The aesthetics were great. The drinks were great. The food was very good. I love the duck. The scallops were probably the best scallops I've ever had no joke. The general manager and the director were absolutely amazing. They made me feel very welcomed and took very good care of me. read more

Mei - chips and dip - Asian Fusion Near Me - St. Petersburg, Florida

We went here for their soft opening and if this is them working through the kinks before the grand opening, then oh man is St Pete in for a treat. Was it perfect? No. Was the food phenomenal and will we be back? Absolutely. It's located where Bento used to be and the aesthetic is clean and fresh. I will say the place is warm. Pretty much everyone was fanning themselves and they need a better ac system. We split appetizers and each chose an entree. I had the whole dorade. It was the crispiest skin I've ever had on a fish. And the sauce is made with fish stock from the fish head. Chef Alex has a no waste approach and he's so creative. The service is working out its kinks but honestly they were great. They communicated when things were happening, all of the staff was super knowledgeable and chef Alex himself is running plates. All in all this is a gem in St Pete. Don't skip it. read more

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We went to Mei during soft opening. If they are going for the Japanese word for niece, the pronunciation would be "may-EE". The food was pretty good and better than expected. The menu (at least right now) is quite small. We had the bread which was excellent. It comes with more butter than you need so they could optimize that. Then we had the Madai cruso. Four small bites. Quite yummy though. For entrees, most people at our table got the ribeye. 2 ordered the chef-recommended medium rare. The other ordered it medium. The ones that were medium rare arrived at the table just warm instead of hot. Assuming because they sat while the other one was still cooking. I got the scallops. There is four large ones to an order on risotto and ro. Pretty good. For drinks, there is no liquor license. That was fine though. They have Japanese beer which is reasonably priced. There is a variety of wine styles. When my beer was served, the glass came separately. For a restaurant going for this level of quality, you should pour it for me. For the appetizers they didn't reset is between the crudo and the bread so the bread absorbed some of the sauce when sitting on the plate. I'd also prefer if their water is cold. It was quite warm. If you are sitting along the windows and near one that does not have a curtain, it can be warm. when the scaffolding is removed from the building, it will be blinding and hot there in the evenings so I would be thinking about that. Note they do add a service charge of 20% onto the bill. All in all the food was good. They have a few kinks but they will get those worked out. read more

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We dined in at Mei Restaurant tonight and had a great time. I was excited to come here since the restaurant is a fusion of French, Nordic and Japanese cuisine. The restaurant is easy to miss and kind of non-descript from the outside, but it's street facing near the Publix and by the Camden Apartments. There is paid street parking along the entire street and it's not expensive (I paid about 4.00$ for 2 hours or so). The inside is elegantly designed with lots of natural colors, fabrics and textures like most of the restaurants that are in the Bento Restaurant group. The staff as usually was giving 5/5 with great customer service. They were friendly and helpful and in a great mood which I always love. The menu is small yet, but they are just opening, so things are still coming together. I have Celiac Disease and they were so helpful advising me what can be made gluten-free. Unfortunately, there oysters ran out tonight, so I will be coming back to try them! We got to try some other items such as the beef tartare (not gluten-free) and the grilled vegetables with salmon roe and creme fraiche (gluten-free). If I had to recommend a dish I would definitely advise the duck as a fantastic entree. The duck was one of the best that we have had anywhere and we love duck and have had a lot of it. It was so tender and full of flavor and the side of swiss chard that came with it was absolutely delicious. We also had the lamb chops as well and finished with the mango sorbet (I also highly recommend this). The sorbet was thick and full of ripe mango, it was not like how most sorbets have a lot of ice in them, this one was basically like eating a delicious pureed mango. If you love mango you will love this. The sake was also fairly priced and eveeyone was extremely helpful with helping me find one that I would enjoy with dinner. From what I see the restaurant has beer, wine and sake. Overall, we loved dinner and would highly recommend Mei Restaurant for date night. If you dine in St.Pete and you liked Lingr then this place will probably pique your interest! read more

