The Talk:house — Restaurant in Stuart

My wife and I have been coming to the Talk House for several years with visits every few months and found the consistently excellent, nicely presented and always a nice selection to choose from; we often would ask another couple with us since the food, in the past, was unique and very special. We just had dinner last night, and for the first time we were somewhat disappointed and although we give a place a second chance, we are unsure if we will return.

First, the outside and indoor seating is extremely nice and several years back, they did an excellent job with an outside patio…. very open and lush and tropical; the inside consists of 2 dining rooms and a large bar and bar area with many tables; all nicely done. We normally would dine outside or in one of the two dining rooms.

Our server this past time was Bryce and the service was excellent as we also experienced great service at this restaurant!

In starting...what was strange was that I ordered a dirty martini and I told the server “not to dirty” and he said I will bring the olive juice on the side…so I told him…just tell bartender not to dirty; when I received the drink…it was just Vodka and he brought olive juice on the side; I could not drink it and you normally cannot just add olive juice; usually it has to be shaken. I did return it (first time I ever returned a drink)…then ordered a glass of wine as a replacement.

To my wife and I the menu seemed more condensed then in the past and was limited to only a few different types of dinners, which included four or five pasta dinners (yet it is not an Italian Restaurant). The Duck was removed from the menu yet was one of the specialties in the past. If you look up the menu on-line via Google, many items on the menu and photos on top of the page are actually no longer offered (including the Duck and other items). On the positive, there were several specials (4) which included what I ordered so overall the menu was fine yet a few more options would have been nice as a standard offering (without the specials, there was a limited choice, in my opinion).

Dinner came with a nice salad with homemade dressing. In the past you always received a nice basket of bread; that is NO longer included in your dinner…which…at the price point this establishment is at…I feel it is a bit cheap not to include bread.

My wife ordered, as did the wife with the other couple we were with (we were a table of four), the Garlic Shrimp; the presentation was excellent however she mentioned to me that the shrimp were a bit tuff and did not have the flavor she was expecting. I ordered one of the specials which was the Short Ribs (so did the husband of the other couple); again, great presentation but not outstanding for $42.00 and the meal was good...just not great. My entree came with mashed potatoes, which were excellent, string beans and broccoli (just basic vegetables you get anywhere) and the broccoli was not fully cooked.

For dessert we ordered Strawberries Alicia with Ice Cream (cost with the ice cream $17.00) and the Strawberries were not ripe yet the ice cream was nice a creamy. The cost for what we received for dessert was far over priced especially since the Strawberries were not ripe.

The bill for the two of us with 2 drinks was + $135.00 before tip…and honestly the food was good yet not great! The food use to be great…and I say “Good” is the enemy of “Great”.

There were many good qualities of the restaurant however also some disappointments…not sure if after all these years…we will return...something changed and I hope they go back to the way it was...

This is such an unfortunate review to make. . Here we go; My boyfriend had been there before, and he LOVED it. Obviously, it's Mothers Day weekend, and we wanted to treat my boyfriends mother to a fantastic meal because she's a fabulous human being. I made reservations for 8 PM & When we arrived, I thought the ambiance outside was beautiful, so we opted for an outdoor table with live music-

That's when we met our server Cindy. She was short with us in the very beginning, and never offered us any specials if any had been available for Mother's Day weekend. No matter, I'm in the industry so I'd say I'm pretty forgiving.. Moving forward, We asked for a round of waters, and to look over the menu for a moment or so. Ordered four appetizers or so, a few drinks, and enjoyed those while we waited to place our order. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. We were done with the appetizers & needed a refill and to place our entree orders. She dropped my drink off to me, an old fashion, and hurried off to clear off tables and to pick up a check from a table long gone. When we asked if we could place our order, she looked at us annoyed and said "Yeah yeah, I'll be right back" Okay, so we waited. And WAITED. She came, the mothers best friend asked for new silverware because his was taken with the apps & we placed our order- my boyfriends mother asked for hog snapper- PLAIN- nothing on it, which is clearly what plain means. No lemon sauce, no seasoning, no butter- just cooked fish.... PLAIN. This was stressed multiple times. Of course it comes out wrong, when we explain this calmly, cause you know- things happen right?: "Hey, she asked for it plain, nothing at all on it. Can you please have it remade" This to me, seems to have been when this woman's attitude went from 0-100. It was all down hill from there. Youd have thought we asked for the entire meal comped verse just asking her to correct the mistake on the fish!

