We have a new café in downtown Sebring. The location is around the corner from Sandy’s Café. It is quite upscale and the décor is more to big city design. They have made it into a delightful setting for good dining. They have a plentiful menu for seafood and steaks.

We had requested Tom as our waiter, as he was recommended to us and we wanted good service. He seemed quite nervous and pushed his personality to a point that we were a little overwhelmed.

We started with soup of the day, which was clam chowder or chicken noodle. There were different opinions on the clam chowder. Some of us liked it, some did not. We all agreed that it was not the best Sebring has to offer. One of us decided on the chicken noodle, but that was quite bland and was the same recipe that Bob Evans has used for years. The salad was pretty good with a lot of variety of greens.

The main course was a disaster. The food was not hot and some of the selections we ordered were not served as what was stated on the menu. We inquired and they agreed that there were some mistakes made in the kitchen. One of the selections was Garlic Pasta with shrimp and scallops and there was only pasta on his plate. We inquired and they said it was another mistake and they would correct it.

The New York strip was very good and served hot, the prime rib was just okay. The only vegetable that was served was peas. We have such an abundance of great veggies in this area; I feel that there would be some variety to choose from. The Mahi Mahi was lightly breaded and very good. The garlic potatoes were made from red skinned potatoes, but lacked any garlic flavor. The coconut shrimp was only average and was supposed to be served with a side sauce, but no sauce and she had to wait quite a while for the waiter to produce the sauce.

All in all it was not a good dining experience, but we felt they have some growing pains and eventually will provide us with a pleasant place to dine. If you wait a month or two, and they get their kitchen with some experience, you will enjoy the ambience of quite a romantic place to take your loved one for a good evening of food and fun. They are open from 4:00 P.M. to 10:30 with piano entertainment from 6:30 to 10:30.

Jeanette Stevens