I agree. This would go over well in Brownwood but not Spanish Springs.

I hope you were not one of those complaining "Spanish Springs is dying".

I don’t see the Ribeye listed as prime. It’s the only kind to serve in an upscale restaurant

When it is MP normally prime. That is how the prime meat is listed at Chop House and Harvest. I had a prime delmonico at Chop House Friday night.

They need to be specific. It should never have to be assumed. Capital Grill is the standard and they proudly assert it

Will definitely check it out - looks promising, will be anxious to see their “Catch of the day” selections. Will give me a reason to drive up north to Spanish Springs.

They were just in Wildwood at Sparr Bldg on Sunday.

Here is their schedule.

Tampa, FL | Cousins Maine Lobster

I read these comments and laugh. Posting after posting that The Villages lacks fine dining, Spanish Springs is dying and Villagers north of 466 will not support restaurants in Spanish Springs. Well here the chance to prove them all wrong.

Are the prices expensive? The fish and chips are about $2.00 more than at McCall’s. Can Villagers north of 466 afford such luxuries? Has anyone looked at the prices of the condos in Spanish Springs? Sure, the is a sufficient base to support this restaurant. Will I go? Sure, but not weekly. Date night, special occasions, having guest in town are all good reasons to go.

I don't get it
 

is everyone who lives in The Villages that poor and can't afford a nice lunch or night out for dinner? Too little choices, too high prices, not enough diversity, too much of the same thing. We have it too good here it seems in the grand scheme of things. I know who cares.

Today was grand opening, so far no reviews. 4 days at Disney, so will be weeks before eating out again

For those of you who think the menu is high priced, note that virtually everything is high priced. We had a mediocre dinner last night at Ruby Tuesday in Spanish Springs, a restaurant that I've always thought had a decent standard of food and prices. We had no appetizers, a simple chicken with pasta dish and the fried shrimp with fries, one glass of wine, no desert. The bill with a 20% tip was $60.00. Welcome to the new world. I sincerely hope the new restaurant in Spanish Springs is highly successful, and we plan to try them out soon, but I wonder if their timing isn't unfortunate.

Mmmmm lobster grilled cheese. Reminds me of Dino's in North Haven. That was one of their specialties.

I think they will do well. As far as timing goes...... Farmshed opened in (off season) JUNE. That timing was unfortunate! :doh:

I agree that they will do well. Opening at season was a smart move. I spoke to a couple of people who had dinner there and they were very pleased with the food. I have a reservation for next week.

The wife and I ate there last night. It was very busy, crowded and loud. The clam chowder was good. The catch of the day was swordfish. I had blackened tuna and she had the platter but swapped out the salmon for double haddock. Both liked our dish. FMK asked me how I liked it. Told him I had to send back my Ahi to recook well done. $90 with my usual 20%.

Fine Dining? Fish-N-Chips? Sorry, mutually exclusive.

Disagree. The fish and chips at BlueFin are excellent and am sure they will be great at
Coastal.

I was using Fish and Chips as a common item on both menus for comparison.

Why would you classify this as a special occasion place if the prices are basically the same as McCall's ?

most people understood what you were saying , the anti everything is to high crowd that never go to these places doesn’t care what anyone says

But, but there are Villagers pining for fine dining here in TV. Does that mean they’re going to splurge on the McRib that is back?

The average villager wants the food delivered fast under 12.00 and enough to bring home for 2 days. Thankfully there are enough of us who want good food, 22 plus for an entree is fine and we do not want to bring home food.

Dinner there last night. WOW, Rhode Island Calamari was thick, meaty and tender. I had the snow crab legs and wife loved the lemon trout. Service was over the top, another great addition to the FMK lineup.

That’s not necessarily true. Live lobsters are flown down from up north in cold water tanks. Some super markets have had them in tanks and some restaurants have tanks in the back for them.

I think that everyone needs to take a break and realize that there is a wide variety of people we’re at a wide variety of wealth and income levels. Some live in multi million dollar premier homes and some live in patio villas and manufactured homes. One of the great things about The Villages is that at the squares and in al of the various clubs, we all mix together and no one cares. We have high end restaurants and McDonalds and everything in between.
Good luck to FMK. Hope they’ll do well. If not for you for whatever reason it might be for someone else. I don’t understand all the bickering.

No I used to live in the Spanish Springs area. Realistically, there are more less expensive homes and an older population in that area.

Certainly haven't proven that in the Spanish Springs area where every restaurant that tried to bring in more upscale food over the past 5 years has closed. FMK has deep pockets and can withstand losses at one restaurant for awhile so we will have to wait and see if this one eventually closes or the menu changes to more reflect Orange Blossom Country Club.

