GROVE

This was my first time at the Grove and we arrived at the start of happy hour. We got two $7 appetizers and one $14. The bacon wrapped jalapeños were good and the wings were as well. The sliders were off the main menu. The meat was good and tasty but the bun wasn’t my favorite. Note that the old fashioned cocktails are pre-made in batch and are quite sweet in flavor. They were very accommodating for making me one from scratch to my preference. I’ll be back again if I’m in the Lakewood Ranch area.

My husband, daughter and I went to the Grove for Christmas dinner. What a great choice we made. I had the Pork Osso Bucco. A braised pork shank with a pan sauce and mashed potatoes. I don’t eat asparagus so I had a side order of heirloom carrots. The pork just fell off the bone it was delicious and the pan sauce was just right for it. Potatoes were good as were the carrots. My daughter and husband had the same meal the Herb Chicken. It was very good with a demi-glacé. The meal came with wild rice pilaf and broccoli. My daughter has a dairy allergy and a manager came out to speak with her and then the chef to make sure there was no dairy in her meal. The service was great our waitress Rachel was wonderful. Do not hesitate to eat here for a holiday dinner. We couldn’t have asked for better.

We held our son's rehersal dinner in the Live Oak Room for 40 people. From touring the facility and putting down our deposit in April until the actual event on December 18th, everything went smoothly and the Grove staff was ever so accomodating. We started with a cocktail hour on the patio with passed appetizers. For dinner, we chose a fixed menu where our guests had multiple choices for salad, main course and desert. Everyone raved about the food. The mini cubans and coconut shrimp were excellent. Salmon dishes were perfectly cooked and the ribeye's satisfied all of the meat lovers. Thank you for contributing to such a special night for our family.

Amazing food. All made from scratch from the dinner rolls to the deserts. Unique and delicious meals. Diverse and large selection. Staff very attentive and friendly. Very clean, comfortable seating and perfect lighting. Thank you Chef Greg!

Happy hour here is great! The basil smash is amazing and all the apps were great! Definitely will be back!

We visited to celebrate my mother’s birthday, not realizing our reservation coincided with the Kentucky Derby event. Unfortunately, the crowd and noise significantly impacted the overall dining experience. While we understand the added pressure of a big event, it still left a lot to be desired. The place was extremely busy and quite loud, but to their credit, the kitchen managed to get our food out in a timely manner. The extensive drink menu was a plus, and the food was decent bar fare. The pepperoni pizza and blackened grouper sandwich were solid choices. Our server was clearly new and brought in to help with the large crowd. He was pleasant enough and got our orders correct, but lacked knowledge about the menu—even basic things like the soup of the day—and made no effort to find out. Service was minimal and he did his job but lacks enthusiasm. We tried a variety of dishes. The mussels were disappointing, with the wine overpowering any other flavors. The seafood Cobb salad was a pleasant surprise—fresh, generously portioned, and easily enough for three people. Unfortunately, the blackened grouper entrée was bland and served with overcooked broccolini. The fish and chips also suffered from being overcooked. As for the Thai beef stir-fry special, it didn’t live up to its name and felt out of place on the menu—something we wouldn’t recommend ordering at a bar-level restaurant. In summary, while the kitchen’s speed and a few decent menu items were bright spots, the overwhelming atmosphere, inexperienced service, and inconsistent food quality made this a less-than-ideal spot for a special occasion. Perhaps on a regular night, the experience might be better.

We just had an amazing dinner at The Grove. We had the grouper and pasta special, scallops and steaks. Everything was delicious! But, what made the evening truly special was our waiter, Matt! Fantastic service. We never felt rushed and we wanted for nothing! We celebrated a dear friends birthday and the overall experience was truly great! We'll be spending more time at The Grove!

Very contemporary dining, we had the brisket potato skins and the elk, very good food!! Lovely staff.

