Allen H.
Yelp
We had a party of six for dinner at Stirrups. This was our first visit in over two years, and I was really looking forward to it. I have enjoyed the menu and the wine list from past visits.
As we entered the dining room, I immediately made an observation. I live in The Villages and often joke that my top five local restaurants list only has two entries, and they only get on the list because they have linen tablecloths. My observation was surprise that Stirrups doesn't have tablecloths anymore either.
I had reviewed the wine list beforehand and had narrowed my choices down to two different bottles of white and red. The reds were a Don Melchor cabernet sauvignon from Concha y Toro of chile with a long story behind it, and The Prisoner Red Blend. The whites were a white Chateauneuf du Pape from Le Nerthe and the Domaine Huet Vouvray Sec from the Loire Valley. Having just had a very nice dinner at a restaurant in Bluffton, SC (they had tablecloths) where I made the mistake of ordering the wine before hearing the specials, I held off on ordering just yet.
Examining the menu, I noticed that the number of selections seemed much smaller. There were only two fish items: scallops and the fish of the day. It was interesting that the fish of the day, unnamed of course, was already priced and indicated how it would be prepared. Oddly due to the small number of menu selections, there were no special entrees. I opted for the larger filet mignon, she crab soup, and a mushroom side. Then I ordered the Don Melchor and a glass of the Schloss Trocken riesling.
We owned a home in Charleston, SC for almost 20 years and I have had my share of she crab soup. This soup contained a goodly portion of old bay, which I would not consider a core ingredient. But I did think the soup was delicious and included a generous portion of crab - delivered to the table in a bowl with the soup then added. The filet was cooked as requested, the mushrooms looked like honey ring mushrooms and were a bit salty. Others ordered a sirloin, crab cakes, cobia (the fish of the day), and scallops. I heard no complaints. I enjoyed the food and would look forward to returning.
The Don Melchor was terrific. We tried to visit the winery during a cruise but could not get back to the ship in time. So I had a driver take us to the "Costco of Chile" where they had it for sale, but it was more expensive than back home, so I didn't buy it. This was my first taste. It seems like it is made for immediate drinking, the tannins were gone. I am not sure you can age it, but it was great tonight.
Our waitress was attentive, but her support staff somewhat less so. It took a long time to be served, and only a handful of tables were occupied for our mid-week visit. Back to the support staff, I might have been harsh. He was very attentive to keeping water glasses filled, but we did not get our bread until we were eating dinner, and didn't get the butter until we were almost finished.
All told, it was a nice evening - a little pricey. Also, there was a 20% service charge, possibly due to our party size, but I saw no reference to it on the website, the Open Table reservation, or the menu. We will come back, but it was maybe a bit lower than expectations.