Tommy Bahama Restaurant, Bar & Store — Restaurant in Sarasota

I have always liked this place and go about 3 times per year minimum myself. My family who stays during the winter goes very frequently (15x times) . The food is generally very good, the service very good, and the ambiance excellent. Today January 1st 2023, was a different experience. My bread plate was filthy…. Legitimate piece of gum stuck on the back of the plate…… I asked for another…… the next one came and was also pretty nasty, had greasy hand prints and some sauce caked on. I asked if I could please have a different one and pointed to the imperfections. Not sure the name of my waitress (she was very very tall with 0 personality and a really unpleasant face (one that could make enjoying your meal difficult) comes over and says “the manager is hand polishing your fine China and will be back with your plate”. 10 min later a manager came over, presented the plate and said “this isn’t one of those fine dinning restaurants” I responded and simply said “it doesn’t need to be fine dinning just clean plates….I think everyone can ask for that”. He said a few fingerprints weren't a big deal.

This either means the waitress didn’t care to look at the plate and told the manager it wasn’t that dirty. Or the manager saw the plate and just doesn’t care. I truly think this fell on the waitress, she was consistently terrible all night and immediately turned away when i pointed out the stuck on sauce to either ask a coworker for advice on remedying or complaining that I was a drama queen. (you can make that judgement, I won’t because I can’t be certian) …. The manager was probably just having one of those days, but super unprofessional tonight.

I mean after that I called him out. He was Super condescending and honestly really effected me and my girlfriends night. We felt immediately uncomfortable. I was really close to getting up but the food is good and the circle packed with vacationers

Waitress was amongst the least friendly of people i have had the displeasure of interacting with. I don’t need someone to be friendly, but what I don’t expect is a nasty attitude when asking for the smallest of things. I hope I don’t have to deal with the waitress again as I really don’t need another night made just that much worse by really rude behavior. I will be back for sure but definitely no longer my top choice in the circle as I just don’t want to go through that again.

Management should take this seriously. My family has not once had a plate returned here for any reason…… and have never had service this concerning. This waitress should not be working there… first time I have seen that beast…. And hopefully the last.

Once I come back and get the traditional experience I have had for years I can update my review but this was one of the rare times I just had to make...

I feel have to write this compliment because today, many people do not get recognition for their hard work. Usually bad reviews are out there, so here goes!! I visited the St Armand’s Circle Restaurant Saturday 7/6 with my elderly Dad. From the moment we walked in, to the time we walked out, was nothing short of exceptional. The host with her beautiful smile & friendly tone welcomed us graciously!! Of course any pretty woman will make my Dad smile 😊. We sat at the bar to enjoy some appetizers & lunch & was greeted by Damon who was so professional yet friendly. He gave me suggestions & we took them, OMGOSH, WOW, we both were sooo impressed with the chef’s preparation not only with the appetizers but even our lunch meal was phenomenal!! By far one of the absolute best meals we had in quite a while. Dad had the Seared Scallop Sliders& I ordered the special which was Whipped Ricotta with seared peaches, roasted tomatoes & shallots.. delicious, I could eat that all day long. The flavors married so well tghrt!! Lunch was just as delicious, Dad had the Spaghetti Squash Bowl w/ grilled chicken & healthy roasted vegetables, with a sweet corn in a lemon parmigiano broth.. I highly recommend my plate of Thai Shrimp &Scallops in a Lemongrass Coconut Reduction, roasted vegetables w/Almond Rice..👍 Before leaving, I took my Dad up to the restroom. (Mind you he has dementia but still able to know enough). I told him I would be right here waiting when he comes out, as I went to the ladies room. When I came out, I waited & no Dad… I poked my head into the men’s room & he didn’t respond.. panic.. ohh no, I looked arnd & couldn’t find him. So I saw a young man, SHANE.. 😊(bus boy) waiting for the elevator. I waved him over & he immediately put the tray down & came over. I explained my situation, he went into the men’s room to check for me. Upon not seeing my Dad he reassured me he couldn’t have gone far because he would have seen him… his mannerisms & maturity were outstanding for a young gentleman. We walked arnd tghrt & found my Dad looking out at the beautiful homes across the street…. Ahhh relief.. SO KUDOS TO SHANE, DAMON, THE CHEF & HOSTESS, along w/the MOD. I would highly recommend this place to everyone anytime!!! Thank you all for making this a memorable experience!!...

Our party of four arrived at 4:15 pm on a quiet Monday afternoon. Despite the restaurant being mostly empty, we were seated right behind the hostess station, missing out on the opportunity for a better table with a view, such as by the window or upstairs. Our waitress came across as a bit pushy with her recommendations, making us feel somewhat uncomfortable and rushed to place our order.

However, the food itself was a highlight of the evening. It arrived promptly and was served fresh and hot. For appetizers, we enjoyed the fried asparagus and chips with salsa and guacamole. The only downside was that the salsa portions were quite small, and when we requested more, we were surprised to receive a tiny 2oz steel cup of extra salsa. It would have been more convenient if they simply charged for an additional portion, as the small cup was quite ridiculous and made it difficult to enjoy with the chips. It’s not like we were trying to be cheap, we ordered 2 apps and 4 entrees and drinks!

For main courses, the Sanibel chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli stood out as a fantastic dish. The Mahi Mahi tacos were decent, but not exceptional, and if we were to visit again, we might opt for a different choice. The shrimp tagliatelle pasta was also enjoyable and satisfying.

Despite the good food, our overall experience was marred by the service and seating arrangements. We had driven over an hour to meet friends and dine together, which added to our disappointment with the rushed service and seating location. Regrettably, based on this experience, I do not plan to return to Tommy Bahama Restaurant and Bar. It's a shame because the restaurant is located in such a...