Beach Bistro

We made reservations for our anniversary and were seated by a wall of windows with a panoramic view of the gulf, just before sunset. The wait staff were well informed, attentive and warm. The drinks were excellent, the food, absolutely perfect. The crisp apple salad with blue and black berries, goat cheese, toasted walnuts… was flavored to perfection. The slice of fresh bread toasted and set off with a sliver tomato and olive compote, accompanied by a heavenly «sip» of the blue tomato soup was an excellent start to an orchestra of flavors. I had the succulent bourbon and maple bourbon grilled shrimp and my husband had the special, the fresh catch of the day, sheep’s head with some sort of pineapple sauce. He let me taste it, several times. It was delightful. We both had a large dollop of dreamy mashed potatoes, accompanied by a shredded fruit compote and greens, all very delicious. As it was our anniversary, they offered a heavenly sweet concoction: a combination of sweet vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate truffle terrine, sweet berries in syrup, and the marriage of caramel and chocolate sauces drizzled over half of the plate and set off with a small mound of cream crested with a caramelized sugar design. They gifted us with a rose and a small bag of caramel corn. The sun had set, we were warmed and filled with gratitude and admiration for this delightful place.

Normally a Zagat Favorite notice sends up a «tourist red flag» for me, but this place earned a super review, and clearly is not a tourist spot.
First, the view… right on the beach and directly in line with the setting sun. Can’t beat that
Second…service is excellent… attentive, but no hovering and a nice pace. Burns was a terrific young server with pleasant smile and knowledgeable about the menu which is extensive
Third…the food. We opted for the tasting menu and it was great. Hellova Soup is wonderful… can’t yet figure out the sweetness in it, but I guess that’s why it’s their signature soup. Salad and fish were well prepared and beautifully presented. All the photos on this Unilocal site are accurate, so I didn’t feel I needed to repeat them.
Special night and a special and memorable evening and meal.

Best meal on the island. Very high prices, but worth every penny. We both had he Grouper, different versions. Each were spectacular!

BEST FINE DINING in FLORIDA and with a memorable beach view to embrace! Each visit is an ultimate culinary experience!
The staff and servers are all very knowledgeable of all menu items, with service to perfection.
Great menu with choices from all over the world cuisines prepared beyond your expectation.
Wine list is worldly, and the wine sommelier has extensive knowledge to guide your food/​wine pairings.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Stay away awful service. Managers were very arrogant and unAccommodating. Food is average. Seemed like it was preheated
There are other places in the island that are way better.

We were lucky enough to be treated to a wonderful evening here by a family member with a party of 8. The drinks were heavy pours, the waiter was great, and we really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Now, on the critical side. The prices are ridiculous. $ 53 for crusted grouper with some sauce? $ 50 for a foie gras appetizer? $ 40+ for barbecue shrimp? Well, alrighty then. Better be incredible for those prices.
It wasn’t. It was good, but like $ 20−25/plate good. I really enjoyed the lobstercargot appetizer, but my entrée was a mess. Duck two ways. Confit leg that was dry and cool. A duck breast (which they insisted should be medium rare, and I agreed, that’s how I like my duck) came out more than well done. I don’t send back dishes often, and certainly not when it’s being bought by someone else, but it deserved to be. There were two starches, two sauces (one hot, one cold). It was just a very odd, messy plate, as were my neighboring plates.
The entire experience just seemed out of date. Like a special occasion restaurant from the 80s-​90s, with prices outpacing inflation. Dishes were sloppy, and certainly did not enhance the provenance of the pricey ingredients. I might go back to sit at the bar or patio, where a more pedestrian menu allegedly exists, but I will not done there again. There’s too many good restaurants at much more reasonable prices in the area.

Food is awesome. Reservations seem hard to come by on weekends so call ahead early. Place seems crowded with seating. You have to park by valet. The valet was on point and had car ready and waiting when we walked out.

One of my favorite dining experiences, ever. Each bite, truly memorable. Wow!!! An extraordinary culinary delight, in beautiful Anna Maria Island. Do not miss this.
Review of the menu, a treat in itself. Great wine list. I recommend the 5 course selection of the day.
Impeccable service and the view of the Gulf of Mexico, could not be better. You will not be disappointed. Make a reservation!
Even the artwork is incredible. I’d consider visiting the island again just to come to Beach Bistro. Can’t wait to return.

Absolutely great restaurant… One of my favorites in the world, not just in Florida! I travel a lot and always look forward to the Bistro

My Irish cousin is here for a few weeks and we had the best time at Beach Bistro. David and Mark took care of us wonderfully well, the sunset was glorious and the food outstanding. We both had the grouper dish… mmmmm! still thinking about it. Excellent evening all around.

