Echo Palm Beach — Restaurant in Palm Beach

Should have read the Google reviews...

So... I had above and beyond expectations. The last time I came to Florida with my family I went to Flaglers Steakhouse and HMF which were both fantastic delicious experiences, so I could not wait to go as a couple. If you’re reading this and wondering where to book if you want to eat at The Breakers, book for Flaglers or HMF. Flaglers was closed for the day, so I called to make reservations and the man on the phone recommended Echo so we booked it and were super excited. As background, we ARE super sushi lovers and do have super good sushi back in NY, so we had high expectations for delicious sushi also.

We dressed super fancy, and were expecting a delicious and impressive meal! I DID have the bar set extremely high, after having been to Flaglers and HMF in the past.. so perhaps if I hadn’t gone to those before, I wouldn’t have been as disappointed. When we first arrived, valet was very strange. We parked our own car in a tight random second floor garage and asked the valet man if it was acceptable for us to park there for Echo and he said yes. No one offered to wave or take our car upon driving in because the valet person wasn’t at the bottom or top when we were driving in, he was sitting in a chair randomly between 2 cars on the second floor. We don’t mind parking our own car but we had been so excited to have this night be one of those super fancy nights so this was our first shrug of the evening. Then we walked down the parking garage and saw a line outside so our excitement went up again, wherever there is a line, usually that means the place is good!! So we get there and all seems great and fine again. The ambiance was 4/5, but still not as fancy as HMF or Flaglers, but that’s okay cuz it’s also different style. Then we were offered a Happy Hour special for the sushi and drinks since we had an early dinner, all drinks and sushi half off.

We should have known better. Usually, happy ours or discount specials exist to get rid of the older food, or it’s simply not their best dish so that’s why they sell it for less. We messed up. We ended up only ordering from the sushi menu, because it IS a sushi place, thinking that we were going to get mouth-watering sushi. It was okay. Not bad by any means. But completely plain, completely mediocre, a little chewy, it tasted very clean which is yes a good thing, but it wasn’t very flavorful and didn’t make our eyes glisten. It wasn’t Breakers quality. No offense, but this place actually hurt and lowered my view of The Breakers. A place like The Breakers should have better quality food. Now, we lucked out. We only had to pay half because we arrived during happy hour. But I’d give it 2 stars if we had to pay full price. We went to HMF after which we will give a 4.5 stars for, but we agreed that we wish we never went to Echo and just went to HMF and ate there. (HMF also sold the same exact rolls as Echo.... so don’t go to Echo you might as well just go straight to HMF).

With every review, we still like to leave some positives too. We agreed that we would’ve liked to try something NOT on the happy hour menu. Maybe those dishes would have been better! We also did love the ambiance, the outdoor dining was very pretty and nice. Our waiter was very kind and accommodating towards allergies. The wine tasted great too! We are glad we got to try it and we can see how it’s a 5/5 for many other customers!! But if you are a sushi lover, you most likely...

Evening started off really well. The girls at the welcome desk are very friendly and we asked to be seated outdoor and our server was really nice and kind and friendly. However a few minutes later we realized that we were getting bitten by mosquitoes so we requested to be moved indoor. Our server was very good and he did that very quickly. But now we had a new server since we moved indoors. This is where the issue began. We were rushed right from the beginning. She told us the kitchen was closing soon so we should place our order soon so we did. In a little bit we also placed our dessert order so that was also taken care of. However she repeated told us or rather assured us that we are welcome to sit as long as we want there’s no rush and that there’s no rush with the drinks and that we can continue to order them. However at around 9:45 when I asked to get me a second round of my drink she brought me the drink and told me this is the last one the bar is now closed. While I can see many people still hanging out there. But anyway we didn’t make an issue. Next around 10 pm we were finished with paying her the check and everything and believe it or not this lady literally starts to walk back and forth around our table multiple times each time LOOKING AT HER WATCH. Now that is the limit. I cannot believe breakers can actually employ people like that. To top it all she goes further to walk up to us and ask us “ do you need the shuttle for breakers ?” pointing to one standing outside indicating that we should leave now once again while she looks at her watch. Very very rude. We were just too nice and still left her a tip but honestly she did not deserve it. Very disappointed...

For a decadent place with an expensive menu, this place was a complete disappointment in every way. Small, basic menu with limited options and nothing unique or deserving of its price. The most disappointing part was the experience in general. Came here with a party of 20 for a birthday, and yes, with reservations. Service was extremely slow, and we definitely needed another waiter or at least a waiter who was only responsible for our table. For some reason- our half of the table was borderline completely neglected. Other half of the table was receiving their second round of drinks before we even got the first round of ours, they were eating 20 minutes before us- waiter had no idea who ordered what too. Waited 20+ minutes for drinks and when our food finally came out it was lukewarm and totally disappointing. To no surprise, it made me sick. Service basics were not even met- had to ask multiple times for my water to be refilled- my entree came only partially complete (missing rice?) which I had to wait 15-20 minutes for that to arrive. I received a sake bomb when I did not even ask for one. My boyfriend waited like 30 minutes for one beer. Everything was just a mess honestly, the list of little things that were frustrating can go on. Oh, and tip is included on your bill, even when the service is not even worth 20%. By the end of the night, we were all dying to leave because we were there for WAY too long because of the ungodly wait times for every single thing.

In a nutshell: Basic overpriced menu, disappointing quality of food, ridiculous wait times, poor ‘2 star’ service in a...