Ophelia’s on the Bay

Know what’s fun? When you build a renowned restaurant with absolutely ZERO parking. Pulling over in the middle of the road for valet? I felt like I was going to get hit by a car! People had to swerve to avoid the backup of traffic caused by the valet group. OPHELIAS: FIGURE OUT A BETTER SOLUTION.

Made reservation for 8:15 on a Tues pm. Amazing seat on the water. Fresh hot bread. Ordered a bottle of Kim Crawford. Waiter brought it out on ice but it was worse than room temperature. I don’t drink hot white wine. He was kind enough to bring us two glasses of another white while it chilled. Very thoughtful. Waiter was VERY knowledgable about menu which was appreciated. Entrée of mahi and grouper were just ok. Honestly the food was much better at Owen’s. Also ordered key lime. It was good but not great. Would prob only return for a drink on the patio at sunset. Wouldn’t spend another $ 180 on dinner.

Wonderful food, ambience & service. Had duck, which was prepared 2 ways and was superb. Entire experience was outstanding.

Lovely atmosphere and excellent food. The service is what set Ophelia’s apart. Our server Csaba Kepecz was amazing. It was a special occasion and he made it so. My family greatly appreciated his attentiveness and the champagne! Thanks Csaba!!!

Always great – gosh probably for 20 years now
best outdoor place in fla
my opinion
chef just bought it and made a good place even better

The setting is stunning with kayakers paddling by while we sat in the cool sunshine late Sunday morning for brunch. Start out with a house specialty cocktail. A Bloody Mary with lobster and shrimp or a mango Bellini. We loved the duck duck goose.
Who wouldn’t love duck bacon hash with foie gras, poached eggs and hollandaise? Stone crab claws with butter, cocktail sauce and key lime sauce all tasted like an extra special treat on a Sunday. Soft live music was nice because we could still hear our party speak. Overall a great experience.

Had New Year Eve dinner here and it was amazing!!! Our server, Tom was superb. We were in awe at everything from the valets to the busers. The food was phenomenal and the cocktails made our experience that much more memorable. Do yourself a favor, when here, have a great dinner here. You won’t regret it!!!

3 stars for the service and the lobster bisque even though the bisque wasn’t the best. It was good, but the Dry Dock in Long Boat is a ton better. We had the Duck and Surf and turf. Duck was ehhh, wife liked the leg quarter but was unimpressed with the breast. I agree, I’ve had better. The Surf and turf was disappointing. The veal was pretty good but the lobster was awful. The worst I’ve had. Lobster was well over cooked and the topping wasn’t edible. Heavy breading and very salty. Claytons and Dry dock are our favorites. We’ve eaten at both several times while on our trip. Good views here but for the price I would stay away.

I found out about this restaurant through a groupon and researching places to try on vacation. Saved it for my last night and it was definitely worth writing a review for. The atmosphere was very elegant and classic. You can make reservations online which I liked so you can chose outside or inside. They do have valet parking which was a nice touch but I think its more to do with limited parking. Once I arrived for my reservation, I was greeted and seated immediately. Highly recommend opting for the outside seating. I had the seared tuna and oysters… both very good.

Okay, I could give this place a 5/​5, but don’t get the wrong the food was amazing, it was. But for the price, I didn’t find it over the top amazing. I order the ahi– tuna, and my boyfriend got a filet mignon. Both very good dishes (not the best I’ve had, but still very good).
However, at this restaurant, you’re paying more for the experience. My boyfriend and I got there pretty late, a little less than an hour before they closed and they still treated us with great courtesy, and we were sat outside right next to the bay. Which is beautiful, the moon was over lighting the water and it was super romantic. Probably wouldn’t come again, but great for a little expenditure on vacation.

One of the most beautiful locations to dine in the entire Tampa Bay Area. Overall, great food and beyond great service. I would suggest ordering any of the seafood items, as I don’t believe steak is the chef’s favorite to prepare. I ordered filet mignon and though the presentation was acceptable, the cut of meat tastes as though it were of premium quality– not a true $ 40 cut of filet. I am a red meat girl and know my steaks well. Given the quality of filet mignon, I am glad I did not order the porterhouse. My husband ordered the gulf hog snapper which was very tasty and well prepared. Our salads were fresh and delicious! I would go back for lunch perhaps.

The staff was very friendly, food was amazing. We tried the shrimp & grits as well as the salmon entrée. Both were wonderful! Salmon melted in your mouth. I do not suggest using the reservation tool through Unilocal though… even though I received a confirmation text, when we arrived they had no record of our reservation. Luckily it was a Monday night and there was no trouble seating us anyway. This was the perfect choice for a more upscale restaurant on Siesta Key. We were even treated to compliment eat glasses of champagne because it was our anniversary.

