Bonifay is open
 

had dinner last night. undoutatly the best food in the villages. the portions were large. service by david was excellent. we found a new hang out.

GREAT BURGERS! And yes David is a fine server.

But will people praise product and service one year from now??????

Decided to check out the Bonifay pro shop after hitting the new Sarasota driving range late this afternoon and was surprised to see the restaurant open. So I called my wife and she promptly met me there so we could try it out. Had a drink outside and then dinner inside. Love the decor and the menu is much better than we had expected. She had pot roast and I the beef stroganoff. Both were very good and decent portions. They are presently having a soft opening, working out the bugs etc, until the grand opening on the 28th. Happy hour is 2pm to 6pm. I am testing my memory trying to remember some of the menu items but here goes:

Beer Battered Fish & Chips
Filet Mignon
Beef Stroganoff
Pot Roast
Chicken Parm
Salmon, I think it said BBQ not sure
And of course salads, sandwiches and burgers.

I think they also said something about it being a quiet opening for now, Oops!
Looks like Bonifay will soon become a favorite of ours.

We've been so disappointed with Havana's food and are eagerly awaiting Bonifay. Hopefully they will attain and maintain high standards for food quality and service.

Let's start a betting pool on what day they start to get bashed on TOTV.
I pick tomorrow. What do you say? $1.00 a person? Of course I could still lose
today there's over 5 hours til midnight. I wanted to do this for the new place at Town
Square, but someone complained before I could post.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot ....IMHO.

First Impressions
 

Went to Bonifay tonight. Very good service,food was very good had the sea food gumbo,wife had pesto chicken Pasta both had soup. All was very good. After dinner we hit the bar also very good. Will deffinate be back. Hope it keeps up. spoke with the manager he has very positive feelings for the people and the resteraunt. Happy hour is 2 to 6 at both the inside and outside bars. Actual opening is the 28th but check them out. PS Hope the pool fails we need a good Southern End club.

I thought the same as I read the first post. Does hoping "they keep the good service up" or "will people still feel that way next year" count as soft bashing? What the h$^% does that all mean?

Hell no...
 

That's not bashing. Remember I have tomorrow in the pool...

:bigbow:My husband and I ate there last night, too!
The food was great, and the staff was very eager to please. Drinks were great, especially the Key Lime Martini!
I had Lime Chicken Salad, and my husband had Meatloaf. Wonderful!
Forget the "pool," and waiting for someplace to fail! It looked great, was great, and with community support will stay great! Glass can be 1/2 full, you know, and it can stay that way!:bigbow:

ZOOMmmmmmmm
 

:duck: Duck... That was the intent of my post going over your head.

IMHO

My husband and I went to Bonifay yesterday, Sunday afternoon. We sat at the bar, Gary was our bartender, took excellent care of. He makes a mean BLOODY MARY.We had the potato soup and the coconut shrimp, very very delightful. I love the place, will definitetly go back there. Ginny

2nd time
 

Went to Bonifay for late lunch stayed for cocktails and had a lite dinner . place had a good crowd,food was good, Happy Hour prices were very good place was pretty crowded considering they don't open till the 28th. outside bar is great and what a view!

Their web site http://bonifaycountryclub.com/index-4.html includes the menu.

Very Busy Monday Night
 

Tried to have dinner there about 6:00 Monday night. Parking lot was packed. They estimated 90 minutes to get a table so went elsewhere.

We ate there last night with a party of 8. Most of us really liked the place, but there were a few areas of improvement noted - and mentioned to the manager who was going around actively soliciting comments (a good sign). The happy hour prices were very good and the beer selection was better than most of the CC bars.

location?
 

Where is /bonifay?

Hi I read your comments about Bonifay...how far is it from Bonita? I am renting there for the month of Dec.

We had a wonderful early dinner this evening. It was my mother's birthday. Happy hour drinks were good. Had the spinach salad with goat cheese and the Creole Jambalaya. Delicious food and excellent service. We ate outside on the patio with nice views.

VERY close to Bonita. Odell to Morse..south on Morse past 466A to Sanibel.

:wave: Had dinner after golf Sunday. We had a group of 12. Service, food, p;rices etc. were great. Went back last night with our men's group of 8. We arrived about 6. It seemed everyone in the villages showed up. Every seat at both bars was taken, all tables were full, no seating for at least 30 minutes and then they could not take a food order for at least 45 minutes. We left.:crap2:

4 of us had dinner Saturday nite, they have some bugs to work out with the food and service,but that's why you have a soft opening.Did anybody else feel the lights were really bright,especially for an evening meal.I don't recall ever going to dinner at a restaurant that the lighting was soooooooooooo bright.I'm sure by the time of the official opening, everything will be just fine.