You got me, i will be giving it a try next week.

Do you really think wealth here should be measured by the price of the house?REALEY ??

I'm sure they'll do fine. They do a good job with Orange Blossom Country Club. I still bristle about having to pay $9 for a HOTDOG and chips for crying out loud. But it's one of the few restaurants where you can even get a dog around here. They're good dogs. Just - c'mon. 9 DOLLARS for one hotdog? They have really great haddock. I like their lemon-butterfish too. They do something really weird with their squash/zucchini veggie side: they slice them like cucumbers and just - heat them up I guess? No seasoning. So I take them home along with half the rice that comes with the entree. I cube the veggies, and stir-fry them with soy and garlic. That plus the rice makes for a filling nutritious lunch the next day.

At least with the full dinner menu I get enough on the plate that I can make another meal out of it.

Still though - $9 hotdogs - I just shake my head sadly about that.

With you on this. Hotdogs are too easy to cook at home for a small fraction of the cost. The dogs I like. The way I want it. Never in a restaurant.
Feel the same about breakfast. I can make any kind of breakfast items quick, easy and far less expensively than eating out. And, wife gets to stay in her pajamas if she wants.

HoJo's New zEngland Clam Chowder. Comfort Food. After the movies while in HS I would take my date to HoJos and order the NEClam Chowder, and a Vanilla Ice Cream. Weird combo.

Larry the Cable Guy would say "That's funny right there".

:BigApplause:

Went to Coastal Del Mar last week. Had the crab cakes. Not enough lump crab meat and too much filler. The crab cakes at Bonefish are better. However, I have enjoyed FMK restaurants and am going back on Sat to try a different seafood choice.

Last evening four of us ate dinner at Coastal Del Mar the new seafood grill in Spanish Springs. We walked in and were very impressed with the new decor. The restaurant s beautiful. It is a sea theme and is primarily blue with beautiful gold light fixtures. We had a res and were seated quickly. The menu has a lot of choices. I ordered 2 appetizers, bacon wrapped scallops with mango salsa and fried oysters. They were both excellent and the fried oysters were the best I have ever eaten. Additionally, I ordered a size of crab fried rice which was very good. My husband ordered the fish and chips. Delicious and the chips were thin and crisp. Our friend split a Caesar salad that came with anchovies. Nice size and they enjoyed the salad. Thy both ordered the fresh salmon lightly blackened and it came with a choice of 2 sides. They both said delicious. Their rolls are excellent. We asked for a 2nd basket. I asked what they had for dessert, and I was disappointed I was so full. They have chocolate brulee, key lime pie and my favorite cake Chantilly. Our server Hannah was terrific. She really knew the menu and discussed the features. Our experience was a 10. It was so good we made a reservation for next week.
The restaurant was full inside and a number of people were dining outside. Make a reservation. Our friend ate there the night before and said it was just as full.
Matt, the manager was on the floor the entire time ensuring the restaurant was running smoothly. Looking forward to returning next week and will start with the Chantilly cake!

Costal Del Mar will do just fine in Spanish Springs, the area is very much in need of an upscale fine dinning establishment which the FMK restaurant group delivers. You hit the nail on the head when you said “every restaurant that tried to bring in more upscale food over the last 5 years has closed”. The difference is that the other restaurants TRIED to bring in upscale food, Costal Del Mar didn’t try to, they did.

We had lunch there yesterday. Beautiful decor. We actually ate outside since it was cool.
Our server must have been new. She was a bit scattered.
We were never told the specials, never offered bread.
We had the fish platter - fried haddock, shrimp and grilled salmon with chips and the lemon trout.
Hubby loved his trout. The rice was very nice that came with it.
My sampler platter was a mixed bag. The fried haddock wasnt really crispy - like the oil wasnt hot enough. The fried shrimp was a bit better. The salmon was not good - very dried out with no sauce. The french fries were good - a bit different presentation.
I would return for the trout, but not the fried stuff or salmon. Maybe next time we will get bread lol.
Prices no better or worse than other villages restaurants.

Me and Mrs. went for a "test eat" at Coastal De Mar last Monday had bowls of Lobster Bisque and a starter of Muscles. DELISH on both items, super friendly bar tenders and servers plus great service. Very nicely decorated inside. Going back and another really good FMK restaurant!

We went there for lunch yesterday. I had the crab cake sandwich which was very good. Hubby had shrimp flatbread. We shared a piece of key lime pie that was very good. Service and ambience excellent.
Even though we live south of 466A we would go back.