Salento Steakhouse at Silverleaf — Restaurant in Nocatee

I finally talked to my friends from coming up from South Palm Coast to try this restaurant. I told them my treat if they just give it a shot as it’s a long drive. I was so excited it took over two months to get them to come as the one time we’ve been prior we were extremely impressed. The service was wonderful. The young man was very attentive And the food was exceptional.

So, my next experience wasn’t great for me or my partner, but it was for them. Their food was absolutely amazing looking cooked perfectly, and as they expressed very well put together. I ordered a combo with a ribeye, filet mignon, lamb chops for my partner, Kristina and I to share. I have to tell you I was so excited the menu made it look like the most amazing thing you could ever put in your mouth. The food came out for my friend’s missing some items which later showed up and our food all came out at the same time for my partner K And I. The filet mignon was rare at best and the center was “A blue steak“ I ask for medium rare “Blue“ is rare than rare. Half of the ribeye if not, 3/4 was like straight bubblegum raw with a lot of fat. The lamb chops were absolutely amazing! I wouldn’t have left review because I know this was a simple mistake by the chef not paying close attention But when I brought it up to the server manager, I was told I had two choices. One, they could reheat it after it had sat on a plate for 15 minutes and no one came around to ask if I needed any help. Or two I could take it home and cook it there. I have to tell you as a man in my 50s being told I have two choices just didn’t seem very fitting. I won’t leave a terrible review although I should but I will post pictures and a short video so you can see what it actually looks like. As the owner of Several small businesses in the state of Florida, I know who devastating reviews can be. I do not leave this lightly however I find it very fitting. I can assure you as I service this area with my companies and meet with 20 to 30 new clients every single day within this area. The people that I deal with certainly would not appreciate this type of...

Edit due to response from management. Removed stars since I do not feel like my concerns were properly addressed. The service here is really bad and I’m not a fan of poor excuses.

I REALLY wanted to like this place but for the sake of honesty and having decent expectatIons for services in Silverleaf, I need to write this review.

Pros:

I’ll start with a positive. I got the Flat steak and it was cooked perfectly and tasted great.

I ordered my food to go but was able to see that the establishment had a clean and welcoming atmosphere.

Cons:

I cannot take this place seriously as a Cuban restaurant. My full order was a flat steak, empanadas, thres leches and a chicken finger platter and two sodas. This place was missing any Cuban vibes with their food.

Empanadas were DRY and the potato overpowered the taste of any meat that was in them. The chicken in the empanadas tasted old.

My steak came with a corn cake that was flavorless and was supposed to come with a salad but they forgot to include my salad in the bag which was pretty disappointing. Even if they had provided the salad, my order did contain dressing but it was the wrong salad one. They also had to be reminded about my sodas and would have forgotten those too.

The fries that were included with the chicken fingers were as if they were dipped in oil, had no crisp and had no salt on them (I understand not putting salt on the fries)

The thres leches was mediocre- like something I could have purchased at Publix.

Rice and beans were mediocre, too. Beans were more like a bean soup. I might have had ten whole beans and the rest was liquid.

If you are only looking for a good steak, this might be the place for you. If you want quality food that is authentic Cuban, this is not the...

My husband and I tried Salento Steakhouse for the first time the other day and it was AMAZING. I have never tried Colombian food, and I'm guilty for not being the most adventurous eater, so upon looking at the menu, I was seeing a lot of Columbian dishes that I wasn't sure if I would enjoy. We love a great steak and we are picky, so of course we tried the steaks. They have this big platter for $120 that included the cowboy ribeye, a filet, and 4 nice sized lamb chops. The steaks were served with a fresh chimichurri and another more spicer sauce, but I cannot remember what it was called. Both were perfect compliments to the steaks. This platter also came with amazingly cooked fresh kabob veggies, fantastic mashed potatoes, a fried plantain that was so sweet and delicious, as well as 2 fresh side salads. We loved every single bite! We also tried the mango milk juice that was more like a smoothie, and it was, again, fresh and so good. We tried tres leches cake for the first time for desert, and we couldn't believe we've been missing out on tres leches cake our whole life! It was moist, flavorful, and the best cake we've ever had. Even the mint infused water they serve was so refreshing. I cannot wait to try other items next time we go, I'm confident that they are all probably amazing. Also, I cannot forget to mention that the service was PHENOMENAL! We go out to eat quite often and we never get good service anymore. The servers and hosts at Salento bring friendliness, professionalism, and go above and beyond. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is very beautiful. We had such an amazing experience. This may be our new favorite restaurant! And it's right in our neighborhood, so thats a...