Bonefish Grill — Restaurant in The Villages

I haven’t been to this specific restaurant since 2011. Our experience was a bit odd. It started out with checking in with the host. No smile no welcome to Bonefish Grill. He just looked at me. I told him we have a reservation for 4 at 5pm. We arrived 30 minute early so I told him we will go to the bar until the other couple arrives. Then I said, do you do anything for anniversaries because the other couple are celebrating their anniversary. The host said we do a little cake. I’ll mark it down. So we went to the bar and Eliza the bartender was wonderful. Great service from her. When it was time to go to our table, the same host took us and was going to seat us at a booth and fi said we cannot sit a booth because the other person is uses a walker and it would be hard for him to get in and out of a booth. The host said, “I’m only doing what your reservations said. You requested a booth.” I said, “no i did not have an option for booth or table.” Then he mouthed off again and said, “well you requested a booth.” I asked him if there is a table he can sit us at. He hesitantly sat us at a table across from the booth. The place wasn’t busy and there were several open tables. He walked away and raised his hands up in the air as if to say we were a pain. Then he walked by to go somewhere and as he walked by us he rolled his eyes. I have to tell you, the bar tended, Eliza and our server Christina was great but this host needs an attitude check. He’s a tall man a little overweight and looks like he needed to shave. I haven’t been at this particular reservation for 13 years and I don’t know that I would go back again. I would have given this a 5 star but because of that host I can only give this a 3 star. I hope the manager and or owner sees this and tell that host, he needs to adjust his attitude. I look for service when I go out as I used to be a VP of a bank prior to retiring and my department was in service. This review will also be on Yelp. This is how irritated I am with that host. By the way, we never got the piece of cake he said they served to celebrate my sister in law and her husband’s anniversary. I considered being a host providing service as well. This is the reason for my 3 start for service. It has nothing to do with the server...

I’m starting to see a trend that has been going on since the COVID shutdown, continue far beyond what should have been expected.

To back up Bonefish Grill has long been a restaurant that we visited for a “Special “ night out.. great on all categories. Last night was one of the special evenings where we took friends out for a celebration. It all started when we walked in to find a 20 minute wait, no big deal but there were many open tables. I know staffing can be an issue so it is not uncommon.

We did get seated in the expected timeframe but then wait about 10 more minutes for a server who stopped by to say I’ll be back in a few minutes? After finally placing a drink order, we were asked if we were ready to place a food order. We said we need a few more minutes and She answered the questions we had about certain dishes. About 5 minutes later we did place our food orders.

Another 20 minutes later the drinks showed up along with the hot bread. Very nice but 1 minute later the food arrived? How is it the kitchen got the food out very quickly but the beverages took over 20 minutes later for a beer and water? I understand there is no hurry but having customers sit that long with no water, bread or beverages just seems that customer service is fallen by the wayside.

The food was very good but no one asked if we needed anything else until I was done with my meal, a little Cheese would have been nice.

We will be back and hope that the next experience will be better than the last 2 locations we have tried…lowering the standard is not the answer.. Not giving up on Bonefish so...

Went to Bonefish for dinner with the family. We were sat right away. No waiting. The restaurant was clean and nicely set up. Waiter was a bit stern in his demeanor. At first he did not seem to be friendly or care about serving us, however as the evening progressed, it turned out to be his dry sense of humor and awkward personality. He did do his job and the order came out as ordered. The food was good. One was Ahi Tuna Wontons; ahi tuna were large chunks and a bit overpowering. Too chunky for the wonton. Would have been better in smaller pieces or a dip. The wontons were crunchy and delicious. And the sauce tasted more like cocktail sauce, than Wasabi. Another meal was the Bourbon Glaze Salmon. The salmon was cooked wonderfully, but the sweet & spicy glaze lightened the Bourbon flavor. I enjoy more of the Bourbon over the sweet & spicy. Not much spicy came though, more sweetness. The roasted new potatoes were good but not much flavor tied to them. Could have used some seasoning or butter. Salt was added but still didn't have much flavor. The potatoes were cooked well though. Vegetable of the day were green beans with various things added for flavor, including a bacon jam. Beans were ok, could have been cooked a bit longer. Bacon jam ram over onto the salmon and cross flavored. I'm one of those who does not like to cross-contaminate my food or flavors. Both kids ordered the mac-n-cheese w/ fries. One ate the entire bowl of mac-n-cheese, the other had 2 bites and said it was chewy. Everyone has their preferences. Overall, the environment was clean, nice and modern....