Grillsmith - Sarasota — Restaurant in Siesta Key

I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to stop at this restaurant. I have passed it more times than I can count, always on the way to or from somewhere else, each time making a mental note to stop in the future. Tonight I planned on visiting another nice restaurant (I won't name) for an appetizer and a craft cocktail at the bar, and when I inquired about a seat, I was rudely dismissed by the hostess. Feeling slightly disappointed by the treatment, I headed toward another restaurant owned by a family friend, where I knew I could find an empty seat and delicious food and drinks. On my way I changed my mind and decided to finally stop at Grillsmith. I'm so happy I did! That prelude is only to demonstrate the counterpoint I experienced at this marvelous restaurant. I walked in, was greeted, seated, and my server introduced himself within minutes. He helped me choose a craft cocktail, a gingerbread Moscow mule, that was amazing. I then ordered the Spicy Thai Shrimp appetizer and the Chicken Gorgonzola flatbread. The shrimp was exactly what I expected, spicy, sweet, easy. Just to be clear, it was delicious, but not as exciting as everything else. The flatbread, for example, was inspired. The flatbread crust had a sweet and savory thing going on that I liked, but on top the sweet caramelized onions played off the salty gorgonzola cheese and strips of chicken, taking it to a whole other level. I saved half for lunch later, leaving room for dessert, a Toasted Marshmallow martini and creme brulee. My server warned me early on that the martini was wonderful, but sweet, best saved for dessert. He was absolutely right, it was fantastic! The top of the creme brulee looked like stained glass, almost completely transparent and thick, the center was not as "custardy" as I'm used to. I attribute this to the Grand Marnier which added this subtle hint of orange, giving this ubiquitous dish a level of depth I'm not used to. If that were the end of my experience, I would happily recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves great food and drinks; however, two more things happened. First, a woman stopped by the table, wearing what I took to be a chef's shirt, and asked how everything was. We talked about each part, and she shared some background details, it was lovely! I don't think I have ever had someone from the kitchen come to the table and converse. I felt special, and got to see her enthusiasm for the restaurant first hand. A few minutes later, the young man who makes the infused simple syrups for the signature cocktails stopped by the check on me. We had a great conversation, even to the point of him breaking down ingredient lists and answering my questions about what I'd had. So my night went from being rudely dismissed at one restaurant, to feeling like a fat and happy VIP at another. Not only will I be going back, I'll be bringing family and friends who come to town. Do yourself a favor, don't wait! P.S. If you enjoy filet mignon, they age theirs for 40 days. For comparison, Ruth's Chris ages their steaks 24-28 days. So I know what I'll be...

On Friday May 29, 2020, I visited the restaurant's website to place an online order. It was 9:10 PM and the website listed the closing time as 10:00 PM. After placing the order and paying for it, the site stated that the order would be ready at 4:45 PM the next day, Saturday. I immediately called the restaurant and was advised that the restaurant closes at 9:00 PM and would need to speak with the manager. The manager, I believe said her name was Kara or maybe Karen, stated that she would cancel the order but needed to speak to the general manager via telephone about how to refund my money and would call me right back. After 45 minutes went by and I hadn't heard from anyone, I called the restaurant back. The manager stated that she would handle the matter the next day first thing when she came in and give me a call back. After not hearing back from anyone again, I called the restaurant at approximately 5:30 PM and spoke to the same manager, who stated she would call me right back as she needed to call the regional manager. Of course she never called back, so on Sunday, May 31st, at 6:15 PM I went to the restaurant and spoke with the "floor manager" who knew who I was and stated "oh, you're Mike? I spoke to you yesterday." I showed her the debit from my bank on my cell phone and explained that I was losing patience as she does not follow through. She then advised me that she needed to call the "manager" and left me standing in the lobby for 20 minutes. When she came back she asked for my phone number AGAIN and said she would need to call me back as she needed to call the owner. I said "look, all I want is my $65.00 back, please just give me my money and deal with the owner later, she responded "I don't have the money, give me your number and I'll get back to you" I said oh, ok, and walked out. I have not heard back from anyone at the restaurant and my money has not been refunded. Just unbelievable!! I would never ever give them my business nor would I ever recommend anyone ever go there. Apparently they could care less, but they just stole $65.00 from me, I guess they need it. I can't see them being in business for too long as they have completely incompetent management.

Interesting, after a year, the owner has responded to many reviews but ignores mine.i guess they just ignore the bad....

My wife and went for an early Sunday dinner and the restaurant was nearly empty. My wife decided to stop at the restroom before going to the table. A minute or two after I got to our table our server Isabela came over and made a strange comment about having an imaginary friend for dinner, then took our drink order. When she brought the drinks my wife didn’t like the wine I had ordered, which was brought back and substituted with the brand of my wife’s choosing. The service went downhill from there. We weren’t offered water, and were never told about any specials being offered. We ordered our meals and apps. When the apps arrived we enjoyed them as they were tasty and presented nicely. It took some time for our server to come back and check on us. We had finished our apps but she didn’t remove the dishes or inquire if we wanted refills on our drinks. A short time later a young man brought our dinners out, moving the dirty dishes around the table to make room for our dinner plates, without removing the dishes. Our server was nowhere to be seen but eventually came over and finally asked about refilling our empty glasses. My refill came back shortly, but didn’t bring my wife’s refill for about 20 minutes, and had to be reminded to check on it. She promptly brought it over after it had been sitting someplace. We weren’t offered a desert menu, and went asked she quickly recited the list. In my opinion, the service want very good, and compared to how other servers were were taking care of their customers, we were very disappointed in the level of service we received,. The quality of the food and its presentation was very good. The faculty was clean and the ambiance good. Our server wasn’t attentive and missed obvious opportunities to make good food a great experience. We may return because the food is excellent but hope we’re able to find...