Sauvage — Restaurant in Winter Haven

We had a very unpleasant experience, but we know others have enjoyed it. Maybe it was just an off day for them.

I will say that the second bartender we interacted with was very kind and friendly and I appreciated that very much. It was very refreshing. He was kind and fun and explained the drinks he made for us. He was the best part of the experience for sure!

The first bartender we interacted with seemed very annoyed that we asked about the menu and also forgot to place our food order. Didn’t get off to the right start - but we are all about redemption, so we stuck it out to taste the food and make the best of the night. I am a business executive and getting away from work is hard.

It’s possible this style of ordering/dining was not our style. I wasn’t fond of the digital menu (we try to stay OFF of our phones when dining out, and this sucks you right in to your phone). We really didn’t like the paper to place an order, and they also want you to pay at the bar when you’re finished dining - like Waffle House - even if you sit at a table. They will bring you a mobile kiosk if you ask for it - it’s just not traditional dining. I just struggled with this restaurant because I’ve dined at many tapas style restaurants before, and this one missed the mark. Something about the way they do it... it feels inexperienced.

The concept of the decor and menu items was fun and interesting. I loved the theme and the raunchy menu. It was fun to experience something different.

Unfortunately, the food and drinks were underwhelming. The food was incredibly messy (handhelds that drip sauces all over). So much so that they should provide wet naps or extra napkins - just something.

The bar stools are wildly uncomfortable and they sink when you sit in them. We ended up moving to a table because they were wobbly and just odd. We noticed many others struggling with the chairs as well throughout the duration of our meal.

The first bartender that took our order forgot to put our order in, and we ended up waiting 45+ minutes to get our appetizer.

Our drinks were ok. I enjoyed one but my fiancé could barely drink his. We ordered a second round of different drinks, and they were underwhelming as well. We thought and hoped so much that the food would blow us away to save the evening, but it was just messy and simply “ok”.

There was also a time where the bartenders yelled at everyone in the restaurant to stop what we were doing so they could alert us that a person was taking a caviar shot. It felt really juvenile and intrusive. Interrupting the entire restaurant’s conversations to let us know someone is taking a shot is just silly to me. That would never happen at a respectable restaurant. But then again I guess this place is just a bar that serves food? I don’t know. Still confused about that I guess.

Then the icing on the cake was when we finally got our “kiosk” to pay, which was brought over by someone that may have been management or an owner. We were trying to pay so we could leave - we literally could not wait to leave - and he kept asking us what was wrong and how he could make it right. We kept saying we just wanted to leave and that this style of dining wasn’t for us because we didn’t want to complain - but he was very pushy and insisted that we tell him why our experience was unsavory. So I told him how our experience was, and that we preferred dining experiences like Ave Bar, The Fire, etc. and he immediately snapped at me and said “well the Fire is closed now because they couldn’t keep business” as if to tell me he’s doing it better than them and I’m wrong for enjoying that establishment when it was open. It was just an odd interaction. We will very likely not return (not that they care - that was clear after his reaction).

It really stinks because we were absolutely thrilled to hear of a new restaurant in Winter Haven. As most of us know, we don’t have much to choose from. I wish we had a better experience so we could enjoy new places in the area. I’m hopeful that they improve - would maybe give it...

When we were trying to decide where our date night would be, we decided to try Sauvage. We've heard good things, and the menu and drinks caught our attention. When we arrived, we decided to sit at the bar. We were greeted quickly, and the bar staff was friendly. Ordered drinks first while we looked at the menu. The drinks took a while, but the bartender took responsibility for that and comped my drink. So service was looking good (for now). We looked over the menu on our phones (I'm old school and enjoy an actual menu to look at). We decided on the Pew Pew Shirmp for an app, shrimp tacos, and a burger. Food service took a while. We watched several other parties get their meals while we waited. After a bit longer, all plates arrived to include the app. We informed the young man that the shrimp was supposed to be an app. He informed us there was no such thing as an app there. Weird. They are labeled starters on the menu. Shrimp were fried in beer batter (emphasis on the beer!!). The batter had a very heavy beer flavor. My guess is an IPA, which i normally don't mind, but this was a bit too much for my taste. The shrimp were drizzled with a sauce that was anything but spicy. Nice flavor, but I expected more punch. The shrimp tacos were the same fried shrimp as the pew pew with the same sauce. Same over the top IPA flavor, which took the tacos several steps down. The burger was really good! Nice flavor and perfectly cooked! Fries were crispy but dry. I asked for ketchup but never got it, so I just ate them dry. My wife and I thought the tacos would be much better if the shrimp was grilled. We asked if that was a possibility and was told they would not modify the menu items. What you see is what you get. I'm not sure why grilling the shrimp would be an inconvenience, but ok. I think they would benefit from offering the shrimp grilled or fried as not everyone prefers or can eat fried foods. Especially with that over the top beer batter. All in all, Sauvage is just OK. Nothing to write home about. Drinks are good, but a bit overpriced. Food is meh. The place itself has a cool atmosphere. I would likely stop in for a drink here and there. Maybe we'll give the food another shot but will steer clear of the shrimp. Oh, and service started good but fizzled out after that first drink. We never saw the bartender again until it was time for the bill, and I didn't like the impersonal experience of just handing a piece of paper to someone with zero interaction. Note: This review would be 3 1/2 stars, but Google...

We came for the first time on a First Friday. It was advertised as one of the locations to visit and the menu looked good so my husband and I agreed to give it a chance. First: there is a sign outside that says to seat yourself and order at the bar. Which is fine. We sat ourselves at the first table we saw and once we decided what we wanted, my husband went to the bar to place our order. The bartender acted as if we weren’t supposed to order at the bar and also got weird looks from other employees at the end of the bar. When he asked if he could order, the bartender went to grab what I assume was the manager to put our order in.

The food comes out whenever it’s ready, meaning that if your entree is done before your appetizer, it comes out first. My husband got his entree before I got an appetizer or an entree. Whatever. Not the end of the world. The condiments come out in little jars but they aren’t sealed and have clearly been opened. The sticker was ripped open signaling that the jar had been opened. How do I know someone didn’t use this already and double dip? That’s kind of gross.

Not one single person came to check on us our entire meal. Someone brought us waters but didn’t even speak to us. Even the table next to us asked a staff member if they could place an order and the staff member went to get (again) what I assume was the manager to place their order. When we were ready to pay, my husband placed his wallet and card on the table to signal that we wanted the check. Again, no one came over and we sat there for 10-15 mins like that. Finally he went back up to the bar to pay. That’s when the manager came back over for the first time since dropping our food off to ask if we needed anything. I told her that we were ready to pay and leave and that got our bill taken care of.

Overall, the food was just okay. The drinks were good but I wouldn’t be back. There was absolutely no service. We both work in the service industry and are very forgiving when it comes to poor service. The fact of the matter is that there was NO service so we couldn’t even...