CHAZ 51 STEAKHOUSE — Restaurant in Venice

We came to the Sarasota area to have a staycation for our anniversary. I asked our hotel for recommendations for a nice anniversary dinner and Chaz 51 was on the list. I had told them when I made reservations that it was our anniversary. When we got there we were greeted by ronanda? (the German lady). She was so pleasant. She made sure we had a great waitress and that everything was absolutely perfect. She really went above and beyond. I loved the confetti on the table and a signed anniversary card from the chef (which I’m super bummed we forgot it when we left) and multiple times she came back to check on us to make sure everything is what we expected. Thank you for that- it was very much appreciated.

Jolie was our awesome waitress and she was so good, cheery and on top of everything and answered any questions we had. Never did we feel like we didn’t have something or she wasn’t right there to ask for it if we didn’t.

We ordered the fried zucchini sticks as an app. They were delicious. Very crunchy and the sauce was so good. A little bit of a kick but nothing that was too spicy if you dont like spice. I ordered an espresso martini which was also very good. I ordered the beef Wellington and added on a salad and my husband ordered the steak and lobster that came with a baked potato and a salad. Both salads were good. He favored mine (house with coconut balsamic) over his Caesar though. My beef Wellington was delicious and the sauce was soooo good. His steak was cooked perfectly and melted in his mouth. The lobster was the best we have had in a long time. Also let me talk about this baked potato. It was sooooooo good. Not sure if they butter poach it or what but normally baked potatoes are dry even when loaded and we take a couple bites and are done. My husband finished the whole thing. It was the best baked potato I have ever had in my life. We also got a free dessert and they wrote happy anniversary on the plate in chocolate which was such a nice touch.

I saw a review that said you could go to Longhorn or outback for a fraction of the price. Definitely not true. We usually go to Longhorn every year for our anniversary and order the steak and lobster and an app. The price is pretty much the same and it is no where near the experience we experienced here. And the food is no where near the same. We will now be making the 1 1/2 drive if we don’t stay to come to Chaz for our anniversary. Thank you for making it a memorable...

I'm not sure what's going on with the inner workings of this restaurant, but the quality has suffered since the restaurant moved from the old location. Me and my husband hold so many special memories of what Chaz51 used to be, so from time to time we return in hopes to feel the magic that it once was again. Since moving to the new location, it really is a hit or miss (mostly a miss) on the quality of service and the food. What we loved about Chaz51 in the old location was that it was an upscale experience without being overly pretentious. The setting was romantic. The service was impeccable and the food was a dream. Chaz51 was an experience, not just a restaurant to us. I think that's why I'm so disappointed in what's happening to it. It's like going back to your childhood home where you hold so many wonderful memories only to see it rundown and dilapidated. It's sad. You can't charge almost $100 for one steak and two sides and have a lazy teenager serving the table and back of the house staff who doesn't care about the presentation of the dishes they send out of the kitchen. These things just are not acceptable considering the prices that are charged. I know it's hard to find good help. Sometimes, you just need a warm body to keep the doors open, but good, dependable workers who care are out there. If you're always hiring, those who are currently working will know they have to earn their place if they want to stay. It just really stinks because we want to keep coming in and we will, but we also want to receive what we pay for and since the move, we have issues with something more often than not. Most recently my takeout order was subpar. A $54 dollar steak and I had to use A1 on it. The salad lettuce was wilted and had I not questioned the side order of spinach I received, I would have been charged $8 for about 1.5 oz of spinach. When I did get the spinach home, it was very oily. I was not happy. The manager, by the way, (I didn't catch her name) was great and rectified the whole spinach debacle and handled me quite well. Despite all of this, I can't bear to stain Chaz's Google rating with anything less than 5 stars, simply because I hold out every hope that Charles will turn it all around and return the heart and soul back to Chaz51. Until then, we will continue to visit because we believe in redemption and we do not want to see such a special place close down. Chaz is one of a kind in our eyes and we won't...

I was hoping to have the same quality experience at this new location as I have had at their older one in the past. Unfortunately, too many things missed the mark this time around and that's a shame.

It's worth noting that this was the 12th day the new location has been open at 8pm on a weekend. Nonetheless, we believe the price point for the plates deserve a higher level of service and attention than we received.

Silverware and napkins weren't present at the table upon being seated and didn't arrive with the bread rolls. We asked for utensils and made due in the meantime - our party of 4 shared the 3 rolls and were told an extra roll would come out when ready.

Soups and salads arrived but silverware and napkins had still not arrived and we were tired of wiping our hands on the tablecloth so a member of the party retrieved them from the hostess.

At this point a manager stopped by to take note that most of our requests had to be made twice before being accomplished (or done ourselves). Two requests for silverware, two requests for bottled water, reminder for a second glass of wine.

Positives - French onion soup was super tasty, tomato crab bisque also a hit Negatives - not all the salads ordered made it to the table, we let it slide thinking it would come later and that we also had enough food (later we would have to have the non-delivered salad removed from the bill).

To play devil's advocate, maybe this was the first serving job of our server? He did seem to be a bit forgetful and rushed for what seemed like simple requests - asked two times for butter for a baked potato.

Entrees - the main thing to note here is that the plates were molten hot! The food runner warned us of how hot they were, and it was clear because the sauces on the plates were bubbling. Overall the entire party really enjoyed their entrees but you had to wait longer to enjoy them because of the boiling bearnaise sauce and peppercorn cream. Steaks were all cooked to the level they were requested, (perhaps the NY strip was slightly overcooked - likely while sitting on the lava plate).

We hope that this newer, larger, and less aesthetically pleasing strip mall version of Chaz 51 can make the necessary improvements to service and ambiance to return to the restaurant we once easily recommended to anyone.

TL/DR - quality, attentive service should be the foundation of any restaurant, especially when serving $50 steaks (on...