The staff probably forgot to turn down the dimmers as it got darker. They were probably busy. The mgr. needs to decide the lighting level. Always a battle, some folks like it dark, others grouse that it is too read the menu.

Had dinner at Bonifay the other night
 

and I still prefer Cane Gardens, particularly if we have company. As mentioned the lighting was bright. The service was good and the food was OK but we found the menu rather ordinary. It is not on our preferred list. It reminded me of a Burger place on the Beach, which might be exactly what they were wanting. I thought it would have a little more style for a Country Club setting.
Went back to Cane Gardens last night and had a great meal (Ambrosia Chicken Salad wrap & Chicken Marsala) from a new menu. We still can say we have never had a bad meal there. That's my 2 cents.


LW888

Is Bonifay open on Thanksgiving? Heard it wasn't opening til the 28th but guess not. Thanks. Toni

Speaking of the pool... (This is not bashing; it's just a question) Where is it? We looked everywhere for the pool at this new Country Club. Isn't it built yet, or doesn't it have a pool? :confused:

2 miles

We tried Thursday evening at 6pm for dinner ----1 hour 45 minute wait

guess no one likes it there !!!!

Ended up at Cane --wonderful as usual

The Club food was spectacular, as well as the service. If you have not gone yet ,you must go. The beautiful golf course, and the sunset just made the evening that much better.

NYC, NJ, PA, Buttonwood The Villages

Living has been " never Better "

This Country Club will not have a pool. I have heard a couple of rumors that is has something to do with the Priority Pool Program not getting the interest that some had thought it would.

Hmmm. Thanks for the info, spk7951.
I have to say I'm surprised. The Priority Pool Program is still less expensive than maintaining my own pool -- PLUS, they bring me food and drinks! lol

Looks Like a Pool?
 

The structure to the left as you enter the road to Bonifay sure looks like what you see at other priority pool locations. Guess we'll stop and take peek on our next trip to Bonifay.

Pretty sure that is the pool ! It has a very large bar area and nice view.

Golf-Tinker, that's what we thought. There's a large dressing room area and shiny (water?) behind the bushes. On closer inspection, the dressing rooms turned out to be a golf cart garage, and the shiny area was the wet driveway into the building.

Mudder, did we look in the wrong place? Is there another place for the pool? A bar area with a nice view would certainly be a bonus!

Keep in mind, we went searching for the pool after enjoying dinner and happy hour, and it was dark outside. We could have missed it. The good news is that we found our car. ;)

Fernandia pool to the left of Bonifay restaurant is neighborhood pool. We did not see a pool AT Bonifay CC. We also heard there would be less pools at CCs because they are not being used. We had dinner at Bonifay on Tuesday night. Had the fish and chips and a cup of crab&corn chowder, very good. Had a glass of Pinot Grigio on happy hour (wonderful). At 5PM they ran out of white house wines (all) and the more expensive wines would not be happy hour priced. Not a problem, it is a soft opening to work out kinks. Neighbors went to dinner there Wednesday night, still no house white wines (All). The truck hadn't arrived. Hello, Publix is down the road! I'm sure kinks will be worked out before the 28th. Had great service from Dan.

The two of us went for lunch on Monday. Food was okay but long wait for the soup. Server explained that the kitchen staff got in late and they were still warming everything up. Soup came after about 30-40 minutes followed almost immediately by the entree. Our ticket was added up wrong and had to be corrected after we pointed out the mistake.

Our golf group wanted to go on Tuesday for lunch so I went along. Servers explained that they were out of beef dishes including the hamburgers and some sandwiches. Some ordered fish and chips. What they got was nothing like what I had the previous day (looked much better/different batter/bigger portion). My fish sandwich had very little fish.

Both days, the front of the house staff was very friendly and attentive. Kitchen still needs work. But that's what soft openings are for. Don't think we'll be back until after they really open.

can you get menus for all the country clubs online?

Had lunch on Thursday. Nice looking place but pretty noisey. Lunch selections were French Dip and Rueben Sandwiches. The beef on the French Dip tased foul to both of us. Either loaded with preservatives, spoiled or simply from a cheap prepared piece of beef. The Rueben had Saurkraut that was very bland tasting, and corned beef that Toojays would be embarassed to serve. They also neglected to include the Russian dressing on the sandwich so I asked for a side and spread it myself. Far too long a drive for the kind of mediocre food we were served.

Save yourself. If you think Havana is bad, wait until you try Bonifay..... I think they run a close race. I can only hope that their "soft opening" will encourage them to offer a better menu with better food an service. I'm really wondering about those who are raving over the quality of the food there???? Ummmmmmm