Bonifay C. C.
 

Just a word or two in praise of our newest country club restaurant.

My friend and I had dinner there last Sunday night - 01/21, between AFC and NFC championship games. Not as many customers as I'd have expected, but, the welcome was genuine, and the service prompt and friendly. AND, the food excellent. In fact, I am just about to re-heat what I brought home of my Jambalaya for my supper, tonight.

For those of us who live north of CR-466-A, this attractive venue seems a long, long way away! And, it's true. I will probably never go there in my golf cart - estimated ride from Sunset Pointe = 30 minutes - but, by automobile, barely as much as 6 miles!

Most, if not all of us, have driven that far for a really, really good dinner any number of times in our previous incarnations!

So glad to have an enjoyable new place to enjoy other Villagers! ;)

SWR
:beer3:

We dined at Bonifay tonoight. Just a few comments. The inside seating area seemed extremely noisy. We chose to sit outside and the noise level was much lower. The decorating is very nce. It's kind of a beach theme. Service was great. They have Sam Adams on tap which is a plus. The Atlantic salmon was tasty but a little on the salty side. The garlic mashed potatoes were very good. The Bonifay burger was good, cooked to perfection (medium) and the bun was toasted just right. The french fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with just the right amount of salt. Portions were good and prices reasonable. The chocolate bread pudding with ice cream was fantastic.

It is noisy inside, not much to absorb sound, very cute but not...I am trying to think of a word, maybe cosy? relaxing?

Decent food but not awesome.

If you live close and want a decent meal and a cocktail its a good choice. But me being a bachelor who does'nt cook thinks any place to eat and drink is good.:coolsmiley:

Went back a second time with golf girls and ordered something different and sat outside and had a totally different, and much better experience.

They weren't too busy when we arrived and we had a wonderful server.
Very enjoyable!!!!

Had lunch there last Friday. It was pretty nice, but yes very loud. I had their club sandwich which was loaded with the traditional club sandwich fixens'. My only complaint was that the bread wasn't toasted. Maybe that is a FL ting, but I didn't even think to ask for it to be toasted becasue I have never had a club that came otherwise. The fries were very nicely done.
Suzanne

Gracie,
 

Thanks for posting again. Our experience in November was the same as your first visit so I think we will give it a try when we comes down in March and we'll sit outside. Seems like the atmosphere inside makes it OK but not as inviting as the outside venue. Just wondered about the noise from the outside bar. Is there seating around the side away from the bar. Seemed like the bar went all the way across the front.

LW888

I agree. The decor suggests circus tent, not beach, it's very noisy, and the food is just OK. Won't be going back.

I guess this is what really makes the world go around. I get a completely different feeling about Bonifay CC. The decor makes me feel happy, upbeat and gives me a feeling that "all is right with the world." It begins as I drive up the driveway. As far as the food, I eat to live, not live to eat, so it doesn't matter to me. Sorry I won't be seeing you there.

momesu, I'm a club sandwich lover, and I've never heard of one delivered on untoasted bread. You were probably kinder than me - I probably would have sent it back. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and here is what it says: "A club sandwich, also called a clubhouse sandwich or double-decker, is a sandwich with two layers of fillings between 3 slices of toasted bread."

me,.......I prefer the club on untoasted bread in a circus tent so will be thrilled with bonifay. jmho.......:popcorn::popcorn:

There is a lot of that "kinder" going around here and often it hurts more than helps Like the lady who stopped in the middle of her right turn for a stopped golf cart and was almost rear ended by the car behind her and then by me. She was trying to be "kind" but ....I suppose if TV was american Idol, a show I detest, I would be Simon Cowell.

Where are you going with this?
 

Rubicon, I thought we were talking about Bonifay CC? You lost me on the rear ending of the golf cart....

I think rubicon was using the example as an act of apparent "kindness", when in fact stopping at the gate to let golf carts by creates problems for cars behind.

LW888

I am an admitted wimp when it comes to complaining about things. Guilty as charged, was raised in a family that avoided confrontation at all costs and learned my lessons well. Anyone want to come and walk all over me???? :faint:

Suzanne

Not to hijack but could not resist. Great looking dogs you have! Heres are 2 ****zu/ Maltese brothers; Ben and Jerry.

keithwand
 

Thanks. Had to enlarge to see Ben & Jerry-cute! For 14 yrs. we had a 5 lb. Maltese named Smidgen, a 10 lb Toy Poodle and a 15 lb Bichon. THe kids called them our stackable dogs. The challenge was that they all became senior citizens at the same time so it was difficult losing them one after the other.so closely. Currently we have a 13 and a 3 yr. old. I'm sure you are enjoying your two. I love having them in pairs. Better than 3 for me,not enough hands!. .........now back to regular programming.

LW888

Ditto!

I agree, better for drinks and appitizers outside. A fine dining dinner experience inside it is not. DG
P.S. Heard the food and service has gone downhill At Cane GCC and everybody should stop eating there until after April.

Now where did you hear that? And why after April?

Help yourself and pass it around................. :popcorn:

Bill :wave:

I may have made it up so I don't have to wait so long to get seated.
I also heard that they are giving away free drinks at all the other C.C.
DG

Bonifay C. C. Strike Three!
 

