Ed's Tavern Lakewood Ranch — Restaurant in Sarasota

My visit to Ed's Tavern, just a mile from my residence, was an unfortunate disappointment from the outset.

Upon arrival, my family was promptly seated, which would be the only swift service of the evening. For 15 minutes, we remained unattended while another group, seated after us, was greeted and had their orders taken briskly. After two attempts to signal the need for service, a server was finally allocated to our table—20 minutes into our wait.

Subsequent parties seated nearby were enjoying their meals before we could even place an order. When a server did appear (whose demeanor was admittedly pleasant), I was informed that simple requests such as milk for my child weren't available, settling instead for chocolate milk, and subsequently lemonade, due to further shortages. My own beverage arrived sans the requested lime juice and straw.

45 minutes after being seated, our order was taken—Egg Rolls, Grilled Chicken Salad, Mac n' Cheese with fries, and Fish N Chips. Yet again, our experience was marred when my salad contained improperly cooked chicken, prompting immediate concerns about food safety and dissuading me from even considering my wings. Likewise, the Egg Rolls bore the unmistakable hallmarks of overcooking.

I conveyed my dissatisfaction to the management, citing the unacceptable delay, uncooked and overdone food, and expressing a clear refusal to settle the bill for such a subpar experience.

In response, rather than rectifying the entire bill, I was offered a card for a complimentary appetizer on a future visit and still presented with a check. Far from a gesture of genuine apology, this response only compounded the frustration of enduring poor service, potential food safety risks, and wasted time. Regrettably, Ed's Tavern failed to recognize the gravity of their service failings and kitchen lapses. I caution future patrons of the possibility of enduring a similar ordeal with both health and service hazards, only to be expected to pay for the displeasure.

In summary, the unsatisfactory experience at Ed's Tavern was a culmination of prolonged neglect, food safety concerns, and an underwhelming resolution. The restaurant not only missed the mark on quality dining but also overlooked the opportunity to adequately redress clear shortcomings in both food and service.

Should the management team be committed to rectifying our unsatisfactory experience, I invite you to respond to this review, upon which I will share the last four digits of my card to facilitate the...

The food was amazing! We stopped here for lunch before noon on a Monday in March.

We had a part of four and ordered the Bottomless Chips & Salsa with Beer Cheese. They hit the spot and we ended up getting a second round (for free, since it’s bottomless). The beer cheese really makes it special and was delicious.

Everyone ordered something different for lunch. I ordered the Chop (salad) and really liked it. It had real bacon and the ranch dressing tasted awesome.

My husband ordered the Triple Decker Turkey, my son got the Buffalo Chicken sandwich and my daughter got the Classic Burger. See photos. Everyone loved their meal. The fries were great!

We really wanted to eat outside (honestly that never happens, but here the weather was beautiful). But, it was really windy and the sign outside blew over and it was just too windy for us, so we moved inside. The outside seating is plentiful and has a nice view.

I counted tried to count the number of televisions, I got 15 but that might not be accurate. They have a lot of TV’s.

This place had a great vibe.

As far as service, we had to flag down the waitress a couple times, since she didn’t stop by and ask if we wanted more chips/salsa (you could see the beer cheese was gone and salsa was almost empty) and when we were ready for the check. I’d recommend letting the wait staff know that they should check back in more often. The place only had a few tables filled so it wasn’t super busy.

We don’t live in Florida, but would definitely go back to this restaurant next time we visit and highly recommend.

This restaurant is in a great location within Lakewood Ranch in the Main...

Well, what can I say... We went there to have lunch and a couple of beers. I had a coupon for a free appetizer, so we ordered the button mushrooms. They were great! Ordered one of my favorites, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel. Found out later it was $8.50! Little pricey, I thought. I ordered the blue cheese burger, rare. When it came out, it was WELL done! I don't return food because there are too many people starving in this world, and unless it's got a hair in it, or something like that, I will eat it regardless. It was actually tough. My husband ordered the patty melt, which was also well. He likes it med to med well, so that didn't matter much except that it was probably one of the driest patty melts I had ever seen. The girl that waited on us was exceptionally nice! She did take off my meal from the check, which was nice ( I had not asked her to do so), and we had another beer. $6.00 for a small Guinness, again alittle pricey for a small. We probably would only stop by for the mushrooms and maybe, a beer. But we did leave the waitress a good tip. It wasn't her fault. I did like the atmosphere also. Their outdoor seating is nice too!...