The food was definitely good. Four star worthy for sure. I had the grouper sandwich on gluten free bread. YES gluten free bread. So happy they had that. I thought the grouper was cooked great. I had to get tartar on the side and then it was just with the arugula. I guess I felt like it deserved a yummy sauce or something a bit more special. But again, good. My husband really enjoyed his Corned Beef Hash. Now on to the restaurant itself. I don't think I would have blinked an eye at it had I not seen the stellar Yelp reviews. Driving past, it is not the greatest looking building in my opinion (I.e. not drawn to it at all) and super interesting it's attached to a hotel. But I always listen to my fellow Yelpers and food wise it definitely wasn't a let down. We sat outside in this covered space between the restaurant and hotel and I gotta say it just felt sorta weird. Not welcoming. A few broken chairs at the tables. Maybe a better ambiance is found inside. At least it looked that way and the place was packed. So since I'm a local so I'd like to give it another shot. Maybe a breakfast item next time. read more

Absolutely love the food here! I got eggs Benedict for breakfast and loved it so much we came back the same week! My kids love the pancakes and my husband loves the coffees! On Saturdays they have cinnamon donuts with strawberries on top and they are amazing! Whenever in the area on a Saturday they are a must! read more

Stopped in for lunch today. We ordered the cream chipped beef and biscuits and gravy. Both dishes were very good , although the portions could have been larger. Their coffee is very good and the restaurant is very busy. The people next to us said new owners are now running the operation. The restaurant is cute inside and service was on the slow side. read more

Just Wow! We were in Venice for the craft show and not familiar with the area looked at the reviews and went here. It is an elevated greasy spoon. YUM. FOOD WAS TASTY place is cute throw back to old Florida motel vibe. Anne Marie was a great waitress. Wish we lived closer we would be a regular. read more

Normally I would give Blu Island Bistro a 4 star as I love the ambiance and the breakfast is usually quite good. This morning I was disappointed. Three of us ordered Avocado toast w/ eggs and it was described to have arugula (typical for this dish and really the reason I order it as I love the peppery taste of arugula). Our server brought our breakfast and when I questioned why no arugula she stated that they "are now using romaine lettuce and have not changed the menus yet". What? Who makes Avocado toast w/ romaine lettuce (tasteless and large chunks). Two suggestions... Either change the menu to describe it properly or have the server mention this upfront when someone places their order so they can decide if they want this or a different dish.. Or better yet please continue to use arugula - so much better Thank you read more

Food is very sub par....low quality ingredients...none of our meals were up to our standards.....

This is a cozy little spot we had brunch in. Really friendly and attentive wait staff. Food was good. Prices were great. We would definitely be back! read more

Great food, atmosphere and the wait staff is very nice. Love the decorations in the Cafe and there is outdoor seating.

Innovative chef that consistently makes young creations. You must go for breakfast , especially when snowbirds are not here so you can get a table. The atmosphere is charming and comfortable. The best breakfast place in town , IMO read more

We decided to try out this restaurant for breakfast due to the great reviews and photos. To be honest, we were pretty disappointed. The New Jersey Pork Roll sandwich was underwhelming. Something tasted off about the ham. The banana French toast tasted like regular French toast with banana slices on it. None of us could detect any banana batter used. The flavored ice coffee had a burnt taste to it. Despite the food being disappointing, the staff was very friendly and welcoming. Our waitress was very sweet and attentive. The ambiance is serving beach vibes and the outdoor area is great-- always a bonus when dogs are welcome! If you're looking for a basic breakfast it'll fulfill that need. Just don't expect a gourmet experience like some of these reviews flaunt. read more

I have been staying at the nice little suites connected to this little bistro and kept hearing about how good it was. Well they deserve the buzz their getting around town. I was seated quickly after walking in and the staff were all very cheery and kind. The menu covered everything I could expect for breakfast. The prices were a little above average, but still doable. My food came out pretty quickly and everything was cooked to perfection and presented very well. This is definitely a great spot to go for breakfast and I plan on stopping here again before I leave. read more

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Great breakfast at a reasonable price. Very friendly service in an old Florida joint feeling joint. Recommend.

