Sage Restaurant — Restaurant in Tallahassee

Have been going to Tally for 11 years and have wished for a single finer dining experience. Found it! We were just in town for 2 weeks for family and the 3 of us ate at Sage 5 times. Food is fresh and prepared for you- salads aren't premade, everything tastes fresh and in its prime and all the care in the world is given to your order. Even the bread is yummy! WIthin our visits we tried, the lump crabcakes, variety of soups incl french onion soup (yummy), a variety of their salads (caesar too), shrimp sandwich, spice seared red snapper, spiced yellow fin tuna seared, steak frites, poulet rouge, a daily special of duck breast and confit with truffled rissoto and some tacos! So we were all over the menu on many visits. We alwasys ate in the bistro/bar area- oddly enough the bartender is the server (with some help from food runners) and the service was professional, calm, knowledgable on the menu and on the ready with refreshed tea, water, etc. A bonus and unexpected is the craft cocktails on one of the evening visits that were simply amazing, well done, with care and delightful in presentation, taste and quality ingredients. Plus the little bar was a happy hour scene to be sure. Then there is the approachable wine list that is not common- time was spent on the offerings- some delightful uncommon offerings; glasses of French Pinot for $10- so why not? Those kinds of details shine throughout the experience- it takes time, and a sincere nterest to procure a good cocktail experience and more so on the wine choices, so thank you. This approach shines through all over their menu and is obvious to a foody. Now, my daughter in law appreciates everything but she doesn;t know why exactly. I on the other hand love food and its wonders and appreciate how the same thing prepared by one person versus another, can be so varied, one can be transformative and sublime and the other be barely edible. It begins with the owner and chef's passion and commitment to quality produce and meats/fish and has to transfer to a relaible trained staff; this is a difficult task and one that can' t be underestimated. One break in the chain and all is for naught. So with that said, hats off to this delightful gem in the Tallahassee neighborhood. Lucky for them- this team would be successful anywhere; how about coming to Juno Beach!!

So I suppose I need to give one suggestion for credibility, here it is- the poulet rouge does not transport well for pick up/carryout and I would advise when someone orders it. The skin was soggy as was the tempura radicchio on top..so had to take that off and there goes the flavor. But that is probably a carryout issue and not on them. I also think it needed a starch, the ruttabaga was delicious though, as was the parsnips. Probably was simply a dish to be served straight from the kitchen and not on them. Also I am excited to try the basmati pineapple fried rice on our next visit in a week or so- I am going to add...

I recently dined at the restaurant Sage, and I must say, I left with a rather underwhelming dining experience. My expectations were high, given the intriguing menu and the restaurant's ratings on Google, but unfortunately, the reality did not live up to the anticipation.

We ordered wild mushroom soup as an appetizer, but it turned out to be very bland. In hindsight, we should have taken the wild mushroom soup as a sign and left the restaurant then. However, I initially thought it might have been a fluke and the main courses would be more satisfying. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

For my main course, I decided to try the TROUT AMANDINE, which was described as being served with red potato and exotic mushroom hash, haricot vert, and toasted almond brown butter sauce. The description sounded delicious, but the dish itself was surprisingly bland. The trout lacked the expected flavor, and the accompanying sides failed to complement the dish adequately.

My daughter opted for the PEPPERCORN-CRUSTED SALMON, which was served with a pan roast of brown butter-braised carrots, brussels sprouts, and bacon lardons, as well as an onion-potato soubise. She shared my sentiment, describing her dish as equally lacking in flavor. The salmon, despite its promising crust, failed to deliver the expected peppery kick, and the accompanying components did little to enhance the overall taste. Feeling a little adventurous on her birthday, she also decided to order a cookie for dessert. Unfortunately, her choice did not live up to her sweet expectations. She found the cookie to be rather hard and lacking in the expected sweetness.

Maybe it was an off night, but if you are someone who appreciates well-seasoned and flavorful food, I would advise you to consider other dining options before visiting Sage. While the ambiance and service were pleasant, the lack of seasoning and flavor in the dishes left us feeling disappointed. It's a shame, as the menu had so much potential, but the execution fell short of our expectations. I can also confidently say that I did not receive the full value...

"HAD"such high hopes for this Chef driven establishment prior to being seated. After that, it went all downhill. We sat at 833pm after waiting for 20 minutes for our table. It's not a problem at all because that gave us time to really study the menu and make our choice. Once we were greeted by our server, we made it clear we were ready to order. We ordered the crab cakes as an appetizer and 2 scallop and shrimp entrees. A food runner brought the appt out within 10 minutes. It was so good!!! About another 15 minutes goes by, and OUR SERVER comes by and sits down ANOTHER crab cake appetizer at our table. I explained to her that we had already received and finished it and had it cleared away. She politely said, "Don't worry about just keep it anyway." That was a mistake because now these were clearly burnt on the bottom. Now my mother is looking at me frustrated as hell cause it now has been over an hour since we were seated and we still haven't gotten our food. We waited 20 minutes from when we finished our SECOND appetizer before we asked someone to please check on our food. It was only then that our server came to let us know it would be out shortly. At this point, we had been there atleast 90mins for 1 appetizer and 2 identical entrees. When we received our food, it was not even cooked correctly. I ordered my scallops medium, and my mother wanted hers rare but seared hard. Neither one was cooked correctly. At this point, we just wanted to eat what was in front of us because we were so hungry. When we told our server, she simply said "OH I am sorry about that," and turned around and walked away. We didn't see her for the rest of our dinner until we asked for our check. She laid the check on the 6 we actually timed her to see how long it would take for her to come back. This entire meal was an epic fail from start to finish. Since there was no manager on the floor to speak with I did write down my disappointments on a card and left it with the hostess and asked if she would pass it on...