Michaels on East

Went here with my parents, who recently moved to Sarasota, and some of their friends for my mom’s birthday.
Everyone was looking forward to the meal, and well… It was a huge disappointment.
The wait staff was inattentive. We had to ask several times for refills on water and wine.
Our group of 11 also had to wait more than an hour between appetizers and entrée. When the entrée finally arrived many were cooked incorrectly and had to be sent back, and my mom did not receive hers for another 15 min after everyone else
All this aside, perhaps the biggest mistake of the evening came when the waiter passed a hot bowl of mussels to my mom to pass to me… Instead of waking to the other side of the table and delivering it himself. It burned her hand!
The owner came out. (With an ice pack for my mom’s hand) And to his credit he made things right. He brought over more wine and then decided to comp the entire meal… And apologized several times… But in my opinion he really had no other choice.
We finally left around 10p… 3 hours after we first sat down.
The food we got, once we got it, was good. But the mistakes throughout the night prevent me from leaving a higher ranking.

There’s not much to add about this classic Sarasota restaurant. Folks go here for their very special dining experience. The trout and skirt steak entrées were excellent. The crab bisque soup was spectacular. The wait staff was well trained and very professional. Overall a very good experience but you pay for it!

Love this place! It’s a tad pricey, but so are many restaurants in SRQ. This one is perfect for a special night out, atmosphere is sultry and romantic, the service is consistently good (I’ve been 10 + times) food is also consistently good, but the piesta resistance is the piano bar. It’s the best one in all of Florida

Ambiance: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Deserts: 5 stars
Entrees: ¾ stars.
Came for lunch. Had the filet chimichurri. Meat was very, very tender but could have used more flavors. Dessert menu is what blew me away. Desserts were perfectly executed and not to mention HUGE. Curious to try here for dinner to taste the dinner entrees.

I love this place. They really go out of their way to welcome you. I typically go here on Monday as happy hour is extended until 9:00 pm and they usually have a free appetizer available Like truffle fries or duck rolls etc. the bartender are great, especially Chris. I cannot say enough good things about him. Mostly he truly knows how to cater to a customer — even the difficult ones like Joey B! I will be back!

Pricey but worth it. Sea bass with lobster was delicious. My wife’s scallops were huge and melt-​in-​your-​mouth good, but the gnocchi was the surprisingly scrumptious treat of the evening. The only small quibble was the wait staff. Our waiter was solid, but the waiter servicing the nearby tables was a real pro and what you expect at a top notch restaurant. We learned a lot about our order by listening to him service his customers.

Michaels is fabulous. Fabulous large bar area. Chris the bartender is fabulous and funny. Stand up comedian when not bar tending. I love that they have a Happy Hour with great delicious food because that is why I come. I feel very comfortable here and for 15 $ you can get a great meal. Been coming for years and only go to restaurants with happy hour before class.

As usual the service was impeccable, Joe is a great server. Food presentation was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Best wine selection in Sarasota bar none.
Everyone at our table loved everything about our meal.
When you have 9 people at a table, It is hard to please
everyone. The baby romaine salad was great… the steak was cooked perfect. Just great.

Absolute lifesavers!!! In addition to being top notch at the restaurant, their banquet and catering services never disappoint! I’m both gluten & dairy allergic, so often eating out at events can be tricky. The Michaels on East chefs and catering staff seamlessly prepare delicious alternatives even when requested at the last minute. I know I’m in great hands when I see that Michaels on East is catering.

My wife and I went to Michael’s for date night and we were not disappointed. I had the 14oz New York Strip steak and it was fantastic. Best steak I’ve had in Sarasota. My wife had the Sea Bass and was not disappointed. I would also recommend the kale and brussel sprout salad. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and attentive. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a fine dining experience and not afraid to spend a little coin.

Awesome restaurant, great service. Ask for AJ who is amazing. We had 6 people and other than the completely clueless hostess at the door our experience was perfect. We arrive at 6:02 and hostess had no clue that our party was waiting for us despite giving her the names. I called our hosts and my husband walked the dining room to find our hosts. What a complete waste if time and she should be fired. I was in restaurant business 28 years and know you get terrible staff and they only hurt your business.
AJ to us about the lobster boil on Fridays so we are planning on bringing other friends here. This is where we went after our wedding so this place is important to us. Hire decent host staff!

Friday nights is lobster clambake. Two one and a quarter sweet boiled Maine lobsters, served with mussels, clams, corn on the cobb and red potatoes. Sensational! (For non lobster lovers, the eclectic menu offers a variety of other choices guaranteed to satisfy any palate.) The wine menu is extensive and diverse. Service and ambiance are tops. Menu selections are pricey but we’ll worth the cost. Be sure to make reservations, particularly in season. This is one of Sarasota’s finest!

