Taverna Red
 

We had heard rave reviews about this restaurant. We went Saturday and it was a great disappointment. We should have gotten suspicious when as soon as we sat down we overheard the 4 ladies at the next table, who were getting ready to leave, comment how bad their dinner had been. Has anyone else encountered the same problem?

Where is this restaurant? Have not heard of it before.

We have had 3 great meals at Taverna Red! The onion soup is the best.
We found the staff wonderful & the food is very good....give them another try

The restaurant is located in Baylee Plaza on 27/441 on the south side if you're heading towards Ocala. We've been there twice now and have had great meals both times. Could have been an off night or something.

I've had food there with a group and thought the quality and presentation were superb. You may have had an "off night". Too bad.

We have eaten there many times and it has been very good. Once, probably when the chef was off, it was just so-so.........Try them on Sunday, they have a $10.00 special, salad and a choice of about six entrees.......not bad!

Poor performance by service and cooks at Thanksgiving.
 

Had three poor meals this Thanksgiving at Taverna Red even if I have heard rave reviews from some about their food.

Steak had a great deal of gristle in it and it was a $20 steak.

The salmon was sweet which really put off that diner.

While the turkey dinner I got was very stingy on the turkey offered. It was mostly stuffing with a small amount of turkey on top.

The green beans were quite good as was the freshly baked bread but the server only gave us a very small loaf of bread and never came back to offer more.

Refills on the drinks were also very slow at arriving despite the fact that there were not that many people there yet around 1 p.m.

:crap2:Yes, don't feel like the lone ranger here. We too were encouraged to try this restaurant only to discover that the service and food was disappointing. Remember when you ask for responses or other opinions, its limited to their personal preferences and taste or lack of it... This place is over-rated and the fool is lousy. A good restaurant shouldn't have to be given a second chance even if the chef wasn't on duty on any given evening. Consistency is a good indication as to whether or not a restaurant will maintain a good reputation. This one is not up to par....

I ate there about a year ago with a group of people and the food was just mediocre. Would not go back.

Ate there once; that was enough.

We had dinner there did not like it .I well never go back

We ate there tonight for the first time and were a little disappointed. The food, (we both had vegetable spaghetti) was certainly ok for the price $11.50 but the server was lousy. He was slow in acknowledging us, never brought a straw as requested, slammed the food on the table and ran off before we could ask for salt, pepper, cheese, etc and never came close enough that we could get his attention. He never offered to refill our water glasses but I noticed he was quick in refilling beer and wine glasses at nearby tables! The ok food could have been made much better with decent service. We probably won't make the effort to go back!

As an aside, it is my observation that you will find many different opinions on the quality of food mostly based on the gourmand's geographical and perhaps ethnic persuasion, ie, I'm from the south and I love collards, grits and cornbread so give me Cracker Barrel! Others find that gross and would rather partake of a sandwich consisting of some mystery meat, pre-chewed on a grill, slathered with cheese and commonly called a Cheesesteak! Yuck! It just depends on one's acquired tastes and everyone is entitled to their opinion. It's kind of like the phrase, "One man's junque is another man's treasure"! Thank God there are plenty of restaurants and cuisines to choose from in and near TV!

You last paragraph should be an automatic post to every post with an opinion of a restaurant.

To each his own.
 

Good point wendyquat.

I was very surprised with the meal at Taverna Red, though, given how good the reviews on the Villages Gourmet Club were for this place.

http://home.comcast.net/~thevillages...lub/page2.html