Arrived on a Sunday morning with my family for brunch. Large restaurant with modern decor. Inside, and outside covered seating. Large menu and a full bar. Food and service were very good. We started with beignets. These were excellent and were as good ad those served in New Orleans. I had the breakfast burrito, which was filled to the max and very tasty. Some other entrees my family ordered were chicken & waffles, eggs Benedict, New England clam chowder, and french toast. Some cocktails we had were red sangria, and mimosas. The servers were very attentive. The restaurant was less than half full. ,

Quite honestly, I don't have much to say. I was not overly impressed, but nothing crazy happened that I'd give lower than 3 stars. We?went with a large group and the servers were great, but nothing special to write home about. The food was good, again was not overly impressed, especially with the higher prices. One of our party members' steak was cooked wrong, mentioned it to the server and they immediately brought it back to fix but took the entire plate so he was left with nothing while everyone else was eating their meals. Typically in a nicer place you would expect the waiter to leave the dish so they can enjoy their sides while the meat is recooked. It is nice, however, that they cut their own meats and bake their own bread - you rarely see that anymore in a restaurant. TLDR - not great, not bad. Will we return? Likely not

Great place for lunch or dinner. I've never had a bad meal here or problem getting a table. Our most recent experience was the dueling pianos event in the ballroom. The food was decent. The atmosphere felt like a wedding though. My husband and I were super disappointed. We love dueling pianos too. We typically go to lounge style. This was not that. As I said, I felt like it was a wedding with typical wedding songs. People dancing in the middle of the room. My suggestion would to place the pianos in the middle of the room. Add cocktail tables around them. Maybe not a dinner experience. lol. Completely different from what was put on... though I may be wrong. The event was sold out twice. If this is what the area wants, I do not.

This place is enormous & I love the very large bar. We've eaten here for their famous happy hour & also came in on Thanksgiving for drinks & dessert. Their other restaurant - Pier 22 has fabulous desserts. We enjoyed ourselves both times at the Grove & are signed up for their loyalty club. I will say though that I was very disappointed with the price of Buffalo Trace over a large ice cube - $22! When I inquired about the high price as I perused my bill, they checked the computer & noted that other bourbons that are higher end like Angel's Envy was $14 which is much more reasonable. If you get Buffalo Trace without the large rock - it's $20 which is still too high for a 2 oz pour!

My husband and I ate here recently with a big group of friends. We once again got ribs (this time it was just a half rack, I'm not even sure if a full rack was available like it was the last time we were here). Knowing that we didn't like the coleslaw that was to come on the side I asked if there was something we could substitute it with. I was told that I could pick out one of the sides and there would be no additional charge, unless it was the asparagus. I love asparagus, but I chose the roasted potatoes and was assured that there would be no additional cost. You can imagine my surprise when we were brought the bill and I WAS charged for the potatoes, two bucks. I reminded her that I was told that there would be no charge and she told me that she was told in the kitchen that she had to charge me. That's when she should have stepped up and told the kitchen that she had told me that there would be no charge, and then not charge me. You don't tell someone that there will be no charge and then charge them. You can let the customer know that there would be a charge in the future, but you don't charge when you said that you wouldn't. When we weren't brought a basket of rolls like we have received in the past I asked about it. I was told that they had recently decided to not serve rolls unless the customer asked for them. I feel that if they were trying to avoid waste by not bringing them out without being asked, they could at least offer them. My review of the food is as follows: my husband and I split the ribs. The two ribs that I had were perfect, sadly, his were not. He got the end that was burnt to a crisp and they were inedible. He did not tell me he had that problem, or I would have brought it to the attention of the waitress. The grouper artichoke gratin was just okay for me, but my husband seemed to enjoy it. The fries that came with the ribs were great, and the roasted potatoes that I had to pay $2 extra for were good. My husband says we won't be back...........I guess he really didn't care for the charcoal ribs.

Attended a financial talk at The Grove, which included a free lunch. I had heard good things about their food, so I was looking forward to it but unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to expectations. Lunch was served after the talk, and before eating, I went to wash my hands. That's when I noticed the burgers sitting outside the door, waiting to be served. This was disappointing, as it didn't seem like they took great care in handling the food. The burgers were served medium but had clearly been sitting for a while. While they were still warm, they lacked flavor and didn't stand out. I understand that this may not be their specialty, but it would have been nice if they had put a bit more effort into serving fresh, well prepared food for the group. Overall, a letdown considering their reputation hopefully, their regular menu offers a better experience.

