Avanu On Flagler — Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach

A lengthy but honest review... As locals, we were excited to try the new restaurant in town and Eeeek we love tiki vibes. We entered and wanted to sit upstairs, requested the elevator and it’s not in the best spot for busy hours, as we felt like we were in the way of the busy bartenders & staff while waiting for the elevator to come down (not a big deal, but I thought “hmm, interesting layout”). We then went to the 3rd floor and had to yell over a giant fan to the hostess that there were 4 in our party- and then she grabbed our silverware from a cardboard box..again not a huge deal but that's something I'd expect to see at a place serving burgers in baskets, not an advertised upscale place. It looked beautiful on the inside, a bit more ‘fancy’, with low lighting and the outside upstairs had a much more casual, fun, beachy feel. We ordered 2 apps for the table and never got plates until all the duck fat fries (yum) were gone and the medallions (also yum) were room temp. We waited a solid 15 minutes per drink, and then my husband never got his second drink. The waitress did not come to our table for us to even re-request his drink; nor did she come back by once someone else dropped our food off, after auctioning it table by table until they found the right one-which was done repeatedly to other tables as well (I noticed because everything took so long, I couldn’t help but look around). So, the “kobe” (did not seem that quality) smash burgers and huli huli chicken sandwich (that upcharges you for blackened, despite it being written on the menu as an option) were dry; needed sauce of some sort. So, we had two options: eat our meals dry now, or eat them cold with sauce when our waitress finally comes back to ask us how everything came out. We opted to eat them dry, which was a total choking hazard because not only were we missing our second round of drinks -ordered 15 min prior to our food coming out- our water cups were also nearly empty. The T.V.s facing us (4 or 5) were all on screensavers…..they should have had something else on them to keep people entertained with their ridiculous wait times. And just something to note for your own preference...the "twisty fries are Arby's style curly fries. Oh, did I mention the sangria!? It’s Merlot. Served warm, no ice. With an orange squeezed in it. I tried to enjoy it because- I am not a “Karen” and surely I can get this one down and just never order it again… but it was- as my husband would say- “wretched” (so, he took one for the team and drank it instead). Lastly, probably the worst part of all. We paid our bill, and then wondering if we were charged for the 2nd drink that we never received- we went to check the receipt- BUT WE DID NOT GET AN ITEMIZED BILL OF WHAT WE ORDERED. So we had to wait another 10 minutes for our server to come near the area so we could flag her down, again, and we asked why we didn’t get one…… “we give them out when people ask”…..

PEOPLE! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOUBLE CHECKING YOUR RECEIPTS. Our bill- thankfully did not have the second drink my husband ordered on it- BUT IT HAD $37 WORTH OF DRINKS THAT WERE NOT OURS on it…Literally not just duplicates of what we ordered…other random drinks, 4 of them. We notified the server, to which she was not receptive to at first- thinking they were ours?- but then she adjusted it. As we were walking past the inside bar to exit- I heard an elderly lady discussing an itemized receipt, as well…. which I surely hope she was not left paying for someone else’s Sunday funday. Unfortunately, all of the issues combined- especially the rip off of prices for the quality and the non-itemized bills, seems shady. And we loved the feel of the place, but not enough to return when there are far better quality meals and...

What a fine addition to NSB this restaurant is! We visited it first during the 4th of July BBQ Challenge. It was the best one as far as we were concerned - enough to make us WANT to return for an actual meal. We sat rooftop and were greeted by our very friendly and informed waiter. We began with the Steamed pork dumplings, which were very tasty , and the Bulgogi Bao salad - Ginger sesame-dressed, shredded marinated ribeye, toasted sesame seeds, pickled red onions, sriracha-seasoned rice noodles, and shaved fried sweet potatoes. The description makes your mouth-water, right? Well, so does the actual meal! For our entrees, we ordered the Lemongrass Seafood noodles (Thai ribbon noodles combined with mussels, shrimp, scallops, white wine and lemongrass cream sauce), and the Miso Cod with Bamboo risotto (Black cod marinated in miso and mirin, broiled and laid over bamboo mushroom risotto, garnished with sriracha seasoned shaved sweet potatoes). To say both meals were sinfully delectable is an understatement. We can't say enough about this menu and marvelous food. We even met the Manager/Chef, Sean. He asked if we were enjoying our meal then chatted with us for a few minutes. I asked how the lemongrass noodles dish had such an amazing lemongrass taste. Sean told us how they tried different ways, but nothing delivered a consistent taste from day-to-day. So they came upon a great lemongrass paste that they use - it's all about consitency here and it shows. He said to try the stuffed grouper next time - we will! After dinner, we grabbed our leftovers and headed for the bar to extend our evening fun...and we did. The friendly bartenders were busy, but we had no problem getting refills. We so enjoyed our dinner and fun here, that we returned for lunch another day. We had the Shrimp/Scallop spring rolls (which also had crabmeat), the Shrimp & Scallop sliders, and twisted fries. Again, we had a very enjoable meal. Need a ride there? Avanu is teamed up with Joyride (1-888-42AVANU)! Give them a call, your location, and they'll come get you in their long golf cart and bring you to Avanu's front door! This is a FREE ride, but patrons are encouraged to tip the driver for the ride. There is NO minimum, just whatever cash you can spare. Not a bad deal. Need a ride back to your place? Call them again and they'll gladly...

When we came yesterday, downstairs dining room was closed, so we sent up to the rooftop seating area, where we ignored by servers until I catch one and ask how to get food. Then we got a table. I ordered deep fried on cast iron pan half chicken and sides plus seaweed salad, others in our group ordered pok belly bun, peeling shrimp and marinated beef tips. Beef tips is very good and served on a plate beautifully... come with sliced unsalted frued young potatoes and also unsalted cooked green beans...why unsalted? It tastes so bland, can be much better with just hint of salt. My chicken also come with a sliced unsalted fried young potatoes and unsalted cooked green beans. Everything looks beautiful! My mouth was watering, I'm so ready to eat some tender, falling apart chicken meat with a gold- brown crust....so I tried to put chicken apart - and to my surprise - it resists! I'm tried with the fork...again, I'm not able to pull it apart at all. I stick a knife in it and it start producing pink juice , so I realize it's beautifully crusted from outside but absolutely raw inside. Waiter asked me how our meals are and I said that chicken is raw, and he took away chicken and vegetables too, so all is left for me to eat is a seaweed salad, which I ate, thinking that it will go well with a potatoes - if I only have them! But water took away whole plate.... My friends ate their food, shrimps are good, they said, and beef tips too... (My friend dont recommend "pork belly bun" - its just 2 tiny slices of bread with a spoonfull of cooked pork in it, doesnt worth it. ) Then we wait, then we waited some more but my chicken nowhere to be seen, and it is about an hour already. So I asked waitress if I gonna get any food and they bring, what I assume, second half of that chicken - also beautifully burned on outside but completely raw inside. And they try to make me believe that how deep fried chicken should be done - raw and bleeding on the inside and impossible to pull apart even if you using fork! "for juiciness" , they said. No, thanks, steak can be slightly raw inside, but not a chicken, any good cook knows that! Anyway, that was our experience and I went home hungry, which kind of not nice, if you...