I had a great meal at the bar. The bartender Kelly was extremely helpful and attentive as I was both new to the restaurant & its menu and dining alone.
I had the kale and Brussel sprout salad– it was beyond delicious. Then I had the filet cooked perfectly at medium along with the truffled Mac and cheese and the cauliflower. Both were amazing and large portions that I could take it home with me.
Both the service and the food were awesome. Highly recommend it. Only tip I would give if it’s your first time there — the Parking is in the back not in front by the Starbucks.

What A Wonderful place! The Service is always excellent. Never had a bad experience. One of the best in Sarasota.

When we arrived, the first thing is the hostess to us was, we are having issues because people called off today. One person had a death in the family and another person is sick. So can you wait? We asked if we could go sit at the bar while we waited, and she told us the same thing again. Finally after a couple of asking, she said yes we can go to the bar. Luckily, we did.
Our waiter at the bar was phenomenal. The food was outstanding. It was so good, that we even stayed for dessert.
Luckily, we didn’t leave when we arrived. It was worth our stay.
The food was worthwhile, but our waiter’s service made the difference. So, ask for Ian. We will come back because of him.

Went there for our anniversary dinner. Food was excellent; calamari appetizer with two dipping sauces, rack of lamb for my wife, and two very delicious crab cakes for me, best I’ve ever had.
The only down side was the noise level. We arrived during happy-​hour and we were seated close to the bar which was quite noisy. Next time we will request seats in a quieter location.

Have dined here for many years. Mostly in the wine cellar. Great ambiance, service and food. If you done in the wine cellar you are surrounded by their collection of wine bottle and candles. The grape, fig salad is the best. I really can’t pick a favorite dish but my most current meal I had the filet. So juicy and cooked to perfection. Service is always superb. You can sign up for their wine tastings… So much fun.

Excellent Service, along with a great menu. Michaels has a terrific wine menu as well.
I’ve been in most often for brunch or lunch. Michaels also is a longtime favorite destination for conferences and fundraisers — the banquet facilities and personnel are outstanding.

We eat here pretty regularly. Most of the time it is everything you’d expect from a fine dining establishment. Occasionally though, the food has disappointed. Ok, that happens. A restaurant can’t be on all the time. What *is* 100% within their control is how you deal with things when it doesn’t go right. On this note, Michael’s on East, and Michael specifically, fail.
The last time we went, there was an issue with my wife’s meal. Michael was patrolling the restaurant as he usually does. He stopped by our table to ask how everything was (this was before our server returned for the first time, so Michael was the first to ask). My wife raised her issues with her dish, a dish she had ordered there probably 15 times before with no issue. Michael, in typical German fashion immediately adopted an attitude and basically told my wife she was wrong and that she didn’t know food. Um, yeah, we’ve dined all over the world, at holes in the wall to Michelin 5 Diamond restaurants. We know food. My wife’s complaint was legitimate. But instead of making the customer feel appreciated and making things right, Michael berated her and put her down.
Sorry, that was our last time there as a result. We’d been semi-​regulars there, spending several thousand dollars a month there (we usually always order premium champagne or wine), but as a result of the owner’s actions, we won’t return.
Michael seems to think he can ride on the laurels of his community involvement and his usually good food, but I guarantee you, if he has treated other patrons the way we were treated, he is losing business as a result of his attitude and would be best served keeping customer interactions to a minimum.

Two of the four of us had a very unsatisfactory meal Christmas Eve. My two daughters wisely selected fish — Chilean Sea Bass and Salmon and enjoyed their meals. My wife and I ordered Pork Chops and Confit of Veal and were wildly disappointed.
I ordered the lobster bisque to start. It was a tasty soup but the hunks of lobster and crab, indistinguishable from one another, were rubbery and seemed like an afterthought dropped into the liquid.
My wife’s confit was super fatty and sparce. My Pork Chop was barely edible with fatty gristle for over half of it. The few bites I was able to surgically separate from the bone and swallow were meaty but entirely flavorless. The cranberry chutney was needed to make anything of this mess. I was close to sending it back but my two girls were fine with their fish and I didn’t want to have to wait for another dish to be prepared. I just wanted to get out of there. $ 400 later, we did.
Too bad this restaurant has such a nice dining room because our expectations were as high as the prices.
The service was barely adequate — the waitress highly recommended the Pork Chop, delivered the wrong glass of wine to my wife and didn’t bother to ask how our dinners were.
We now know one restaurant to avoid like the plague in the future.