Spanish River Grill & Wine Bar — Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach

We had a lovely first visit to Spanish River Grill and were genuinely impressed by the quality of the food and relaxed atmosphere. The sangria was a perfect start—beautifully blended, not overly sweet, and packed with fresh, flavorful fruit. We ventured out of our comfort zone and tried the bottle neck clams and tuna, both prepared in ways we hadn’t experienced before—and we ended up loving them. The calamari was also delicious and perfectly cooked; just a touch of lemon would’ve taken it over the top. But the real standout was the Gambas a la Plancha—I could’ve easily ordered two more. Absolutely divine.

The decor is charming and inviting, though the restaurant could benefit from a bit of detailed cleaning as we did notice cobwebs over a few tables. Our server was kind and welcoming, though it would’ve been helpful to have a little more guidance as first-time guests—especially regarding the menu concept and happy hour offerings.

That said, we’re experienced diners and still had a great time navigating the menu on our own. Overall, Spanish River Grill is a gem, and we’re already planning to return for another round of those incredible gambas and a...

The food is pretty good, but the management, service staff and arrogance of this place are deplorable. I will take my hard earned money somewhere else. We had numerous problems with simple requests at this place- to the point where we did not go there for over a year because we were fed up. After a "cooling off period", we decided to give it another try because we liked the food...and received even worse service. Don't even try to ask to sit a a large table before everyone in your party is present (even if the restaurant is completely empty). The wait staff is not pleasant, we actually played a game to "put the waitress in a good mood" by paying her compliments, and telling her she was our favorite, etc. She finally cracked a smile after many attempts. The funny thing is, when you ask to talk to a manager about problems or requests, they are ten times more rude! Awful! Take your money to "The Garlic"- we have and are treated like family there. It is obvious who treats people better in this town- Garlic is packed with people having fun, and Spanish River is empty these days- it's not hard to...

Dear Maureen, owner. I am giving your place a 5 rating without eating there but having a horrible experience with your reservation management. The 5 rating is given because I truly want your place to do fantastic, and I believe it will! We showed up yesterday at 5:30 for our 5:30 reservation placed by our friends. You did not have us in your books but offered us an outside table. We did not want that; it was cool, breezy (allergy season at its worst, my wife suffers from this) and it is extremely noisy outside with the highway traffic. You stood firm that we did not have a reservation and could do nothing more. At that time there were NO diners inside. However you stated all tables are booked and you would not deviate on your stand. You as owner, seeing how insistent we were knowing we made reservations with YOU personally should have clearly surmised you made an error and figure out to how rectify our request. You did not! Most restaurants when they have a situation like this can and do. Either you learn from this or not, that is totally on you. Best of luck, I truly hope...