Wink Wink Food and Drink — Restaurant in Sarasota

TLDR - the experience was great. The food and drinks were delicious. The atmosphere and location were absolutely wonderful.

Small bit of caution if you are driving yourself with your own car there is only two parking options. One is valet which is run by the hotel that the lounge is in which can be a little pricey. Or down the alley there is a very small parking spot; however, I was able to fit my full size pickup truck in one of the spots with some interesting maneuvering. The lounge is inside the hotel which makes it a little harder to find off the street. Once inside, it was absolutely wonderful, it was relaxing, and there was plenty of seating. All of the hosts were kind and we were seated very promptly. Yes, they do offer reservations in advance. As for seating, a super small complaint of being seated next to one of the building pillars, as it made it seem like we were cramped when there was plenty of room throughout the restaurant. Though it was not really noticeable after some time. We ordered the brisket bun baos as an appetizer and a couple signature drinks. As for the main course itself we both opted for the specials, one being the fish tacos and the other being a flank steak. Both of the meals were absolutely delicious as you can probably see by the pictures. Overall definitely recommend if you happen to be...

Oh. My. God. That may have been the worst meal of my entire life.

Don’t let the 4.5-star review or the perfectly filtered OpenTable photos fool you. Let’s start from the top.

The drinks? Meh. Barely passable. We ordered the crab cakes and Brussels sprouts to start, and I’m pretty sure I now have internal regrets and possibly a parasite internship program setting up shop in my colon. The Brussels? Let’s just say they tasted like someone hated them before they hit the plate.

At this point, hope was fading fast… then came the entrees. I ordered the fried chicken. My friend got the NY strip. All I can say is: NO. Just… no.

Possibly the most offensive meal I’ve ever had the displeasure of paying for. Honestly, the only redeeming things in that building were our sweet server, Juliana, and the vending machine near the bathroom.

The bill? Over $200 with tip. And frankly, I feel like they should have paid me to eat that disaster. I left everything on my plate and then accidentally left the rest in the bathroom stall. Someone please retrieve it before it mutates into a new pandemic.

Save yourself. Stay away. Eat literally...

My partner and I were visiting Sarasota to see family and had the night off as my aunt volunteered to watch our kids. It was our one date night on vacation and we wanted to make the most of it. We only had a couple of hours and wanted somewhere with a restaurant and good drinks at a bar to hang out after. I discovered wink wink when searching for great cocktails and a gluten free menu and am so glad I did! Hotel bars usually aren’t my thing but I loved the vibe when I saw the pictures and it did NOT disappoint. We loved the drinks (my partner had THREE of persephone’s revenge) and food and atmosphere but even better were the people. Moe and Jason at the front gave great recommendations and made us feel we chose right from the first step inside. It was EXACTLY what we needed and we ended up staying for a few hours, cracking up at the vending machines, swapping stories with Lulu at the bar, admiring Moe’s style and kept coming back to Jason’s hospitality. Thank you wink for one of our best date...