This place is always solid. Been here on different occasions ; brunch, dinner in the dining room , hang out at the bar , meet group of friends on the back patio. Tonight I hung with a group of friends in the back patio for drinks, apps and some dinner. They have a great happy hour menu that's hard to beat ( both in price and good quality) Tonight I had a meatball appetizer ($6) from the happy hour menu, a Tito's vodka mule ($9) and a prosciutto fig flat bread. Had a great time, service was good and the food was on point. The place always has a somewhat higher end professional atmosphere.

Excellent for Brunch! Went to this restaurant for the first time for Brunch. We've only been here once and it was for this brunch. There were 7 of us meeting here on this Sunday. We arrived with a reservation and were seated immediately at 11am. When we arrived the restaurant was empty! In the winter when the snowbirds arrive this will not be the case!! The restaurant is large, spacious and beautiful. They have tables and chairs, booths and large tables for big groups. They can accommodate all size parties from large to small. They also have private party rooms. There is a large bar and a wine cellar. We were seated at a large booth and our server Julia came to take drink orders. I ordered an espresso martini and it was yummy. We ordered Beignets for the table to start. They were served with fresh berry coulis for dipping. For my brunch I ordered Eggs Benedict. They were the most delicious Eggs Benedict I've had in a long time!! They were prepared perfectly!! They were served with breakfast potatoes. The service was impeccable. Our server was Julia and she was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their meals and had a good time. This restaurant also has a decent sized covered patio.

Atmosphere - Good. As you enter the restaurant there is a large bar that seats about 20 people. There is tons of seating inside and a fairly large patio dining area. Service - Disappointing. To say that our server was not attentive would be a huge understatement. The restaurant was not busy and yet our server could manage to check with us after our entries arrived nor even after we finished the meal. However, did he spend plenty of time hanging out with another table of patrons. Food - Very Good. My wife and I shared an order of the meatball appetizer, which was excellent. My entree was the Stuffed Chicken. The chicken was lightly breaded and pan fried perfectly. It was stuffed with the perfect amount of bacon, cream cheese and a poblano cream sauce. The mashed potatoes were a little dry, but I requested extra sauce which I added to the potatoes. I ordered the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The cake was pretty good, but I have had much better. Overall Value - Very Good. The portion size was reasonable and the food tasted very good. In fact, had the service been better I would have considered giving the dining experience 5 stars

First time customer and I was amazed how large this restaurant is. There is inside and outside seating and a huge bar. The atmosphere is very modern and inviting. We had a drink at the bar before dinner and were there in time for happy hour. There is a huge drink menu at very reasonable prices. I ordered a Cosmopolitan and it was very good. We were a party of 4 and took an outside table to dine. There were only 3-4 other tables of diners so it was quiet enough that we could easily carry on a conversation. The menu is huge! There are probably 20 appetizers, lots of salads, and land and sea entrees. We started with a meatball appetizer, which was on the happy hour menu. 2 large meatballs with a great sauce and cheese. Definitely a 5. For my entree I chose the braised short ribs which were served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. We didn't wait long at all for food and it came out piping hot. My meal was delicious. The short ribs were super tender and the sauce was tasty. I couldn't have asked for a better meal. Where they fell one star short was service. Although the restaurant was mostly empty, once our server took our order, we never saw him again. Someone from the kitchen brings the food to your table so we didn't see our server. He never came to see if we wanted more drinks, which we did, or to see if our orders were correct. We finally tracked him down to order dessert. He brought the desserts before taking away our dinner plates. I would definitely return and hope for a different server.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner and it was a very nice meal. It was our first time eating at Grove and we would definitely eat there again. Drinks were good. Food was good and service was great.

