Seafire Grill — Restaurant in New Port Richey

I know I'll be accused of bashing by the few, but my sincere desire is for the success of this new business. The owners would like you to believe this is a 5 star restaurant. Like Ruths Chris, Bascoms, Berns, or even J Alexanders. This is wishful thinking. In some respects I see Widow Fletchers in their product delivery. The service was mediocre, the food (that we had, which were about the most expensive entrees) was also average. Other than the house salad, which was excellent. Everything is ala carte. You know...like the 5 star restaurants. We and six others from the neighborhood went to support the new business. Again, we WANT this business to succeed. I paid $200 for mine and my wife's dinners, so I feel I did my part. Now its time for Seafire to do theirs. I had the "prime" steak. There was an option for a "super prime", or "extra prime", or "prime plus", but that seemed like a cheap come-on, so I declined. The 9 oz. filet that I received was flavorless. Not like any "prime" steak I've ever had. They should buy their steaks from Costco it would be better. It was also undercooked. My friend's 9 oz. filet was also undercooked, but he opted to send it back. So he waited 15 minutes while the rest of us ate. I also got the asparagus, which was very average. For the prices that they shamelessly charge, I expected to be blown away, or at least impressed. I was not. My wife got the Sea Bass. Also not remarkable. Slight fishy taste. We both had soup, I had French Onion au gratin, my wife had the lobster/crab bisque. The French Onion was very good, but would have been better with the traditional gruyere cheese instead of mozzarella or provolene or whatever was used. The bisque was average. Slightly bitter. The baked potato was a disaster. For $10 I would have expected a better showing. The owner is there and obviously aware of what is being presented by the "chef". The "loaded" potato was either baked or fried after it was segmented (sliced).It was almost too hard (way beyond crunchy) to chew. It was sprinkled with a few scallions and a few tomatoes. No butter. No sour cream. No cheese. Disappointing. Why does the chef serve this? Why does the owner ok this being served? Now I know some people will say "give them a break, they're a new restaurant". I didn't get a break on the price. I paid as though I were getting a five-star dinner. Although highly touted, the chef is obviously not a James Beard award winner. I'm not sure if he even went to culinary school. All in our party felt about the same as what I describe above. I said there were similarities to Widow Fletchers. The similarities are the corners that they cut. We and our party will not be dining at this restaurant until things change. I look forward to the day when the line is out the door, like the real five star restaurants that cost $200 to dine, plus tip. For the few that are inclined to whine about bashing a new business, understand that everything you see everything you get from the minute you walk in is as a result of a decision made...

Ever since the prior restaurant Widow Fletcher's closed down and was sold of course we were very disappointed I believe the owners foresaw the coming bleak economic situation. The month before prior restaurant sold when everyone found out what was happening the patrons abandoned it like a sinking ship. With great anticipation we excitedly awaited the new modern upscale restaurant. We waited till June the 29th as to hopefully let the place settle in and all the gigs be worked out if there were any and see how the locals responded. As I see it the concept is really nice the decor the food the service and even the dress code serves a purpose for all the money put in the place. From what I ascertained after questioning and seeing in operation it has a lot of moving parts, the dress code is extremely complicated for the average person walking in when you see multiples of everything and you allow the young ladies in the front to pick and choose who can wear and who can't. I agree with one of the other commenters just, post what you can't wear ratty clothes basically and no hats in the dining area after 7:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturday nights. Maybe it's just me but every time we've driven by and we live close I've never seen a full parking lot ever. We so want this place to succeed we came in two or three times a week in the past and it was always crowded the bottom floor was jamming large crowds of dancing people the bar was always packed all the tables were full mostly and there was maybe three groups of people at the tables on the bottom floor when we were there at 5:00 all the chairs at the bar were filled but I will tell you this if you do not relax the dress code on 5 days out of the seven this place will not survive especially where the economy is heading. In conclusion this is not Tampa or Miami or New York or any up-and-coming motivated dress up see and be seen arena, these are all mid to upper range age and retired & semi retired folks that just want to relax and have a good time comfortably with their friends and family period. As far as the prices go this is America it's your business and you can price it anyway you want to you'll figure that out soon enough one way or the other right?

P.S. the entertainment in the ground floor is in the wrong place The columns block most of the view where he's at he should be at the base center on the far north side facing towards the bar.

Return to seafire grill November 9th 2024 update: the owners have modified the dress code. COME AS YOU ARE COMFORTABLY!!!

We had Garrett as our waiter and let me tell you he did not let us down. The food was great the service was excellent and if we had to rate him as a waiter you want to have 10 just like him. We would make him the trainer for the wait staff just saying.

They have remodeled the bottom since the flood and will open soon keep your ear open for the date. Now whether they like it or not they will see us...

It is so nice to have a place where we can get quality steak without driving to Tampa or St. Petersburg. This is a beautiful restaurant and I am glad they have an attire standard; this helps maintain the ambiance and fine dining experience. I have read people complaining about the dress code, one said it is not posted. I saw it on the reservation section of their website, pretty clear. Another comment was they had on expensive flops , well price of Flops doesn’t mean it’s okay. Just like any other establishment, they can set standards, they do have the right to refuse service. If you want to wear beach or casual attire then wait until the downstairs restaurant opens. From what I understand that will be a casual, boat/beach vibe.

Now for the food. I had the Prime Plus Ribeye and it was very good. For a side I had the lobster mac and there were some nice size pieces of lobster in it, very good! Now this is not a cheap restaurant, why should it be? (Rhetorical). The prices are commensurate with the quality of food they serve. Just like any fine steakhouse would be.

I like that the bar in the main dining area does not have televisions. However they do have some in the lounge which is the opposite side of the building. Any restaurant that first opens will have bumps, issues to iron out, etc., and Seafire certainly is not immune to it. I am confident the management and ownership will develop this restaurant to its potential! I am looking forward to the next time I dine here and will be able to give it 5 ⭐️.

Update: We returned last night. Now they have been open for three weeks. We checked in with the hostess and were seated for our reservation right away. A person came right up to the table and asked if we wanted to start off with a cocktail or water. He poured our waters then informed us our server will be with us shortly. Soon after our server came over and took our drink order and made some conversation. She gave us time to discuss what we were going to eat. We ordered a couple minutes later. At this point I wanted to see how far they have improved service since the opening night, so I set a timer. We received our Parker rolls fairly quickly. When the steak arrived it looked amazing. We split a lobster tail. Garlic mashed potatoes. I started cutting the steak and remembered to check my timer, 25 minutes. That is fast! Faster than expected. The restaurant wasn’t empty either, it was busy. Seafire was on point! I was told the downstairs restaurant will be opening in just over a week. It will be casual, boat beach vibe, burgers & wings & fries. We are looking forward to checking out that for lunches on the water. Oh and I was told that soon the upstairs will have a Sunday...