Food and service here is top notch. The atmosphere is nice for a date night or a small get together with friends. They have outside seating overlooking the water. Beware: Parking is extremely limited. The valet had to park vehicles on the road which is a safety hazard for cars driving by. It’s also a good idea to have a reservation if you go on a Saturday night.
For dinner I ordered the Maine Lobster «Scampi”/scallops and Linguine. I was surprised at the abundance of scallops on my plate; they were really clean too. The Applewood Smoked Bacon Jam added a wonderful touch to the dish along with the Saffron Chardonnay Butter sauce. I was quite full from my meal but made sure to still try their Tuile Basket dessert since it was made by their own pastry chef. The Tuile Basket felt like such a light dessert with its fresh fruit and yogurt. My whole dining experience here was excellent. I will definitely be back when I’m in the area.

I would have licked the plate clean if there was nobody around.
The grouper I ordered seemed a bit small at first but it was SUBLIME. The coconut coulis and spicy smashed avocado paired well and really brought out the flavor of the fish.
The scallops my SO ordered was exquisite — an abundance of scallops/​shrimp swimming in chardonnay butter sauce with bits of applewood smoked bacon — SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
That’s not all. Towards the end of our meal, the manager came over and asked if we wished to move to a quieter area of the restaurant as there was a big party next to us celebrating their wedding. The noise level wasn’t an issue at all for us so we didn’t move, but we appreciated the small gesture that showed customer satisfaction is their top priority.

The view on the bay is the best I have seen. I would come back just for that. The view makes you want to stay for hours. The food was meh…
We ordered had baked oysters, crab cakes, Caesar salads, snapper, ribeye, and bananas flambé. The apps were not very good. The snapper was great. The salad, ribeye and bananas flambé were ok at best. I had a mango martini which was great.
The menu apparently changes nightly which I thought was strange. Nightly seems excessive to me. I think monthly would be more appropriate. I think this restaurant could use a new chef. The fact that this place is rated so poorly reflects the chef imo and the slow service. If this place had a great chef it would be the number one place in the area and stacked every night.

Went for Sunday Brunch
Was absolutely the worst outing for an anniversary
We were seated and waited 10 minutes for water — went to the Buffet and many of the items we wanted to start with were out so we ask and were told it all was in the works — no problem
Waited 45 more minutes after asking two more times and was THEN told they would not be able to refill the buffet this was then 1:15 and the Buffet was to be till 2:00
They were out of :
Shrimp
Oysters
Soups
Egg Dishes
And carving Station was empty no Prime Rib or any other choice cuts
Have lived here for 14 years and would say to pass on this Sunday Brunch !!!

Family dispute over this review: my dad wants to go ⁵⁄₅ and my sister was thinking more like ³⁄₅ but due to the view we are going to agree on a ⁴⁄₅. We got a 8pm reservation (same day) in June on a gorgeous, sunny night but then were told that we could get a 7:30pm. Came in right at 7:30 and waited for 20 minutes before the hostess basically told us that someone was «willing» to take us as a 4 top for the outdoor patio.
The good:
–Doug is an excellent waiter, very friendly and professional. did not feel rushed (it was veryyyyyyyyyy slow service but he was great)
–Food was good; half portions for the 3 course menu, key lime pie was really good, the food was all very good and portions were not too large.
–The view is very beautiful
–It is quiet, and you don’t feel rushed
The bad:
–bad customer service; the hostess was pretty rude and didn’t communicate well the updates on our seating
–service was insanely slow (dishes left fora long time before cleared)
Overall, a really nice experience given how negative the Unilocal!reviews are. sounds like everyone hates the service/​loves the view… I would not come back but it is certainly a one time go-​to if you are in the area for the first time.

The view was amazing, the food and service mediocre.
Appetizer: beef tartare, I would give it ³⁄₅. Served with some grilled bread and tasted good, though I’ve had better elsewhere. No egg on top. Other members in my party had the escargot which was wrapped in Phyllo dough and has a strawberry sauce. Interesting.
Main course: I ordered appetizers, tuna ceviche and mozzarella burrata salad. Both ²⁄₅. The tuna itself had no taste. The mozzarella was mushy inside and runny. It came with four slices of tomato. Crazy expensive prices too for the quality of food.
Service extremely slow. I assume they were fishing for my tuna right then and there.
View was right on the water with the choice of outside or inside. Very calming and gorgeous, really the highlight of the restaurant.
Valet parking only.

