Michael's On East — Restaurant in Sarasota

Let me be clear. I’m not usually the sort of person who walks into a restaurant with valet parking and a live piano and thinks, “This’ll be fun.” No. I usually assume I’m about to be gently mugged by a waiter in a waistcoat while chewing something described as “air-kissed” or “essence of.”

But Michael’s on East…oh, Michael’s. Against all odds, it works. Not just works..it sings.

It’s the kind of restaurant where you half expect someone to offer you a cigar and a stock tip with your appetizer. There’s leather. There’s gold leaf walls. There’s lighting so flattering it could make a Florida real estate agent look like a Bond villain. And then there’s Michael himself. Yes, he’s real, gliding through the dining room like the maître d’ of your most elegant fever dream.

And the food?

I ordered the rack of lamb. Because when in doubt, eat something that once jumped. It arrived with a crust so perfectly seasoned, so golden and crunchy, I briefly considered proposing to it. Inside: pink. Not rare, not well done. Pink. The colour that lets you know the kitchen isn’t screwing around.

My dinner companion had the sea bass. Now usually, “sea bass” is restaurant code for “white rectangle that tastes like disappointment.” But this was flaky, buttery, oceanic heaven, served over a bed of something green that I assume was good for you, but I was too distracted by the lobster butter sauce, which I would’ve happily poured into a flask and drank the way home.

The wine list here isn’t a list. It’s a novel. A tome. You don’t read it. You consult it. With your finger (it's an iPad). It has regions you’ve never heard of and vintages that predate the internet. I asked the sommelier for something that “tastes like it’s angry and French,” and he delivered a Burgundy that nearly made me cry. It cost more than my first car, but that’s beside the point.

Now let’s talk about the Warm Chocolate Lava Cake. Valrhona dark chocolate core. Served with housemade Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream.

This isn’t just dessert. This is drama. The kind of drama that unfolds in slow motion. You crack it open and the molten chocolate erupts like Vesuvius in velvet trousers. The ice cream? Cold. Creamy. Scented with something tropical and unreasonable. The contrast nearly caused me to make a sound normally reserved for private moments and Aston Martin test drives.

The servers are too polite. Too professional. Too psychic. They refill your glass before you notice it’s empty. They clear your plate before you even realise you’re done. One of them gave me a napkin halfway through a monologue and I didn’t even notice until three bites later. Witchcraft.

You don’t go to Michael’s on East for innovation. You go because you want to feel like you’re starring in your own private episode of Succession, minus the family trauma. The prices are moderate to high. The portions are exact. The room is dim. The chairs are too comfortable. And somehow, despite all of this, or perhaps because of it, it’s...

The overall experience tonight at this restaurant was not ideal. The food was most definitely the best part of the experience. Our server was all over the place. She didn't listen to anything we were saying. We had to explain to her about our oyster order four different times and she still didn't get it right. We finally just left it alone because we were on our way to the Van Wezel to see a show and didn't have time to explain it anymore to her. Whenever we asked her a question she was fidgety and all over the place. She didn't have any real answer for anything. When we first arrived the restaurant was fairly empty but for some reason she didn't come to our table until we were ready to place our orders? She wasn't clear in her speech and mumbled when responding to our questions. It just seemed like something else was going on with her that didn't have anything to do with the restaurant. We had told her that we had Theatre tickets and we needed to be out by a certain time. We wanted the check after the dessert came out but she disappeared. I had to physically get up and walk to the hostess stand and ask for their help. When she finally did come back to the table she was rude about the fact that I did that. Aside from the horrible experience from that waitress, everything else was perfect. Just over $200 for that experience. Needless to say we are VERY disappointed. I am a lover of food and especially eating out at nice restaurants. I had been wanting to experience Michael's on East for some time now as I am a local. It's just a shame that I don't have any plans on ever going back there because of that experience.

UPDATE: First let me apologize for taking so long to do this. I had every intention on updating my review, but we had such a wonderful time that night that I completely forgot. Our first visit was on November 17th, 2018, and after I left the above review, the Manager called me the following day after I posted it, and he insisted on mailing me a $75 gift certificate. I wasnt sure if I would be returning but I kept it just in case. On April 26th my mother and I had tickets to see the Temptations at Van Wezel, so we decided to give Michael's another try, and I can't give this restaurant enough stars!!! Our waiter, Joe, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and attentive and gave us the very best service possible. The service was so good that we ended up giving him the entire $75 as a tip on a $200 check. We tried a few new items the second time around, and the food was absolutely amazing as it always is. I am very happy that we decided to go back and try again, because we had a very wonderful and memorable experience this time around. I highly recommend Michael's on East, and I definitely recommend having Joe be your waiter!!! Thank you again and sorry for taking so long to...

We have been deciding whether we wanted to try Michael's for a couple of years now. We like to eat early and the traffic in Sarasota has prevented us from visiting Michael's in the past. When we arrived the restaurant was empty.

My wife is German and we have spent many summers/falls in the German and Austrian Alps including several months in Salzburgerland, Austria. When we saw the October EPICUREAN MENU we decided to visit and try it.

After going through a quiz at the reception desk we were assigned a table adjacent to the reception area where there would be heavy traffic flow. We requested another table. After being seated we later discovered it was next to the door going to patio dining area. There were staff and quests going in and throughout our meal. We were even visited by a fly attempting to help us with our meal.

I ordered the German Beef Rouladen for my wife and Salzberg Chicken Schnitzel for myself and for dessert I ordered Oma's Apfelstrudel and the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. We also both had the soup.

The soup was nothing special.

Sazburg Schnitzel that I have eaten many times in Austria is typically stuffed with ham, cheese and sometimes mushrooms.

What I received was just a thick, breaded, and tough chicken cutlet. Nothing inside. The Spätzle was way too soft, almost to the point of being mushy and the red cabbage was so sweet I could barely eat it. My wife was expecting a whole Rouladen with kraut, starch, and root vegetables on the side. What she received was a unappetizing pile of what looked like a stew. The Rouladen was cut into pieces and everything was mixed and piled on the starch.

Neither one of us could get half way through or meal. For the dessert Oma's (Grandmother) Apfelstrudel was apples in filo. This was not Grandmother's. I was expecting a piece of real Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and what I received didn't look anything like or taste like it.

This meal did not resemble anything close to German/Austrian food. Octoberfest is German and why would you put an Austrian dish on a German menu.

Quoting my 89 year old German wife "The Meals Sucked". We had to laugh at what get passed off as real dining these days. It is funny that people are willing to eat this stuff.

Throughout the meal the waiter never asked how our food was, even when he cleared our half eaten meals. He spent most of his time with the regular customers at the table next to us.

Now on a positive note the restaurant was very nicely decorated and we both thought the piano music was very nice. By the time we left the restaurant was full.

THIS TRIP TO MICHAEL'S RESTAURANT IS A ONE AND...