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We were fortunate enough to be invited to the soft opening of Mei. Given the tenderness of the staff and the quality of the food this is sure to be another landmark restaurant within the greater Tampa area. The milk bread was absolutely delicious and perfectly we enjoyed the lamb chops and the duck which were cooked to perfection. We also enjoyed the fish and the dessert which were phenomenal. This is definitely going to be a go to restaurant in the St. Petersburg area. Cheers to Chef Alex and thank you very much for allowing us to be a part of the grand opening festivities. read more

Mei - Milk bread - Asian Fusion Near Me - St. Petersburg, Florida

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Service was not good, 3 of 4 meals were not finished. Dorado fish so so fishy, pork chop dry along w chicken was dry. W most of meals still left on 3 plates and server never asked about it. Save your money. The bread was amazing though. read more

Unbelievable experience at Mei! From the Milk bread and crudite to the soba noodles, and the duck experience was perfect from start to finish! Our server, Melissa was also exceptional!! Highly recommend!! What a fantastic addition to the St. Pete food scene! read more

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Such an amazing experience at Mei, we tried 9 menu items and loved everything !! My favorites were the soba noodles and the ribeye! The service was exceptional and explained everything very well ! The restaurant is beautiful and homey feeling which adds to the experience! We will definitely be back ! read more

Mei - Ribeye, Scallop, Whole Dorade - Asian Fusion Near Me - St. Petersburg, Florida

SO DELICIOUS! They've really outdone themselves in their soft launch. The vibes are lovely, the decor and ambiance is relaxing and warm, and the service is really knowledgeable, accommodating, and friendly. We got the grilled vegetables, the oysters, the milk bread, the soba noodles, the scallops, and the dorade fish and it was all truly special and great. Really interesting original and well seasoned. The Paris Breast was also an excellent dessert. I could tell there was a lot of thought put into this menu. We have been longtime fans of Kosen which was how he heard of this spot, and it truly did not disappoint. Perfect for special occasions! Chef Alex, Rachel, and Samantha were all very cool. Highly recommend! read more

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We recently dined at Mei during their soft opening and had an A+ experience. The food was delicious, flavorful and exquisitely prepared, with lots of interesting twists. I had the scallops, which were cooked to perfection and served with a creamy and tasty corn polenta with fresh corn. Everyone else loved their entrees as well. Don't miss the milk bread or the desserts. The corn waffle with blueberries and corn ice cream was unique and terrific, same for this sticky toffee pudding. The service was excellent and the setting and ambiance were just lovely. It is a bit pricey, but well worth it - definitely an ideal spot for a special occasion. We'll be back! read more

This was one of the worst restaurant experiences I've ever had, and we never even got to eat. We live 30 minutes away and were on our way to the restaurant when a major car accident created severe traffic delays. Knowing we would be late, my husband and I did exactly what any reasonable customer would do: we tried to call the restaurant. Not once. Not twice. SIX times. We also left THREE voicemails. The problem? Their phone apparently doesn't work. When we finally arrived, the hostess wasn't even at the hostess stand. Someone had to point her out to us. We then watched her look directly at us multiple times without acknowledging or greeting us. When she finally spoke to us, we were told we could not be seated because we were late. We explained that we had repeatedly tried to contact the restaurant and that their phone wasn't working. To remove any doubt, we called the restaurant right there in front of them and proved in real time that the phone still wasn't working. Despite that, nobody cared. No apology. No attempt to accommodate us. No manager stepping in to help. Nothing. Had we simply shown up late without trying to communicate, I would understand the policy. But when customers make six phone calls, leave three voicemails, and the restaurant's own phone system fails them, the responsibility no longer falls solely on the customer. For a brand-new restaurant, this level of disorganization and complete lack of customer service is astonishing. If your reservation policy depends on customers calling ahead, perhaps make sure your phone actually works. We wasted over an hour driving, sat through accident traffic, made every reasonable effort to contact the restaurant, and were still turned away because of their own operational failure. This experience guaranteed one thing: we will never return, and I would strongly encourage others to think twice before making the trip. read more