Stopped here for brunch at about 1pm on a Sunday. Sat outside and had a wonderful Bloody Mary. Tried the special quiche of the day which had bacon, potato, cheese, and topped with a sweet balsamic sauce. Amazing! Cheese hash browns on the side were a little greasy, still good though. Will definitely be back agains since their menu looked amazing. read more

Blu Island Bistro - Bloody Mary - New American Near Me - Venice, Florida

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This place never disappoints! Amazing food, great friendly and super fast service - although they looked busy - terrific ambiance. AND it is dog-friendly. The pancakes were out of this world. Fluffy, yummy, melt in your mouth. Admittedly, best pancakes I ever tasted. read more

Good food. If you like a traditional American menu, there's plenty of options for you. The food is really good and so is the service. It does get busy at lunchtime so beware of that. read more

Food was so good this was worth the stop. Definitely a must if you're in the Venice area. The staff there were super nice. They offer outdoor seating and a cute area inside with lots of windows. read more

After reading so many great reviews about this restaurant we just had to try it. It was amazing. I had a croissant sandwich with egg, sausage, spinach and Brie cheese. It was delicious. The cheese potatoes that came with it were so tasty. My husband had a western omelette. He lived the blend of flavors. The service was great. We will definitely be going back. read more

Food, services were awesome. Really enjoyed the place and everything was great Drake Pelham read more

What a great surprise. We were on the road north and found this place. We sat outside it's dog friendly which is a plus. The staff was very good even with the High winds. I ended up getting the breakfast burrito and it was great my wife had gotten the hash and it was home made delicious. If your ever in the need of a good breakfast I know you'll like this place. read more

Nice little breakfast/lunch spot. All the food was good. I ordered a half tuna salad and half Blu Salad. The salad was the best part and although called a blu salad i was very pleased that there was no bleu cheese in it. The Turkey sandwich was as expected. In addition to that i order some onion rings which i started to add to my sandwich for flavor and crunch and that made it pretty nice. And lastly i took their strawberry donut to go and wow. It was warm and soft, probably the best donut I've ever had to be honest. read more

Blu Island Bistro - New American Near Me - Venice, Florida

Excellent, in every aspect Service food, timely manner Customer Service superb ! Will return read more

Super tasty and a fun place to eat and enjoy a relaxing meal before a full day. Whether you're a local or a tourist, this is a good spot. read more

Blu Island Bistro - Breakfast Menu (p2) - New American Near Me - Venice, Florida

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Upscale Breakfast - High quality breakfast and fantastic service (little pricey), but worth it. We have hade the Eggs Benedict, French Toast, Shrimp & Grits, Corn Beef Hash - recommend all of them. Our favorite waitress is Ann Marie. If it's not on the menu Ann Marie will see if the cook will make it for you, he did it for me with the shrimp & grits he even thru on some cheese - all I can say is fantastic. read more

Very tasty breakfast with great service and lots of choices. Best meal lace on the island for breakfast.

Great food, service was on point, dinner style. It is a bit hot inside but not to bad. Will be back. read more

Blu Island Bistro - New American Near Me - Venice, Florida

Great little hideaway with delicious food & better than average service; recommend! You ask for too many characters

Weekends donuts at blu island are not to be missed. They are just perfect. Warm and sweet. read more

Blu Island Bistro - House made donuts! Only available Saturday and Sunday - New American Near Me - Venice, Florida

Pure food , service ambiance all excellent, always a return visit for our family. Pet friendly!!!!!

