Fresh Kitchen — Restaurant in Sarasota

Since fresh kitchen opened I’ve been a costumer. I’ve never had ‘phenomenal’ service, I’ve always been the type to let a manager know how great their employees are, but everytime I go they never ‘exceed my expectations’.. which is fine the service is ordinary. March 19, I ordered online for the first time and when I picked my food up I failed to look at my order before heading home..(rushing from work to home) I get the same six bowl everytime & when I opened my food all of the proportions looked 1/2 of what they usually serve. I gave them a call thinking they could provide me an extra scoop next time I buy. A gentleman picked up and I immediately asked to speak to the manager he proceeded for me to let him know what happened so I explained my situation to him, he tells me they have sizes for the scoops (which I already know? I’m a costumer here for years) but I’m trying to explain to him I haven’t touched my food yet and theres only 7 pieces of sweet potatoes how is that a full scoop? Less than 10 mushrooms, and 6 bbq chicken? He tells me he’ll get the manager.. when the manager picks up the line he had no idea what my conversation with the man was about so.. there I go again explaining my situation (what a waste of time he should’ve just gave the phone to the manager) the manager apologizes, and tells me if I drive back he’ll add extra food.. what? I’m tired from work I expected to go home relax, eat a full meal I’m not in the mood to drive 15 mins back? Nothing was fixed, they don’t seem to care about their costumers since its a chain restaurant. Side note: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ‘Healthy Cafe’ right next to ‘The Office’ bar, on Ringling in Sarasota. Its a similar layout to Fresh Kitchen, if anything its BETTER, more variety, and they allow you to add as many vegetables to your bowl. The owner is a local Sarasota gentleman, he always gives a welcoming hello when I come in and is very attentive, I enjoy his service SO much more and I spend $5 less for more food than...

EDIT: Just went again today (6/23/2025) and had a negative experience in the service department. Due to the plexiglass and loud environment they could not hear that I wanted a four, not a six and then acted like it was my fault that I was getting the wrong thing. It was only when I got to the protein selection and they asked "what would you like for your second protein?" that I realized it was not the correct thing as this was only my third time in. At that point the bowl consisted of 2 bases (included in both) and 2 veggies (the four would've just been 1 at this point) and then 1 protein, so basically the four with one extra veggie. Then they put it on me basically pressuring me into getting the larger meal (which I did not finish because it was way too much).

Actually just such a negative experience, I'm not sure if I'll be back any time soon.

For anyone else thinking of visiting be sure to bring a megaphone to ensure you're loud enough over the loud environment so you don't end up in the same predicament.

For anyone wondering, my original review is below--it was 5 stars across the board, but now it's a 2 overall, 2 for service for obvious reasons, and a 2 for the atmosphere because of how loud it was which made it impossible to order and the fact that the air dryers in the bathroom are the worst hand dryers I've ever used--they would only stay on for maybe a second and then immediately turn off, and there were no paper towels as a different option.

Original review: Went in for my second visit and it was just as good as the first. The concept is similar to a build your own sandwich or burrito bar, but for bowls featuring many different bases, proteins, toppings, and sauces. They have no gluten in any of their menu items and have pretty clean ingredients including using olive oil for all cooking, antibiotic and hormone free proteins, and no processed sugar unless...

I absolutely LOVE FK’s Caprese tofu! I first called FK tonight and spoke with an employee named Blake from the Sarasota location because I wanted to try making the caprese tofu at home since I haven’t found any other tofu like FK’s. Blake answered all my crazy questions about it with ease and poise. Naturally, I got hungry and wanted dinner along with leftovers to spare so I drove there. I got in the order line and was ready to give the employee my order (Family of 4 meal), and he asked me to go to the end register where another employee would take my order right away. The employee taking my order was incredibly helpful- I used the online ordering site to help me figure out my order beforehand and i was pleasantly surprised at the cost and that was because the employee knew how to charge all the costs appropriately (even informed me of certain items with a price increase) and yet my total was approx. $20 less than I expected…as I was paid, I mentioned I spoke with a helpful person named Blake on the phone and the employee that just took my order, said that was HIM…so we both realized we had spoke to each other and remembered the tofu convo, but I was still surprised…it WAS Blake!!! Blake is such a joy to have spoken with and is extremely helpful on the phone and in person. My order did not take long to prepare and Blake brought it out to me and even reviewed all the packaged food in front of me to ensure it was all there and correct. I am thankful I spoke with him and had the pleasure of being served by him. Blake was a true joy and I appreciate all his help. I’m not sure of his title, but I have 20 exp in HR and I truly believe FK needs to recognize and promote him! I had such a wonderful experience tonight all around and it was because of him…THANK YOU Blake! YOU...