One of my favorite ways to spend quality time with my family of four is sitting down for a meal together.
After visiting restaurants like Olive Garden and STK Steakhouse, we’ve realized we’re usually pleasantly surprised by the quality of food at chains.
Recently, we decided to try Bonefish Grill — a seafood restaurant with over 160 locations across the US — for the first time.
The restaurant’s parent company Bloomin’ Brands, which also owns Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill, recently announced plans to close 41 underperforming restaurants — including a few Bonefish Grill locations. So, we were curious to see if the quality of the food and value matched our great experiences at other chains.
To find out, we spent $120 on brunch food and standard-menu items at our local Florida-based restaurant. Here’s what our experience eating at Bonefish Grill was like.
Bonefish Grill is known for seafood, grilled entrées, and craft cocktails.
Bonefish Grill first opened in 2000 in Florida and has since spread to over 160 locations across the US.
Known for its seafood, wood-grilled entrées, and craft cocktails, the chain takes reservations and walk-ins, offers family-sized meal bundles, and changes some menu items seasonally. Many locations also have an outdoor seating area and a bar.
When my family arrived at our Viera, Florida, restaurant for our 11 a.m. Saturday reservation, the place wasn’t too crowded.
I thought the dining area was well-lit — the sun shone through large glass windows — and found the decor breezy and modern.
There were a few different menus to choose from.
Our 11 a.m. reservation was just after the restaurant opened for the day, so we were seated quickly. When we sat down, we were presented with three menus for brunch, dinner, and seasonal selections.
My family chose items from all three menus to create a good variety of brunch fare.
We started our meal with sodas, a cocktail, and a mocktail.
My son and I each chose $3.70 sodas, and my daughter selected a $4.50 sparkling blueberry-refresher mocktail. Made with mint and muddled berries, the refreshing sip wasn’t overly sweet. It would have been my choice for brunch, too, had I not been in the market for some caffeine.
My husband also picked a caffeine-forward beverage: the $12.90 Cold-Fashioned cocktail, made with bourbon and cold-brew coffee and garnished with a gummy-egg candy. He enjoyed the flavors of the drink, saying it was a great combo of coffee and a cocktail.
The complimentary bread was served with a tasty olive-oil dip.
Before our meal, we received complimentary ciabatta-style bread and olive-oil dipping sauce. The garlicky, herb-forward olive-oil mixture made a great dipping sauce for the crusty bread.
I later noticed the dip is popular enough to have a few copycat recipes floating around online.
We shared a crispy-cauliflower appetizer from the seasonal menu.
When we visited Bonefish Grill, the restaurant offered a springtime menu with special items like a soft-shell crab sandwich and cedar-plank salmon. At our server’s suggestion, we tried the crispy-cauliflower appetizer ($9.90).
Served over a crispy, tangy slaw, the fried cauliflower was delicious and well-seasoned with just the right amount of saltiness. The cauliflower was drizzled with a tangy sauce that tasted like something from a Chinese restaurant. I caught notes of soy and citrus.
This dish was a true gem — my husband said he’d return to Bonefish Grill with me on a date night just to sit at the bar, order cocktails, and share this appetizer.
I ordered crème-brûlée French toast, and it did not disappoint.
When I saw the brunch menu, I immediately knew I’d be ordering a play on my favorite dessert: the crème-brûlée French toast.
The $15.90 entrée seemed enormous — it came with two thick slices of French toast, two strips of bacon, and strawberries with whipped cream.
The French toast was one of best versions of the dessert I’d ever had, as the crispy-sugar coating mimicked crème brûlée and added depth to the meal.
I’d return to Bonefish Grill just to order this dish.
Bonefish Grill is famous for its Bang Bang Shrimp, so my husband ordered an egg dish that featured the item.
Bonefish Grill is known for its Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer — fried shrimp with a creamy, spicy sauce. Since the brunch menu listed eggs Benedict topped with Bang Bang Shrimp, my husband chose the $15.90 dish.
The meal, which included crispy potatoes and bacon, was filling and hearty. My husband enjoyed trying the Bang Bang Shrimp without ordering it as an appetizer.
My daughter ordered Lily’s chicken, which was full of flavor.
My daughter ordered an item from the dinner menu: Lily’s chicken, a $19.90 entrée with two pieces of chicken, goat cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, and a lemon-basil sauce. She chose mashed potatoes as her side.
The dish was a hit with my 13-year-old, and the portion size was so generous that she had leftovers for the next day.
How do I know she loved the dish? The next afternoon, my husband asked if he could eat her leftovers. She told him to back off because she fully intended to have the rest of her Lily’s chicken.
My son enjoyed the BFG burger, which he ordered with only cheese on top.
My son’s go-to restaurant order is always a plain cheeseburger, so he ordered the $16.90 BFG burger without any toppings. The 8-ounce burger was juicy and cooked to a perfect medium temperature.
The meal was topped with cheddar cheese and served with fries, his idea of a perfect lunchtime treat.
For dessert, we shared a slice of drunken coconut pie.
When it was time for dessert, my family was pretty full. Still, our server suggested we try the drunken coconut pie, a former classic he said was back on the menu for a limited time.
The dessert was light and creamy, with shreds of coconut, decadent whipped cream, and a rum sauce. We agreed to split this $8.50 dessert again if it’s still on the menu the next time we visit Bonefish Grill.
We enjoyed engaging with our server and doodling on the tablecloth throughout our meal.
An unexpected highlight of our brunch at Bonefish Grill included coloring on the tablecloth. We noticed the tables were covered in white paper, and when we asked our server about it, he gave us boxes of blue, green, and red crayons.
We doodled in between different courses, and by the end of our brunch, we felt we’d created a pretty impressive work of art.
It’s sometimes difficult to get teenagers to chat over a meal, but the added distraction of doodling allowed them to let their guards down and chat a bit more than usual.
Our server only added to the experience, as he was quick, efficient, and knowledgeable about the menus. He even complimented our tablecloth doodling and drew fish on each of our takeout boxes.
Overall, the top-notch atmosphere and service were among some of the best we’ve received at any chain restaurant.
Our $120 meal felt well worth the price, and we’d definitely go back again.
Bonefish Grill may be one of our new favorite chain restaurants. Our meal, with tax, was just under $120, which felt like quite the value for the quality of food we were served.
Feeding a family of four at a restaurant can get expensive quickly, but $120 got us drinks, entrées, and a shared appetizer and dessert.
Even the priciest item — my daughter’s $19.90 chicken entrée — felt like a great value, especially since she had half the meal for leftovers the next day. Our brunch experience felt upscale, and the food tasted delicious.
I’d return to Bonefish Grill to brunch with my teens, snack on appetizers at the bar for date night, or even grab a quick coffee and dessert while running errands.
The value felt on point for the food and service we received, and that crème-brûlée French toast has been calling my name ever since I visited.
The post My family of 4 tried Bonefish Grill for the first time. Our $120 meal was so great that this might just be our new favorite chain. appeared first on Business Insider.
