Brian’s Place

Liked this place a lot. Very small, and you are tightly packed in but not so much that it takes away from the experience. Aps and drinks were alright, main dish and desert were excellent. Had live music outside on the patio but it was way to hot for us. Would defiantly go back. Prices were reasonable for high quality seafood.

We tried it out because the reviews were great. The place is nice and the menu looks amazing, but the execution just wasn’t there. The food was okay and the service was extremely slow. Best part of the meal was the slice of chocolate pie for dessert.

Loved it! Was surprised to find this gem in such a hidden spot but the food was incredible! I am not easy to convince to go somewhere like Hernando for dinner but I’m really glad I did!
The service was really friendly and they did everything right. Patty was our server she was on top of everything and was very pleasant.
I suggest the duck wings… they were incredible! We also had 3 different types of ceviche which we loved. Being Sicilian with a grandma who can tear it up in the kitchen I rarely order anything Italian in a restaurant but their seafood risotto was REALLY good!
I’ll be back again for sure!

Service was pretty good but I never realized that Contemporary Italian Cuisine meant no spaghetti and no fettucine lol. Do I get chicken and pasta noodles and while the past was ok the chicken pieces were all cubed and rubbery as in being processed frozen chicken. Not very tasty…

This is our favorite restraunt when we visit Florida. I’d give it ten stars if I could.
This time I had a seafood resoto which was perfectly cooked. My wife had Chillean Sea bass, one of the specials that night, which she said was amazing. Service great every time.

Really nice, clean, classy and cute atmosphere! Dining room is a little small and it sort of threw me off at first but it just adds to the charm. It wasn’t as busy inside as it was outside, with live music playing (the volume wasn’t bothersome to me at all.) Food was really good! Appetizer was okay, we got the clams, just not my cup of tea when it came to the flavor. I got the filet mignon and it was absolutely amazing. One of the best steaks I’ve ever had. I loved the presentation of the meals as well. Service was attentive. I want to come again!

Great place for local upscale dining. Plan on lingering, though. This is not a get in, get out restaurant. This is a place for eating and taking and listening to music. The food is always outstanding, prepared by Brian, who is just the nicest guy you could meet. They have great music most nights, too, which can vary from jazz to Johnny Bowles playing guitar out in the patio. Service varies, as they are usually busy, busy, busy! Worth the wait since the food is delicious and the music is grooving!

Fresh ingredients, wonderful chef makes for mouth watering food. Always worth a visit.

Our favorite place in town for brunch. Food is always fresh and delicious. Make sure to check the specials. They are never disappointing. If the oysters Benedict is one of them you must try it. The crab cake Benedict is a favorite too. Service is always great.

I was so excited to try this place so my husband and I went on a Sunday at 1:00. The place is very clean and decorated nicely. The waiter was pleasant and and he went over the menu with us. He said the Grouper sandwich was fantastic, so we both ordered that, and it came with fries. The Grouper on the sandwich wasn’t very thick and didn’t have much flavor. We were disappointed. We will go back again some time and try the dinner menu. I will update this review at that time.

Not a great experience there for brunch. The waitress was kinda rude and talking like a drill sargent. We waited a REALLY long time to get the food. My french fries tasted freezer burnt. Im not going back

Thank you, Chef Brian! Last night, we decided it would be nice to head towards the beach and have dinner and watch the sunset. We had actually decided on a place down the road after hearing that the food was pretty good. However, after three employees walked by us without even acknowledging us, (the place was almost empty) we decided our hard earned money would be better spent elsewhere. We got back in the car, headed down the road and had the good fortune to spot your restaurant.
From the moment we walked up to the front door, we were greeted by EVERY employee that passed us, and your place was busy! We sat on the patio because it was beautiful out, and you had entertainment. Although the volume was a tad loud, the entertainers were surely doing their best to please the crowd and were super friendly. We enjoyed every moment of it.
Our server, Patty was great! In fact, it was really refreshing to be taken care of by someone who was pleasant, friendly and knows what she’s doing. Thank you for putting as much thought into the front of the house as you do the back. We told Patty that this was our first visit, and she was extremely patient while we asked questions and took our time perusing the menu. Wow! We were super stoked about what we saw. My husband is a professional private chef who started his career right on the strip where you’re located. We were expecting to see the usual offerings from this community, but were blown away that we’d be able to order food that cannot be found on every corner.
We started with the clams and sausage appetizer. The broth was so delicious that my husband was tempted to ask for it to go. I decided that I would have your signature Grouper dish, my daughter had pasta with smoked chicken, and my husband, definitely a steak guy, went for the huge 20 ounce boneless Rib-​Eye. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare with a nice sear. However, truth be told, even though he said it may have been the best steak he’s ever had while dining out, he mentioned that he was a little jealous he didn’t order the Grouper. It was THAT good!
Although we’ve both spent most of our adult working years in the hospitality business, and are not easily impressed, you did it. Of course, upon hearing that you make everything in house, including dessert, we decided to share a couple of treats. We had the Cuban bread pudding and chocolate cake. My husband is kicking himself for not ordering a bread pudding to go. I enjoyed a couple of reasonably priced glasses of wine with my meal, and my husband really enjoyed his freshly made cocktail that was obviously not from a mix.
Once again, thank you Chef. Keep doing what you’re doing. We will be back. How exciting to enjoy a meal that is fresh, flavorful and homemade, in an inviting atmosphere. My only regret, is not coming sooner!