Stopping in for the Thanksgiving feast and although we had some "challenges", everything worked out great. We have been doing the Thanksgiving buffet on and off since this was Polo Grill. We were in town this Thanksgiving so made reservations again. Stopped in for our 1:15 feast and was surprised they redirected us away from the ballroom to the dining room. We were seated and then handed some menus with $$$ on them. We were a little surprised expecting the buffet. Well, it turned out we accidentally made dinner reservations and not buffet reservations. OH NOOOOO!!!! We explained this to the waitress and then THANKFULLY Jennifer Bradtmueller, the General Manager, came to our table and our rescue. She said there was the possibility of a no-show for the buffet so we just ordered some drinks and waited. Jennifer stopped by and updated us several times and then came with the good news, and transferred us to the buffet area. She was a Thanksgiving blessing for sure! As usual we overdid the eating. Fresh rolls, turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, broccoli casserole, chicken and noodles, fresh green beans, prime rib carving station, shrimp, mussels, grouper cakes, salads, and a crazy good dessert bar. Everything was great and we waddled our way out to our car. Many thanks to Jennifer for making it a true Thanksgiving.

I came here for happy hour. They don't even have ranch sauce. Food was cold. Service was terrible. Don't waste your time.

Located in the middle of a busy business park with other restaurants movie theater and bars. They have a pretty extensive menu and a very hip vibe with both inside and outside dining. Wait staff was pretty efficient and we did not have to wait for service. I ordered a braised short rib and there was a tuna nachos, seared sesame tuna and pork osso bucco all was prepared well and a very solid meal. Definitely a return visit in the future.

Attended a beautiful event here recently. The restaurant is attractive and clean. The service is good and the food is merely okay, but I was eating from a limited menu, not the full menu so I'll have to go back and try what else they have to offer.

We only stopped at the Grove for drinks, but we'd love to go back and try the food! We had beer (can't mess that up lol) and espresso martinis. I prefer my espresso martini with baileys or kahlua and didn't think to ask for it made that way. It was good... but for me very strong espresso liquor flavor. Bartending staff was friendly. Atmosphere is great!

The interior of the restaurant is very nice. Our server was fabulous. Brought us water after being seated, share with us some specials and that happy hour was happening, which we appreciated. We ordered the 8oz prime rib dinner with twice baked potatoes and asparagus. The meat was prepared perfectly (medium-rare) and the sides were tasty. For the price not a bad meal at all. And did I mention our server waited for a fresh batch of rolls to come out of the oven to serve them to our table - perfect!

Watch your wallet! Two days following dinner I was notified by my credit card company that my 20% tip was changed to 84% tip by the restaurant or server. This is credit card fraud, it's illegal and hoping will be prosecuted however beyond that this leaves such horrible distaste for this multi million dollar company. Thank You Capital One!

Fantastic first visit. I wondered if there was any way the food would look like the amazing online menu pictures but it did. Good portions, great flavors. Had the Bison sirloin rare and it was full of flavor and cut like butter. My wife had the grouper piccata , I had a taste and it was very good. Friends had the seafood Cobb salad and jambalaya. Apps great, calamari wasn't very chewy at all and the tuna nachos had nice thick cuts of tuna. Escargot was prepared properly and was a nice treat Highly recommended

Went to see the so-called dueling piano's. Paid $250 for dinner and the entertainment. Dinner was good but very small quantity. Desert was good. Had to pay extra for anything to drink (iced tea etc.) the dueling piano's were a sad excuse for entertainment. Very disappointed . For the dueling piano 's I'd rate it a 2 stars. For the food 3.5 stars. Never more to return.

Sat at the bar for HH on 3/22. Amber provided great service and great cocktails. Her food recommendations were good. The braised short rib dnd the white trout catch of the day were very good. The bar is huge with low noise level, we loved it. We will be back.

We went to the Groove Saturday evening. It was a party of four. One of the best places to sit here is the bar for ambiance and decor, but it was full. We were seated outside, aside from being really hot the chairs were comfortable and ambience wasn't bad. Our waiter was a pleasant guy, but we waited for long periods of time to get drinks and food. I wasn't upset enough to never go back because I am very patient and we were just chilling and looking to just relax that evening anyway. The food was good, calamari was very tasty, French dip was decent and what one might expect for a French dip, the other person in my party said the fish and chips were fare, and the only criticism was the person that ordered the chicken referred to it as being small for an entree. Overall the food was decent and I would return for a meal in the future, but remember if it's a weekend keep in mind the wait times might be a little longer for your meals and drink. LiI'm patient enough and will return. Ps they make a good cocktail. Food 7.5 Ambiance 8.0 Service 7

Thanksgiving Dinner was about the worst we've ever experienced dining out despite it was Thanksgiving!! Prices go up and food quality is poor !