Tried 3 times. First for dinner. Small portions, Second, ordered a wrap with chips. Wrap was delivered, but no chips. Hard to find waitress. Really got annoying. Third was the charm(?). Ordered hamburger medium rare. Got one that looked like a hockey puck, crisp around the edges. Showed waiter and he agreed. Rarely return food, but asked for another hamburger medium rare. Meals brought to others in party. When they were finished eating I was still waiting. When asked where was my hamburger, I was informed that my 'Special order' would be ready soon. My hamburger arrived along with the check. Ended up eating while the others sat there and watched. Another annoying thing about hamburgers there, Any 'add ons', ie., grilled onions, beacon, etc. are $1 each. I asked for grilled onions, and for a dollar, I got about 3 strands of onion.
I WAS thankful that I wasn't charged for the ketchup i put on the hamburger.

OK Bonifay, I get the message. I won't be coming back.

I agree with the above posts - this is not up to par for a new Country Club. Ate there last week and ordered the filet which was so peppery could not hardly eat it with awful limp asparagus and cold rice. My sons salmon was very fishy and over all thought the decor as very tacky for a new Country Club. Even if it is close to home probably will not go back.

Ate at Bonifayfor dinner yesterday and have to agree with all the other negative posts. Place was only half full when we arrived at 4:30 but the noise level was very loud. By the time it filled up the noise level was so bad we could barely hear each other. Both our meals were not hot when delivered but we weren't interested in hanging around the place so we just ate them as served. Decor is circus-like and not very welcoming. It was a Wednesday with pouring rain yet the place was full and folks were waiting so I can't use that as a gauge of the quality of a restaurant. Don't expect to return.

Don't have a lot of experience at Bonifay but last Friday ordered a hamburger there after golf and ordered it medium rare. It came out that way and was delicious. It was large too and it was as good as the burgers at Cane which I think are excellent.

John

As long as the Sam Adams are $1.68, we will be going back. Love it loud, love the decor, and love to sit out back at the bar. Keep the negative posts coming, leaves more room for us!!!

We're going there tomorrow with our card playing group - looks like I'll order a burger and a Sam Adams.


.

The pot roast dinner was great

Ordinary
 

As are many restaurants in TV, it is just ok. Small portions. Have not found any as good as RedSauce.

forget the Signature Steak and wedge !
 

A group of 4 stopped by Bonifay on 4/10 for dinner. I ordered the Signature steak and wedge. When it arrived with our other meals I, along with the rest of our group, was amazed at how tiny the Signature steak was. It was so small we all agreed the restaurant should have been embarrassed to even send it out and call it a signature steak. When I questioned the size of the steak to the waitress she took it back and asked if I would like to order something else which I did; but it arrived after the other 3 at our table finished eating. I had to watch them finish their meal and then they had to wait for me to finish my meal while I felt rushed. The waitress offered us no apology or anything else. As you might imagine our dinning experience was not at all what it should have been. BTW The other 4 meals were good (fish and chips, raisin meat loaf , jambalaya, ?). We ate outside it was nice and not noisy. Mixed drinks left something to be desired but the Beer was good.

Went to Bonifay last night and was shocked that their happy hour is from 2to5. Thats kind of odd. Guess they make the money on drinks. A glass of wine was 6.50 we didnt drink there and stopped at Beef O Bradys had a half carfe of wine and a pitcher of beer 11.00. I guess Bonifay is too sophisticated I'll stick with the Beefs

Happy Hour
 

Happy Hour changed when the clocks did. Happy hour is 2pm-5pm. This way you'll pay full price for drinks with your meal. My opinion only; since they're the only game in town on that side I feel they're sticking it to the people. Except the burgers the portion are small and after happy hour the liquor prices are high. Time will tell what happens.

We were there on Saturday night at sunset. The 4 of us sat outside, and had wine and split a couple of orders of buffalo wings. I couldn't have been happier. The service was friendly and efficient, the wings were hot and the wine was cold. It was not busy at all, maybe because the weather was a little cool. I will say that I thought their appetizer menu was a little limited, but what we had was good. It was a lovely setting and we'll be back.

I loved the pot roast as well.

Bonifay
 

We went to Bonifay for lunch the day we came to TV to pick out our interior and exterior package. Since we will be living in Sanibel in another week I have to say we were both so disappointed. The menu was so sparse compared to the other country clubs . The experiance and food it is was ok, that is about all we can say about it. My husband is a Florida cracker and he expected it to be more tropical than it is and maybe a little classier since it is a Country Club. We love the casual lifestyle but I guess our expectations were too high after being in so many other of TV country clubs at prior visits. After listening to all of your comments we will try it again and hope it makes a nicer impression. It is walking distance from our new home.
See you in 6 days...:wave:

Mrsyarbie I so agree with you about the decor. For a country club it's disappointing. To me it's a cheap imitation of a beach restaurant and lacks class. The food is disappointing as well. :mad:

Thank you Duffys Mom I am glad I was not the only one.I agree with you 100%...

Took my family to Bonifay Friday nite while they were here visiting. Since it opened, I have been a big fan of this retaurant and have eaten there weekly. Friday night was awful!!!! I was a fan of the salmon and the meat loaf. The salmon tasted as if it had an entire salt shaker poured on it and was raw in the middle. They replaced that with meatloaf which was two slices of meatloaf which had been recooked on a greasy grill. My sister's talapia was also very salty and the rest of the meals also below average. The manager on duty was insincere in his apology for the salmon and never came to ask about the meatloaf. Nice try Bonifay, you impressed me for a few months but that is it for me!!

What is the problem with new Villages restaurants? They always start out good and then go down hill. Then they are years recovering. Is it that the lease cost is to high? The margin expectations? The quality of management? There is something very pervasive about this issue. Havana was great the first 3 to 6 months and then fell apart. Same with Red Sauce. They have not recovered yet. Sounds like Bonifay is going down the same path. You would think there would be lessons learned about this and that the problems could be resolved.