Chip beef on toast Fair service Ambiance was nothing special I guess it depends upon what you wanna eat read more

I had 2 banana buttermilk pancakes, with a side of pecan smoked bacon, very good! My girlfriend had a meat lovers omelette adding onions and mushrooms, w/hash-browns and raisin toast. Service was perfect, quick and efficient. We sat inside, comfy and clean. read more

Breakfast spot in a old inn right on the island on 41. Nice setup for outdoor, dog friendly tables and waiting sofas all under roof so whether does not matter. Indoor dining area is cute little rooms. The only problem with the indoor is the lack of cold air circulating. Seems like the A/C ducts are limited and airflow is poor. On this day, it was warm but tolerable to eat. Service is friendly but sporadic and not consistent. Spotted some folks disappointed with their server and moved to another server. They clearly liked the food but wanted better service. As for us, our server was friendly but clearly had too many tables to attend because she kept forgetting to bring us refills on our coffee, napkins, and then our take-home containers. Portions are generous, so come hungry. Yes we might stop by if in the area, but might just stay outside as it is cooler with the breeze then dining inside. read more

Stopped in today for lunch with my wife. Service was excellent with Ann Marie as our server. I ordered the patty melt. When I think of a patty melt I think of two types of cheeses, a load of caramelized onions, house made sauce and a juicy hamburger on toasted rye bread. I think I got the rye bread. The onions were diced. Barely cooked if at all, and no sauce. I added ketchup to the most over cooked hamburger I've ever eaten. I had to lift the slice of toast to verify that cheese was added. I've read most of the 500+reviews for this restaurant and I'm certainly in the minority for not being happy. I hope that my review will be used constructively. Everyone was eating breakfast and it was noon! I'll be back for breakfast. I'll make the patty melt at home. read more

Great little greasy spoon here. Service was excellent and their corned beef hash was amazing!

I was looking forward to trying this place because of the good reviews, outside seating, and the menu includes Bloody Mary's. Sadly, it did not meet our expectations as our party of four were unanimously underwhelmed. The outside seating is a parking lot and the Bloody Mary's are made with wine because they don't have a liquor license - WTH? I don't think you should call them Bloody Mary's without the vodka. It's just wrong. It tasted like tomato juice and I couldn't even finish mine. I should have said something, maybe they would have taken it off the bill. As for the food, I had the lump crab Benedict with asparagus. There was barely a dribble of hollandaise sauce and just a sprinkling of crab. The flavor was meh. It does come with bacon and it was pretty good. The rest of the food we ordered was also meh. We all agreed we won't be back which is unfortunate as I picked the place. Yelp has rarely let me down, but it was an epic fail this time. UPDATE! I was being generous with my previous three star review and honest comments, but I'm changing my rating to 1 star due to the incredibly rude comment by the owner. Insinuating that my tastes are less refined than your "normal" clientele and insulting your customers is NOT cool. If you look at my review history, you'll see that I'm rarely negative with my reviews. I speak the truth from my personal experience. read more

Met a good friend here for breakfast. She's a regular because when we walked in she knew several people. The food, service and ambience were good. I would go again. read more

One of our very favorites! A wide variety of choices are contained in both the breakfast and lunch menus. Great service !

We've met here twice in the last month and all 6 of us agree, our food was tasty and plentiful and the service is great. Plus the prices are not outrageous as some of the other restaurants in town. The staff is friendly and helpful, we like they give is ample time to decide what we want to eat. We will be meeting here again and soon . read more

All up and down the Gulf Coast of Florida, Pensacola to Naples, I've tried countless grouper sandwiches. Tried one here three weeks ago. Compared to all others thus far, tiny, bland and swallowed up in the bun, yet costs as much as others up and down the coast. Skip that choice on the menu. read more

Huge portions with fresh ingredients. Cute space with a funky vibe. Had a delicious veggie omelette with a griddled biscuit. Our server was friendly and prompt. I'd definitely go back. read more

We got there and we're told we had to leave and then we were told we were the last table. We ordered the shrimp bowl and fish if the day, and both of us got sick. Not worth it. read more