My husband and I had Thanksgiving there and the food was amazing. Huge portions great taste and flavor. Great drink drinks, our waitress was fantastic! The atmosphere is nice. This was our third time spending Thanksgiving at the Grove and will be back. Of course, we had to take our pumpkin pie home with leftovers.

Matt was exceptional, took his time to explain the menu. Did not rush us. Great experience and will definitely ask for him to be out waiter. Because of him, we will come back again

Had dinner last night with my husband and one friend (also from Miami like us) and a friend from Sarasota... It was the first time dining here for three of us and was suggested by our Sarasota friend... What a lovely place! We had an awesome server...Matt! We went with every suggestion he had from drinks (smoked Manhattan) to appetizers, (poppers, meatballs, deviled eggs, brisket potato skins), dinner, (the prime rib was awesome!) and finally dessert (peanut butter pie, and OMG carrot cake!!!) Matt certainly made our night at a new place enjoyable!! Can't wait to return on our next visit, and hopefully Matt will serve us again!!

I cannot believe and/or begin to explain the experience I witnessed tonight. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. I have been going to must restaurant in the area but Tonight was unacceptable. Waited almost an hour for our food, The place was too loud. Our $30 meals came out, the lamb roast being dry meat and very small sides you get a tree of broccoli on it which was so odd and honestly gross. Food was not up to par for the price and the hype. Someone approached the table offering a free dessert after the bad food but at that point all we want is to leave the restaurant. I would have taken my family to McDonald's from the beginning instead of choosing this. This used to be a very nice busy restaurant in the area but not anymore clearly something has changed.

Delicious food Hannah our server was fantastic and fun! Great ambiance and overall a great experience.

OUTSTANDING! Hubby and I ate here for Christmas Eve and we thoroughly enjoyed everything! Service was amazing and the ambiance is gorgeous. We ordered herb Chicken w/ mashed potatoes and a Lobster tail w/ wasabi tuna and sticky rice. Absolutely phenomenal! To finish, we had the Key Lime meringue graham cracker crust pie. Left very happy and full.

Matt was very professional and extremely personable. Friendly and funny. We were a group of 7 and Matt was very patient with all of us. He answered the many questions asked about the specials, regular menu, Happy Hour choices, etc. Matt added to an already pleasurable evening with my friends. We will all be back!

A variety of good food with a pleasant atmosphere. The bar area is very nice as well!

Derby Saturday was a nightmare! Had high hopes for the Grove. Not sure if it was new waitstaff or temps it was brutal. Server had zero knowledge of basic cocktails and the ingredients. Even the bar or restaurant manager came over, the 1st time he came in hot and heavy. Never argue with customers PERIOD!

Very large selection of items on the menu. Prices are a little high compared to other similar restaurants

The overall service was atrocious. It took 30 minutes to get a water, 40 minutes for a starter salad and who knows how long for the entrees. By the time our food got to us nothing seemed freshly cooked, it had been sitting under the hot lamp. I am not sure if it was a kitchen issue or a food runner issue, but for an establishment with those prices we definitely expect better. $150 later we ended up just taking most of the entrees home to eat later.

The food and service were absolutely amazing, and the outdoor dining experience was comfortable and invigorating. Brittany took great care of us; she was caring, attentive, and efficient. There was a small hiccup--my meal did not arrive at the same time as my wife's, which is completely normal in my experience because I just have that kind of luck. I thought that this wasn't a big deal, and per usual I didn't even mention it. But Brittany was concerned on my behalf and raised the issue to the manager, Dana, who comped my entire meal and gave us both a free dessert. That crème brûlée was the finest I've ever had outside of Paris, and not just because it was complimentary. Truly a first rate dining experience.

Flat bread soggy, water with lemons long wait, Mussels asked if they were fresh or frozen. The waitress had no clue. Then the manager came over and had no clue either second time never again.

