Raintree Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Augustine

One of our worst experiences in St. Augustine! It started with making reservations. The restaurant's voicemail says for a party of 6 or more, you must email them with your request. After several failed attempts at emailing, we waited until they were answering the phone (Tuesday at 1:00) to call. We explained we had been trying to email for a reservation request, however the email was undeliverable. The response was, "oh yea, the email doesn't work". In any case, we made our reservations. Prior to arriving, we had looked at the "on line" menu and saw they had smaller meals such as sandwiches which would work great for our group. Our reservations were for 7:45pm and our party consisted of six seniors (one 85 year old, one 80 year old, two 70 year olds and two 62 year olds). Looking at the menu we noticed it was different than the online menu so we asked about the sandwiches. We were told they do not serve them at this time of the year (Dec 17th is apparently not a sandwhich time???). At that point we asked if they had a kid/senior menu as four of us could not eat larger entrees. The Hostess gave us a kids menu. We understand many restaurants also use the kids menu as a senior menu, so that was fine. We placed our orders consisting of 4 Senior/Kids meals and two regular entrees. We had also ordered 4 adult beverages and an appetizer. Within 10 minutes a VERY rude woman (later identified as the "night manager) came to the table and said "I don't know what they told you but you cannot ALL order kids meals!" We were a bit surprised at her tone and told her we did not ALL order senior meals, however four of us were over 70 and could not eat an entire adult entree and since sandwiches were not available, we wanted smaller portions. At that point she looked at our 85 year old friend and said, "well she can, but no one else"!. I was mortified for my friend! We should have just left at that point, but with 2 of our party having walkers and limited mobility, and already having our beverages, we decided to stay (big mistake). We then ordered 4 meals, one of which was shared and one inner party chose not to order anything. The food was mediocre at best! Everything but the pasta tasted like it had been re-heated. When the bill came, we started to pay and then realized it was not even our check (it was about 4 times what our bill was). The server had been embarrassed by the night managers actions and was so flustered she brought the wrong bill. She kept apologizing. We told her it was not her fault. In the end, what was supposed to be a nice get-together turned into a total disaster. We paid the bill and left. I have never been more disappointed in any Resturant, let alone one that has previously been a St. Augustine favorite. Needless to say, we will not be returning, nor will we will recommend it to any of our friends. Hopefully, the "night manager (Queen B) as we now call her needs to take a lesson on customer service. If her attitude been better with a friendly explanation that the restaurant policy did not offer any Senior meals, we would have just shared and moved on. She was extremely rude and calling out our most senior person was appalling! On our way out we actually heard another younger couple complaining about the manager (at least we can say she's not prejudice agains seniors)! With all the restaurants in St. Augustine, we will make a better choice next time and stay away...

Raintree Restaurant boasts a charming atmosphere and friendly staff, creating an inviting setting for a meal in St. Augustine. However, our brunch experience was marred by significant service and food quality issues that overshadow its appeal.

The ambiance is undeniably pleasant, with a warm, welcoming vibe. The staff, in general, exudes friendliness, but our server’s performance was a major letdown. Described as a “social butterfly,” she was flighty and frequently absent, leaving us waiting excessively for basic requests. It took 15 minutes to get a to-go box and another 10 for the check, despite requesting both simultaneously. We overheard her sharing her life story—apparently, she “grew up” in the restaurant—at another table, not even hers, which explains her tendency to mill about as if she lived there rather than worked there. This lack of focus left us neglected and frustrated.

The food was equally disappointing, suggesting the kitchen was operating with its “C or D team” during brunch. The Beef Wellington, meant to be served rare (120°-125°F), arrived raw, purple, and room temperature—completely unappetizing. The eggs Benedict featured “poached” eggs that were clearly microwaved, not poached, resulting in an unmistakable texture. The burger had potential with a good grind, size, and bun, but lacked seasoning and was overcooked to a dry, gray mess instead of the requested medium (135°-140°F) with a hot-pink center. The home fries, likely air-fried in an unheated air fryer, were dry inside with a rubbery skin. The grits, however, were a bright spot, flavorful and well-prepared.

We didn’t complain about the food, chalking it up to an off day and planning to return for dinner to try their reportedly wonderful dishes. We requested a box for the uneaten two-thirds of the raw Beef Wellington, intending to cook it properly at home. When the server finally returned with the check, we were shocked to see a 15% gratuity automatically added for our party of two. No signage indicated this was standard policy, which felt deceptive. I typically tip 20% even for poor service, but since the server preemptively awarded herself 15% for subpar performance, we left it at that.

Ultimately, Raintree’s combination of inattentive service, poorly executed dishes, and the audacity of an automatic gratuity for a party of two left a sour taste. If this is their standard practice, it’s a sign of deeper issues—perhaps they should pay their staff better wages instead of relying on mandatory tips to compensate for lackluster service. Regrettably, Raintree is off our list of recommended dining spots in St. Augustine. We won’t be returning, and neither should you if you value attentive service and properly cooked food.

Note: This review reflects a single brunch experience. Others may have different experiences, but based on ours, Raintree falls short of its reputation which brought us...

My wife and I went to the Raintree Restaurant for our wedding anniversary in 2023 for dinner. We loved it so much we went back for Sunday Brunch the next morning. Tim was fantastic and we had such a good experience, we decided to go back this year.

This year, we took the long drive down for dinner only. It was definitely worth it! Our waiter, Kit, was fantastic. It really tells you the level of service a restaurant has when you get as wonderful of service as we did both times.

Like last year, we both got the Lobster Bisque. It was SO GOOD. Honestly, its the best Lobster Bisque I've ever had and its made fresh, in house! I've had fresh, in-house lobster bisque at a few high-end restaurants just because Raintree made me fall so in love with it. No one can compare to the Raintree's, though. Its phenomenal.

For dinner, my wife and I both wanted pasta, but we both wanted seafood. The Thermidor looks so appetizing, though. We couldn't decide, so we both got the Thermidor each, then split a Fettuccini Alfredo. Neither of us had lunch, so we were starving. This was absolutely perfect. The Thermidor itself was just as wonderful as I remembered from Sunday Brunch a year ago. The pasta was a perfect al dente with the wonderful alfredo sauce. You can tell the kitchen knows what they're doing!

We will definitely be making the long trip back again. Once my daughters get old enough to appreciate food and not just want mac n cheese with chicken nuggets, this will be the place I take them to know what great food and service is all about!

Thank you Raintree Restaurant for making our Anniversary night special. We'll see you again! :)

For those of you that are reading this ... I would HIGHLY recommend the Lobster Bisque with every visit. If you're feeling like seafood, the Thermidor will hit every part of...