After a minute, we decided this server, Cindy is clearly having a bad night, & that The Talk House was no longer the fun, relaxed Mother's Day dinner we wanted. Disappointing but we decided we'd have our food boxed up and depart. This has never happened to us, and we go out frequently so, we decide to chalk it up to a loss. Can't win 'em all right? Well, His mother's friend leaves the table to go speak to a manager. The manager, John comes over, apologizes, and defends Cindy, saying she's been there for quite some time and is never like this, usually a meek person. Being in the industry I can appreciate this. Everyone has a bad night, right?

They send over a nice gentleman to box up our food, and over comes Cindy..... When I tell you, that this woman, looked at my boyfriends MOTHER, and in the most sarcastic tone says "I'm SO sorry for the terrible service" and clasps her hands upon her chest, tilting her head to the side. This is a GROWN woman, not a teenage brat at her first job. THATS how a grown women chooses to address this situation? On Mothers Day Weekend???? Are we serious? After my boyfriends mother asked her to refrain from her sarcasm, things only got worse. I was so floored, I got up from the table and went to speak with management myself- I couldn't believe what had happened!! The manager John all but shrugged his shoulders at me. I'm disappointed in not only the lack of professionalism but the sheer audacity to treat a customer like that. Worse $200 meal I've ever had, & it's sad because it had so much potential. I sincerely hope you're not a...

With whimsical menu headings like "Let's talk Appetizers", "Let's talk Seafood" and my personal fave "Let's talk Proteins"....I present to you my own, "Let's talk Talk House". This quaint establishment on NW Dixie Hwy in the heart of downtown Stuart has been holding it's own in what's becoming a very competitive group of eateries for several years now. The extensive menu was only eclipsed by it's own generous portions, my wife's Roasted Beet Salad was flavorful and hearty, I was lucky enough to be tapped to assist. And the luck didn't stop there, my sister-in-law split her app with me too...the Eggplant Stack, Mama mia! So good, the winner here was the bordelaise sauce, absolutely delicious (This dish should be considered for an entree, seriously) I ordered the Hogfish Francaise off the Specials menu and I was pleasantly surprised to get the sidekick filet, big plates and big flavor, best of both worlds. I wouldve liked a little more sauce but regardless still a satisfying dish. My wife ordered the Crab Cakes (horrible pic) which I passed on due to a mild allergy but she said they were great, I don't know if the colossal gravy boat was the best choice for the lobster beurre blanc but I guess she could've drizzled and discarded it. Instead she just dipped a couple bites, a little direction from Ivy, our waitress would've helped but nevertheless the salad was so filling she barely got into the second cake. Ambiance was nice, comfy and upscale monochromatic beachy without getting snobby or complicated. We were seated next to a gorgeous aquarium. And the patio that we passed on the way in looked fun, beautiful pavers lined a large comfortable space with plenty of tables and chairs. I might've even spotted a fire pit.

But why only 3 stars you ask? Well, from the gate our reservation wasn't honored on time. We watched party after party pile in and pour out and after some reasonable yet snarky excuses from the hostess, we finally sat down after a 30 minute wait. The round of drinks was offered and appreciated but we were also charged for them just as well. The servers were young and inexperienced, plates piping hot, like white hot...plus the entrees came out awkwardly one by one, I can't eat until my entire family is served. And...my sis-in-law, she also ordered the Roasted Beet Salad and asked to sub out the Goat cheese for blue only to find the kitchen didn't get the memo. She sent it back, they made a fresh one and then had it wrapped, she never even touched it. In the end, John the manager came out and apologized, he even comped us the dessert and the salad. That goes over big with me, stand-up guy. Overall it was a good experience and I would recommend Talk House to anyone. Go there! Have the Eggplant Stack, check out the cool fish tank in the back, have a drink on the patio . Talk House has big portions and big flavor, just some minor service issues, probably just an off night. Now I'm done talking about Talk House, now it's your turn to...