Location, location, location. Very accessible for us. Food menu items vary for value, quantity and quality. (These are demanding times in the marketplace hereabouts highly saturated with many dining options.) Generally we use experienced servers for recommendations in making our choices. Service can also vary widely unfortunately among newer and experienced staff as well. Not the most engaging and customer oriented group. Ambience is great. Nice facility. Usually clean, though bathroom areas could use more frequent attention in cleaning for sure! We recommend for adult residents and adult visitors for casual comfortable lunch and dinner.

Went for thanksgiving, their menu was reduced to add a thanksgiving menu item (singular) for 45$. Asked if i could have some things changed and was told that no changes are able to be made to thanksgiving item so i could not even get a taste of turkey on thanksgiving dinner due to allergies to half of the items being offered on the thanksgiving menu, i could no alter any of the items for even french fries which were being offered on their regular menu. i ordered an appetizer of the few non-fish items due to a seafood allergy and went home hungry. Next time id prefer if you offered the thanksgiving items for order instead of only offering a 45$ plate with the stipulation that it is made like a tv dinner and can not be changed in any way. The table next to me asked if they could have a side of an item and it was all pre portioned and not available outside the 45$ plate. For thankgiving it was the least flexible and uninviting service choices. The workers were all great outside of the rules they were forced to follow for service so they are not at fault at all.

Not sure why so many folks like this ordinary restaurant. Just had a burger today, imagine the high level of sophistication!!! It was hard & cold. With cold fries (frozen??). How can one mess up a burger??

Wonderful experience - our waitress was wonderful, food was excellent and loved the special touch of a free dessert to celebrate my mentor's birthday at the end of our meal. Highly recommended!

The bar service I had tonight was amazing A charming young lady called Sohny was amazing. Remembered my name and drink after the first round. When I arrived she welcomed me and my party with an amazing smile and a joke !! Brilliant will definitely be back again soon for more bar drinks.

Tried this place for the first time for a quick brunch..... very cool spot with very friendly staff and a great environment. I got a quick sandwhich and it still was very tasty considering. I will definitely be back

Very impressed with this restaurant! The food was delicious, nice atmosphere, and our waitress Kim was absolutely fantastic! Even though it was quite busy she was right on top of things and was a pleasure to chat with. Will definitely be returning another time.

Had a great dinner here. The sushi was delicious! I recommend it. The seafood was fresh and prepared nicely. The espresso martini was delicious, as well as the crème brûlée - the star of the show. The grouper gratin appetizer was unique and tasty. The only disappointing item were the sliders, I don't recommend those but they have many other options! Our server Alex was super friendly and did great.

We really want to like Grove, but they're not helping. This was our 3rd visit when a friend invited us. We ordered beverages, I had a beer. It came in about a 6 ounce glass. I do like my beer and I do like a pint glass, so I was WTH? I asked the waitress about a pint glass and my 2nd one arrived in a pint glass. Same price. ?? We ordered the calamari appetizer and it never did show up. Ooops, but no "sorry." Probably for the best, since the previous time we had the calamari appetizer and it was not good. The food was just OK. Our friend ordered a 2nd glass of wine when the entrees were delivered and it didn't show up until we were done and looking for the check. The bill came as a QR code with the option of paying on your phone. Cool! No. I pulled it up and there were all kinds of charges on there that were not ours. WTH! So Grove, I'm trying to like you, but c'mon help me out!

Great food and amazing atmosphere and service ! Have been back serval times and always great

Enjoyed the special prix fixed menu this week, we had the mini wedge salad, the duck and the lamb, twice baked potato, cheese cake and pistachio bar. 45$ each. Yummy service great as usual, Enjoyed the bar area.

We again dined at The Grove and enjoyed our exceptional dinner special of roasted duck with blueberry sauce. Our server was Lydia ("Lidi"), who was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and pleasant!

10/10 Our server Sarah and her assistant Carly made for an amazing brunch. I have never experienced bottomless mimosas where our server anticipated our needs and ensured we never had an empty glass. From the food to the attentive service, it was the best brunch we've had in a long time. Paola the manager was so sweet and you can tell why Sarah was able to give the service she does. Clearly the manager empowers their servers to do what's best for their guests. Best experience ever.