Items Selected:
Baguette Basket with Whipped Butter
Blackberry Martini
Hudson Valley Foie Gras en Torchon — Savory Turkey Confit, Raclette Bread Pudding, Cranberry-​Thyme Purée, Streusel, Crispy Sage
Italian Cream Burrata Mozzarella — Baby Arugula, Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Black Truffle Pesto, Balsamic Spritz, Extra Virign Olive Oil
Goose Breast — En Sous Vide with Garlic and sage, Sweet Gooseberry Compote, Spiced Orange Gastrique, Okinawa Purple Potatoes
Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner — Brined Turkey, Cranberry Smoked Cheddar Stuffing, Turkey Gravy, Crème Fraiche Potatoes
Key Lime Pie — Coconut and Rum Baked on a Graham Crust, Served Over Mango Coulis with Butter Cream and Zest
Chocolate Pecan Tart — Sweet Dough, Georgia Pecans, Brown Sugar Caramel Custard, Milk Chocolate Ganache, Dark Chocolate Curls, Wild Turkey Sauce and Whipped Cream
Suffice it to say that while I’m generally happy to dine with anyone, provided the experience is worth the expense, Thanksgiving 2014 presented a bit of a conundrum — where does one take an 87 year old grandmother that they haven’t seen in over a decade, and moreso one who rarely travels outside a two-​mile radius of her Venice home that considers Denny’s tilapia a meal worth dressing up for? The answer, within a ‘reasonable’ distance, was Sarasota’s twenty-​two year old waterfront destination Ophelia’s on the Bay.
Located on Midnight Pass Road, on a small peninsula overlooking Little Sarasota Bay, Ophelia’s is one of those restaurants one might assume to cater to the local septuagenarians as well as those celebrating special events and with floor-​to-​ceiling windows showcasing the waterfront while service is the feigned-​formal sort common to country clubs across the country the kitchen features an ever changing menu largely focused on locally sourced proteins as produce, as well as a surprising collection of wild game including goose, venison, and boar on the afternoon of our Thanksgiving feast.
Pricey per my grandmother, though exceedingly affordable per my own fortunate standards, it was with a duo of appetizers, three mains, and a pair of desserts that our meal progressed and with the elderly lady enjoying an iced-​down glass of $ 9 wine to ‘make it last longer’ while my mother imbibed in a delicious $ 12 hand-​muddled martini the first round of plates was an impressive start, a caprese-​style salad featuring a generous portion of soft cheese over crisp tomatoes amidst aromatic dressings while the torchon of foie gras served over a round of briny bread pudding with cranberries to add balance was the sort of thing I’d be happy to see on the tasting menu at a place like The Inn at Little Washington or even Per Se.
Progressing rather quickly to entrees, prices ranging $ 29 to $ 36 with an premium placed on more ‘exotic’ meats, it was in a plate of lobster from which she only ate ¹⁄₃ (before packaging the rest) that my grandmother placed her faith and marveled by the fact that she did not need to shuck the crustacean, served over gnocchi, herself it appeared she loved every bite — or perhaps just spending time with family without having to worry about the check — while my mother and I enjoyed a duo of well prepared traditional Thanksgiving birds with decidedly non-​traditional sides, her stuffing and my potatoes both exceptional, though the later appeared entirely alien to the contented lady across the table from me.
Explaining that she ‘couldn’t possibly’ eat dessert, but was happy to share bites of mine, suffice it to say that I was glad to have some leftover treats from Dough in the car for the ride home when my grandmother decided she ‘loved’ the decadent Chocolate Pecan Tart enough to take more than a few bites, and although trending more sweet than one would hope beneath a layer of buttercream frosting the Key Lime Pie was pleasant enough, much like the conversation amongst our trio in a space that proved more than suitable for such an event.

The food is 4 stars but the extra star is for the view. Beautiful! So many restaurants with nice water views get away with lackluster food for spectacular views. This restaurant has a pretty winning combination.
My husband and I loved everything we had except a couple items that were less than perfect. The lobster bisque was good, but not the best I’ve had. It’s less creamy, which is probably better health wise though. The filet wasn’t as good as other steak restaurants, but the Lobster Thermidor made up for it.
Exceptional items on the menu were the mozzarella salad and the crab cakes. The eggplant crepes were a close second/​third. Seriously, I’ve never had mozzarella so creamy in the center. The server told me the chef gets it delivered fresh from Miami.
Which reminds me, service was great, too. Quick and courteous. The valet was friendly and helpful, but the lot was not available on Mother’s Day/​holiday, but they had a shuttle going back and forth to the public lot. You can’t expect better than that for a restaurant that’s limited in space on Siesta Key.