight, it was not a bother, and if your date is as interesting as mine was, you'll have no problem letting the other parties fade into the background. Our table was simply set, the restaurant itself seating only a handful of tables. This adds, of course, to the exclusivity of the Beach Bistro. By being there, you realize you're a part of something special, something unique that is happening only right here in this moment. It truly creates a wonderful dining experience.

And the food was absolutely some of the best I have ever had. Hands down superbly done, prepared, and presented. We started with their complementary bread and soup, which was very well done and quite tasty. Then we had a strawberry salad, with fresh greens and goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, which likewise was very good, fresh and overflowing with berries. For the main entree I had the U.S.A. Prime Beef Tenderloin, John Wayne Cut, prepared medium rare, and never before have I tasted such a cut of meat. It almost literally melted in my mouth, so perfectly tender, seasoned with a classic pepper-demi glaze. I am positive I will never have another tenderloin as good as Beach Bistro's. My wife had the Snapper, which came with lobster and scallops, and, from what I sampled and what she told me, it was excellent. I had a hard time diverting from my tenderloin, so I didn't focus nearly as much on her meal.

Overall, the Beach Bistro followed through and lived up to the hype and then some. I was a bit concerned going to such a highly rated restaurant, fearing we would be let down in some way, but this simply was not the case. Beach Bistro was a beautiful experience, and I cannot wait to go back. This is the type of place you want to be a regular at and take all your friends when they're in town. Well done Beach...

5 stars for the food and service so why the 1 star?

The GM.

Look, we love beach bistro. This is where my wife and I were engaged 10 years ago and just a few nights ago, we chose to celebrate my mother’s 60th birthday. The food was terrific and our server was amazing. Our high expectations were exceeded.

Unfortunately, when I came back out to my car and loaded up our kids, I realized that my hat (lululemon, $40 - nothing special) was missing. The hat was on my dashboard the entire weekend. In fact, I was going to put it on before going into the restaurant but thought a ball cap wouldn’t be appropriate in beach bistro and so, intentionally left it on the dashboard. I confronted the valet (a kid) about the missing hat and he claimed he didn’t know anything about it. Of course, there were 2 young men working that evening so maybe he truly didn’t.

I then immediately called the restaurant when we got back to our home and was told I would receive a call from the GM tomorrow (saturday). That call never came so I left a voicemail for them on Monday morning (today). The GM, James, called me back and left a voicemail indicating what would be 2 beliefs on the subject that he wouldn’t later waver from when we spoke live. Those were A) he didn’t believe me and B) it wasn’t his problem because they contract out the valet service.

Listen, mistakes happen and kids are going to be kids; frankly I’m more upset by how the GM handled the situation. To effectively call me a liar after spending nearly $2,000 in your restaurant is not okay and siding with a kid (that he never spoke to personally on the matter) over a paying customer who just spent a considerable amount of money is just a bad business decision.

The hat is replaceable but the distaste for how Beach Bistro handled this situation will not soon be forgotten. AMI and Holmes Beach are growing rapidly. SALT bar and table was another great meal that we had during our trip. As was Shore. There are alternatives now for good food.

I would recommend going to beach bistro for the food and service (I’ve now spent 2 important milestones in my life here) but I wouldn’t advise leaving anything of value in your car - and if you do, expect James to call you a liar and not do anything about the...

After reading all the glowing reviews of this restaurant, I was really excited to try it out. I cajoled my love to travel over 40 minutes to go down to the island from our home in St. Petersburg. I’d love to say it was totally worthwhile to do, but it wasn’t. We arrived early for our dinner reservation, and noticed that they have a happy hour at their bar until 6 pm. They had very few diners. We ordered drinks and a shrimp cocktail at their bar. I was especially eager to experience the beautiful sunset al fresco, so I took my drink outside, ( I was told earlier to choose any seat) but my partner didn’t feel comfortable joining me because the bartender told us their tabs are separate from their dining tickets. (It’s a small place-) So I sat outside alone with my drink while he waited for the shrimp cocktail to be served so he could settle that bill. After what seemed like an interminably long time, (and sunset over) he joined me. He carried his drink and appetizer to our table. Not once was I approached for service at the table. There were two other tables that arrived after us that were getting service, but we were ignored. Finally, the hostess at the door that confirmed our reservation approached us and asked if we were going to have dinner. Although we arrived early and took advantage of their happy hour with a couple of cocktails- YES, we came in for dinner! Why was that even questioned? Because we went to their bar before dinner? Doesn’t every restaurant want customers to do that? It was insulting that we were ignored the entire time while diners that arrived way after us were given service- so when we were finally asked whether we intended to stay for dinner, I thought it over. When she didn’t attempt to explain or apologize for the lack of service at all, we elected to leave hungry. There wasn’t any reason for us not to be approached sooner (we looked fine- street bums- not!) So while I can attest that the sunset was indeed beautiful, the Beach Bistro restaurant experience was sadly lacking and certainly not worth the extra mileage and effort that we spent...