Bijou Garden Cafe

After leaving Bijou, I asked myself, was that inedible or just intolerable? Not a great question as you are leaving a restaurant. The duck entree made me wonder why I wasn’t eating chicken. The breast was dry to the point of inedible, the leg and thigh were mildly moist at best, and the skin, the piece de resistance of any duck, was a limp piece of flaccid leather. The Caesar salad app was a rendition of Trader Joe’s romaine covered in pre-shredded Parmesan with no anchovy in sight, smell or taste. Two stars for the lovely service and decent drinks. The food was forgettable at best. And I hope I forget I ate it. Oh - the crème brûlée was soupy. An embarrassment really.

Food was so so but our waiter was really weird and honestly just rude. We were not their typical customers from what I gathered (everyone else dining looked to be a good 40 years older than us) but that’s no excuse. This waiter was the most rude and just plain odd guy I’ve ever encountered. Also do not listen to his recommendations nor should you let him tell you what to order. We asked for two of something for dessert and he said he would bring out one and if we wanted another he would do it but apparently he knew we would be fine with one. We were not but of course we’re not going to ask for another. Worst waiter, will not be returning solely because of him.

Great food. Very informative staff. Very nice ambiance. Recommend making reservations. They always have a nice live Jaz musician playing piano or guitar. Plan on a 2 hour outing. Great place to take your sweetheart

Last week we had one of the best dinners we have had in a long time at Bijou Garden Café, in Sarasota, Florida. It is a small intimate restaurant featuring French/Continental cuisine. White table clothes, great food, live piano player, and outstanding service. The waiter was knowledgeable and came back frequently to check up on us. The water glasses got refilled before they got half empty. This was a birthday dinner and the service staff, bartender and chefs hit it out of the park. Thank you Bijou for a lovely evening.

Great service. I had the salmon which needed more sauce and the polenta cake was very dry. My friends had the duck and short ribs and they said it was very good.

Delicious GROUPER! Awesome maple tart. The bar tender went above and beyond with the drinks! (Jonathan?) Cathy was wonderful. She was the server and made the cappuccino PERFECTLY!

My friend and I had an early dinner on New Year's Eve. I had the pistachio crusted grouper. It was prepared exactly as I requested. The grouper was juicy, potatoes very creamy and the asparagus so fresh and green with a perfect crunch. We shared a bottle of the unoaked chardonnay which complemented the dish. Eveything was yummy. Our waitress was attentive and engaging. Coopers Hawk is on my list of favorite Sarasota restaurants!