Six months after The Patio reopened as The Patio Seafood Tavern, we decided to check in and see how the latest iteration of this historic eatery in the Old Downtown was faring.
For our visit, we chose a Tuesday night – when they serve a pound and a quarter Maine lobster for $19.95 – and our party of three arrived last week around 7:30.
Entering through the outdoor dining area, we were hardly surprised to find only one couple dining al fresco. It was, even with the sun going down, still a very sultry evening.
But once seated inside, we were a bit taken aback to find the main dining room otherwise empty. While a handful of guests from the Patio’s bar area subsequently passed through on their way home, no other party had come for dinner by the time we left shortly after 9.
Our server quickly took our wine order, and returned with a basket of light flaky cheddar-rosemary biscuits.
For appetizers on this evening, we decided to start with the asparagus and parmesan tempura ($7), and the Tuesday night soup of the day, a Manhattan clam chowder ($6).
The asparagus spears, topped with shaved parmesan, were accompanied by a mustard dipping sauce. Quite tasty. The cup of Manhattan clam chowder was a nice light rendition of this dish.
Then for salads, I chose the house salad ($7), my husband opted for the wedge ($7), and our companion ordered a Caesar ($6). The salads were tasty but huge; The Patio, it turns out, offers a smaller side salad with dinner entrées for $3.95, but that went unmentioned by our server.
For main courses, our companion stuck with the original plan and had the Tuesday Maine lobster special. But I ordered the shrimp and lobster scampi ($21) and my husband opted for Anne’s Bayou Style Fried Oysters ($18).
The shrimp and lobster scampi entree, it turned out, consisted of four jumbo shrimp and four stuffed lobster ravioli served in a creamy garlic sauce atop a bed of spinach. A very successful dish. While my husband was less enthused about the crispy fried oysters, our companion was pleased with her broiled lobster, which was accompanied by a half ear of corn.
For dessert, we shared a slice of a very rich, flourless chocolate torte ($7). Very dense and chocolaty. Perfect for chocoholics.
The service on our visit was attentive (as well it should be, since we were the only customers). During the course of our meal, the proprietor anxiously paced back and forth past our table a dozen times, finally pausing briefly at meal’s end to ask if everything was OK.
Overall, we would rate the food a bit better than average – but nothing special, and not inexpensive.
A dinner for two with dishes chosen from the entrée menu, together with a couple of glasses of wine or beer, is going to run in the $70 to $90 range before tax and tip.
The new management of The Patio is doing a variety of things designed to boost traffic at what may well be Vero’s largest restaurant.
In addition to happy hour drink specials, there is an early bird menu from 4 pm to 6 pm, on some evenings The Patio offers live entertainment, and a longstanding Vero tradition, the Sunday brunch, is back.
Will this latest attempt at making a go of The Patio succeed? The jury is still out, but it pretty clearly will require more patrons than they had last Tuesday evening.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
