Banyan Cafe

This is my first 1 star review.
My experience was awful.
The Ringling museum only has 2 places eat. When we first got there we weren’t hungry so we skipped past the café located in the Welcome Center… after enjoying the learning center and circus museum for several hours we were starving. As soon as we left the circus museum, right in front of us, was the café… alas, we thought, an oasis.
We were so disappointed. The Ringling is so large that we truly had to consider proximity to where we were when picking a place to eat. It’s a cafeteria style café… when we walked in, the food was sitting under a heat lamp. It looked unappetizing and like it had been there for days. We were so hungry we figured what else could we do. It tasted worse than it looked. Bland, what was supposed to be juicy was dry what was supposed to be crispy was soggy.
I can’t really rate the service… there was one guy at the cashier. He rang up our order… he looked bored and like he didn’t want to be there. I don’t think he looked up once.
For such a beautiful place, I think the Ringling would benefit from having a better café in the middle of their grounds. No one was expecting anything fancy but edible would be nice.

We arrived at 11:55 for lunch at the Banyan Café with our two children. It was not very busy and although there were a few people eating outside we were the only ones inside. We walked up to the counter and the only hot food available was one burger and one hotdog. They were out of everything else. There was a teenage cashier who just stood looking at us. After waiting several minutes and thinking surely someone would come forward to take an order or something I asked the cashier if we needed to order with him or something. He shrugged his shoulders and said «No, they just bring stuff out.» We stood for another minute or so when he finally asked «Is there something in particular you want, I can go tell them.» He relayed our order to the two people in the back and he said it would be a few minutes.
While we waited and waited and waited, I noticed that although the hot section does have prices listed there are no prices anywhere telling you how much any of the drinks or chips costs. They offers soda, bottled water and alcoholic beverages but good luck figuring out how much you will pay for any of it.
Prices are inflated but the food quality is passable. All in all it took 15 minutes to get something to eat even though we were the only ones inside. Either we were on the tail of the lunch rush, or they didn’t feel like cooking. Regardless, there should be someone behind the counter who at least sees what you want so that it can be prepared. After all why spend your time cooking chicken nuggets if the people waiting want cheeseburgers.
It was $ 50 for 2 adults and 2 kids, and my husband and I didn’t order any drinks at all. A ripoff to say the least. There was actually a big tip jar on the counter as though anyone would tip for complete lack of service.
Although we loved the museum, we will be packing a picnic lunch if we ever visit again.

Banyan Café is one of two eating places located within The Ringling museum complex, and by far the worst of the two. It’s basically a cafeteria style fast food but only with precooked wrapped in foil overcooked burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, bags of chips, packaged snacks, little containers of pasta salad and the like. The condiments are in little tiny individual squeeze packs and eating utensils of plastic. The food isn’t very good and though the seating is covered, open air, not all that comfortable on a hot day and prone to fly, bug and mosquito invasions.
It’s basically an OK place to stop by for coffee, a cool drink or to fill the kids up on snacks, burgers or dogs, but not for a meal.

The place is a café, one if two eateries inside The Ringling mansion site. Being inside a museum complex, I didn’t expect much.
Having said that, I’ve got to say the pre-​packaged Black and Blue Chicken Salad I had was pretty good. The «black» is blackened chicken, which also had «blue» cheese on a bed of greens. Dressing was available in packets to drizzle on, if so desired.
The café is cafeteria style. It must have been a busy Tuesday, as seating after getting our food was difficult. There are both inside and outside tables, but all the tables were occupied. We made new friends at the café by asking people at a partially filled table if we could join them.
Available beverages included fountain Pepsi products, as well as bottled water, Sobe and Michelob Ultra.
I am surprised to learn I am the first to review this place. If I had known that ahead of time, I would have tried to note more details and include a photo.