Bob's Train — Restaurant in Sarasota

Ok, let me start by saying "never judge a book...", you get it. We pulled into the parking lot and were the first to arrive just after opening for dinner service. Honestly, a little uneasy on first glance to attempt dining here. I left the family in the car and went to take a gander and Bob himself greeted me with humor and passion and I immediately waved the family in to start our dining adventure. We were not disappointed, Bob took our drink orders and instantly whisked us away with stories that ya knew just had to be true. After our dinner order was in we walked the two extra train cars positioned behind the dining car and were blown away with the history. We had only just finished our tour when we arrived to our table and the food was put in front of us. Burgers were delicious, was it the best burger I have ever had? Thats all relative, it was tasty, cooked well not dry and served with made to order potato chips. The food was delivered by Bob and he is clearly proud of what he presents you and in my opinion that only adds to the overall experience. As we were leaving, we went back to say 'goodbye' to Bob and he insisted we wait until he finished making some nice folks their dinner so he could take us outside and take a picture of us in front of his amazing artwork. He told us, and I paraphrase "I want people to leave here with a memory". We absolutely did, and we are so happy we didnt just leave, would recommend to anyone looking for a good meal with a man who loves doing what he does.

Side note: the waitress who started work shortly after we finished eating was extremely pleasant and attentive even as we were getting ready to leave. No...

If you are an adult who likes to be told what to do, where to sit, and what you cannot touch, then this is the place for you. If you have a kid who likes trains, do not bring them here. Our first warning sign should have been that the place was only 1/4 full during what should have been the lunch rush. Then the waitress tells us that we can't sit at a certain table because apparently they want all of their guests uncomfortably crowded together toward the front so the staff doesn't have to walk an extra few steps. Now the restaurant has some little plastic toy train cars with salt and paper shakers in them on every table. Well heaven forbid a toddler wants to touch them. Bob threw a hissy fit and did not want his toy train salt and pepper holders touched. He didn't say anything else. Didn't introduce himself or welcome us, nothing, just serious freakout don't play with the salt and pepper shaker toy train car holder. He seriously was about to snatch them right out of my son's hand. We promptly left as we are not going to allow our son to be disrespected like that. Newsflash do not put toy trains next to the table and expect a toddler not to want to touch them. They should have been glad that he was quietly entertained with something. We didn't stick around for food. The water was foul-tasting. If they cook with that water, I don't want to eat anything there anyway. We went to a different fun diner where kids are welcome and had better food for...

Ok this place was different, and I like different. It might take a few tries to find the restaurant as it is not the easiest place to spot, so don't give up. The dining car is nicely made up and quite comfortable. Little train or circus memorabilia everywhere. We were there on a Sunday, and there was an awesome omelet station set up (even though no one in my party happened to choose omelettes that day) where they make it right in front of you. I had a cheeseburger that was enjoyable while one of the kids had scrambled eggs with bacon in it. All was happily devoured. While waiting for the friendly servers to bring the food out, I took a tour of the other rail cars attached to the dining car. The hallways are filled with pictures from circus past. A tribute to a heyday I doubt the circus will ever see again, though I could feel its historic value from the photographs and posters. I believe Bob, the owner, was the kind gentleman making the omelettes and talking to everyone who had time for a story (I was unfortunately focused on wrangling the children). Dessert was eaten quickly by everyone at the table. The chocolate spaghetti with ice cream was something else. This is the kind of place where, if I had $300 million because I won the lottery, I would donate a million to help Bob make his restaurant everything he wants it to be, because it is definitely worth it. Florida has a wonderful history with the railroads that is underrepresented, so...