I had dinner here last night and it’s all I have been able to think about today. Seriously. The food was that good.
Walking in, I was a little worried. My parents live down here and they had been hearing good things and I had as well. (And of course– I did my Unilocal research) Anyways, I made reservations for my mom’s birthday and the place was packed. It’s right on the beach but it’s extremely small inside and kind of claustrophobic. I did enjoy the intimacy though. The windows were kind of cloudy so it wasn’t the best view of the water. BUT the food was so good, I could have been sitting inside a gas station and wouldn’t have cared.
To start the meal, we ordered a bottle of wine and a few cocktails. They had a craft cocktail menu but I would probably skip the martini and go straight for wine, the Bees Knees was ok but nothing super special. They had a really nice wine list though. Of course anywhere that has Stags Leap is ok in my book. My bf ordered a Knob Creek neat and it was as HUGE pour. So take a note, drinkers. Very impressed.
The amuse bouche served was focaccia with a tapenade, pesto and tomato and then a side of soup (or shrimp if you were ordering soup with dinner.) It was perfect. My dad and boyfriend ordered the «One Helluva Soup» which was tomato and blue cheese and the name is a very accurate representation. It was delicious.
My mom and I split the warm tomato salad. I’m pretty sure this is my favorite salad ever. It had an herbed vinaigrette that I literally would have sucked up with a straw.
For dinner, the entire table ordered the grouper cooper. It was served on a bed of mashed potatoes, with prosciutto wrapped asparagus and topped with lobster tail and a tomato-​ish broth. To say this was cooked perfectly was an understatement. My parents are both from Maryland and very picky with fish and they said it was the best they’ve ever had. Mom and I split one which was was smart because we are light eaters and there was plenty on the plate.
We all were stuffed but my Mom made a comment that «in a place this good, we have to order dessert» …so order dessert, we did. We got the Hat Trick which was a trio of crème brûlée (my favorite) and it included spicy chocolate, banana and kaffir lime. We also got the chocolate dessert (I can’t remember what it was) but it was outstanding. Served along this ridiculous ice cream rolled in crushed toffee. Dang, it was good.
My parents are already plotting their return and I’m planning on driving over from Orlando just to invite myself to dinner.

The food was good. However, I just do not understand the inflated prices. This place was unjustifiably expensive and I live in Brooklyn, so I think that says a lot. I have never seen prices this inflated even at some of the best restaurants in the city (grammercy tavern, battersby, aquagrill, blue hill) I couldn’t even recommend this place to anyone bc I left there so confused. It was nowhere near worth the cost.

Old School Florida restaurant. Beachy interior, right on the beach. An absolutely beautiful location on Holmes Beach, and the food is really good, but not great. Its REALLY expensive. Took 4 people out for my brother’s graduation, so ordered quite a bit, but still the bill was about $ 600. Ouch. There aren’t a lot of great, modern food restaurants in this part of Florida, so its best to stay with the classics, and it is still a great spot here for a special occasion.

Spectacular food, Sean is an amazing Chef & David an awesome waiter! Recommended to us by so many fine people. Start to finish a knock out meal! Can’t wait to come back! Photos of some of the fine dishes and Chef Sean

My absolute favorite place on Anna Maria.
I am ashamed to admit I overlooked this place for a very long time.
Every thing is top shelf.
I really enjoy drinking and eating at the bar with my son. When he has something new his eyes light up!

Sean Murphy knows how to create the ultimate dining experience. The setting on AMI is gorgeous and the restaurant is so intimate and perfect for any celebration (or date night). We tried the tasting menu and couldn’t eat all of the food but thoroughly enjoyed the variety and different flavors. Highly, highly recommend the tomato soup and bouillabaisse.

True 5 star dining experience. Expect large prices but fantastic food. Perhaps one the best restaurant i’ve ever eaten. The fish was out of this world good, loved the fresh grouper. The fish soup was the greatest

OK, I may have been upset when i wrote the last review. I tried my luck to go there by myself and try to get reservations for my wife’s birthday. Well, it worked out great. They not only had a time open for us, but we even got a table in the main dining room and it made it so special for my wife, who has wanted to go there for a long time and was celebrating her birthday
The food was delicious, the ambiance was beautiful and the whole night was great. One Oopsy was when the table next to us knocked over their flower vase and the vase hit my wife’s wine glass and splashed her with white wine (thank God) and spreading glass all over our table. The waiters and hostess came over immediately and moved us to a whole new table.
Again, sorry for the recent rant, but something should be updated with the online reservation system. maybe go with Open Table. But the place is a gem right on the beach.

This place came highly recommended but the food and the atmosphere are WAY out of line with the prices. We are semi-​foodies from Chicago and vacation in Sarasota a few times a year. This was our first visit to Beach Bistro and AMI. The entire building is in need of an overhaul. The draping on the ceiling looked gross, dust fell down thru the air when the server pulled a wine bottle down from the overhead racks, and the ugly old chair cover on my chair was damp and very unpleasant to sit on. Our server was great, very nice and attentive. The food was just OK overall. Some items were more impressive than others but nothing warranting the big price tags. The lamb was the most raved about dish. Our table also had grouper and shrimp which I’ve had better/​fresher for less money (and much better ambiance!) in Sarasota and St Armand’s. For what they charge they should be able to overhaul the décor and get new tables, chairs, fix the ceiling, etc. It was all very run down.
On our five night stay, this place didn’t even crack the top three for dinner experiences. Definitely not worth the drive from Lido.

My husband and I came here this year for our anniversary. Let me be clear in the fact that we were not disappointed. We were able to dine out on the beach, which was lovely and really the only place on AMI where you can actually sit on the beach and eat.
We each had a cocktail, can’t remember what it was called. They were pink martini’s and Matt didn’t like his so I had both. It was too sweet for him.
We both then split a caesar salad which was fantastic and the bouillabaisse both of which were so good. Food wise this was so good. It’s pricey but it’s worth it. I wouldn’t bring children though, it’s very small and I know my kids would run a muck in this restaurant!