This place is a great find, more of an upscale dining experience but the prices are great. Live music with outside seating makes for a nice evening! Try the garlic roasted Caesar salad, crispy seared salmon

Awesome little gem! I’m addicted to their brunch menu. Food is very flavorful and enjoyable. I ordered the poached eggs with avocado and bacon. Bacon was not greasy and I got generous slices of avocado. Coffee is also affordable at only 1.50. Décor is very nice and is well kept, definitely will be coming back!

This was the best food we on our little vacation Hernando Island. Live music, kid friendly and great food at a modest price. Thanks to Brian, his team and Unilocal for helping us locate.

Wednesday night dinner.
Waitress was a disaster. Attempted to read off Specials, sarcastic, not a clue what she was doing.
When I placed my order for the steak to be cooked Med rare plus, she rudely said, «I can’t do that «.
Specifically said we would be splitting the meal, she was
, dumb founded, when, I sent plate, steak back to split.
The steak was DELICIOUS, cooked to perfection, grilled oinon was great.
Music was wonderful.
Service got a 1, food a 4, music 5 plus.
Waitress needs fine dining training.

Thanks to the folks over at Marker 48 Brewing for recommending this place, because it was fantastic.
La Chica and I waltzed in Friday night for dinner around 6 PM. We considered sitting outside on the brand-​new deck, but the traffic noise on Shoal Road would have pissed me off, so we went inside. The place wasn’t packed, but that would not remain the case. Before we were to leave, it would literally be ass-​to-​elbow with every table accounted for. Terrible restaurants don’t get packed, folks!
Like I said, it wasn’t busy when we first arrived, and our waiter had nothing better to do except stand in the back corner incessantly clicking his ball-​point pen. Click-​CLICK. Click-​CLICK. Click-​CLICK. Over and over and over again, until finally he started doing some work. Thank goodness it got bust because I thought I was gonna strangle his ass.
I ordered a mojito to start. It’s been about a year since I’ve had one, but the ingredients just seemed to be what the doctor ordered. It ended up being a good call because it was on point. They kept it simple, like it supposed to be! I stopped drinking these things because restaurants tried fancying them up, completely ruining the drink’s integrity.
Looking over the menu, one thing was apparent; the entrees are EXPENSIVE. The two dished I was most interested in were about $ 16 a piece. Hernando Beach must be packed with lawyers and doctors bro, because the average price of a meal was in the $ 13 range. Insanity! We weren’t starving or experimental enough to invest that kind of coinage in the entrees, so we went small for the same price as two dinners. We ordered 3 appetizers; Cuban quesadilla, Italian sausage with mussels and Ahi tuna ceviche. These 3 appetizers gave us the confidence to come back and try and entrée because they were slap-​yo-​mama good. Every ingredient of these apps was on point, especially the Cuban quesadilla. I’m super-​critical of Cuban sandwiches, and Chef Brian hit a homerun with this version, and then topped it off with fried pickles. Not a traditional Cuban sandwich in any sense, but well executed. I think this should be in next year’s Cuban Sandwich Festival’s competition.
Staff was all friendly, and the vibe inside was «small town Florida.» There is even a small bar area for folks who like to just have a swig. I walked away a fan of what’s going on here. Would I return? You bet you sweet ass I would!

What a little gem here in Hernando!
I brought my mom to Brian’s Place on a Saturday evening at 4:30 and unbeknownst to us, you’re supposed to call ahead on a weekend but luckily they had a table open. From the adds that I’ve seen in the paper we didn’t think this place was classy. The design of the title «Brian’s Place» suggests it’s more of a beach bar, low key place in my mind. On the contrary it’s rather nice inside.
We were greeted by our served immediately and notified about their «Early Bird Special» which was $ 10 and included your choice of soup AND salad, a smaller portion of a main entrée and unlimited hot bread with butter. I ordered their potato soup, caesar salad and crispy salmon with yellow rice and plantains and my mom ordered a salad with balsamic vinaigrette, vegetable soup and shrimp linguine alla vodka. In the meantime we enjoyed their bread very much and we each had a glass of wine.
My soup was delicious and you could tell it was homemade and not from a can or frozen like most restaurants. The salad was good and they served it with a large chargrilled garlic crostini on the side as opposed to croutons. My plantains were great but my salmon was on the dry side and the sauce that came with it wasn’t great. I wouldn’t order it again. My mom’s pasta though was fabulous but it was too much for her so she ended up taking home most of it. (She’s a light eater).
The service was very friendly and professional. Overall I really enjoyed our first visit and hope to be back for more!

Was back at this excellent restaurant last night and had another great food & service event.
Brian’s is a GREAT find on Hernando Beach. Food, service & entertainment were excellent. Had the special Spanish Surf & Turf (pictured)and Fresh Gulf Hogfish. Both dishes were to die for. Moderately priced wine menu and very attentive service will have me coming back again and again.

We went in early afternoon for lunch and the place was practically empty. Being adventurous, I got the special which was Mojo pork on yellow rice with black bean soup. There was no mojo. In fact it was rather bland and cold pulled pork. The yellow rice was warm and flavorful however it was the black bean soup (served piping hot) that was a real hit with me. My wife got the Grilled Brian Rueben which is advertised as lean corn beef with bacon sauerkraut. The corn beef was not lean as evidence by the pile of fat on her plate and the sauerkraut (which I sampled) had absolutely no hint of bacon. The seasoned fries though had an interesting taste and were very good.
On the plus side, the service was outstanding. Our server could not have been more attentive or friendly. Brian’s is cozy and intimate and also includes an outdoor dining area. Pricing is more than reasonable.
Judging from the many 5 star reviews, I’m going to chalk this one up as just one of those days and will give them another shot.