I love family owned restaurants, and this one was no exception. The place is bigger on the inside…read morethan it looks like on the outside, and decorated in typical diner fashion. We snagged the last table on a Saturday morning, although it looked like nobody really had a long wait as the tables were constantly turning over. They have an extensive, reasonably priced menu, and although I was torn between a few items, I finally decided on a feta and spinach omelet, add tomatoes, with well done hash browns, and their house biscuit. Food didn't take long to arrive, and the portion was generous. My omelet was perfect, the hashbrowns super crispy, and the biscuit was buttery and to die for. Coffee was good, and the server was friendly if a bit swamped. I would definitely come here again if I were in the area.

Excellent cooked to 9rder spot. Family owned and atmosphere is casual with exceptional food. I…read morehad today's special - Florentino Crepes w/ Holandaise (sp) ...incredible flavor and huge portions in my opinion! Try it! Traditional "breakfast" favorites too.. Plenty of free parking...

Dawn was our server on our 8a visit during this past week…read more Nice seating out front so I can't speak for inside. Drinks amd food came very quickly. The omelets were a generous size for us. We tried the spinach feta and the farmer's. Holy spinach in that one! Def took over the flavor with how much spinach. I asked for crumbled sausage to be added but it was so minimal I could barely taste it. Nicely toasted home fries though. Overall, quick joint with decent meal. Nice outdoor seating. 2 omelet meals and our bill was about $30. Will have to go back and try lunch.

Ambiance: 4 stars Staff: 3.5…read moreFood: 2.5 stars I appreciate the fact that it's a nice little hole in the wall restaurant, reasonably priced, plays oldies music, and has definitely been around for a long time. That being said, the food did not hit the spot. My chicken fried steak was the kind that comes out of a frozen bag (and tasted as much), and the gravy was the same. I love me some good chicken fried steak, but this was almost inedible. I just couldn't do it. My daughter's burger didn't look that great either. Can't say much about the waitress because my interactions with them were limited to drinks, ordering and check. I guess I expected more from a place that has been around long enough to get things down to a science. A certain other breakfast place across the street has MUCH better food.

Fun Place to take people that are new or visiting, very cute vibes. Go when it's nice outside so…read moreyou can enjoy the river and the views! I ordered a weekly special - it was a bbq brisket cheddar melt, it was ok, nothing I would say is different from anywhere else, I also got an order of calamari, basic frozen stuff. Good music! Seems to get busy for their live music nights! Service, Food were basic

Food great grouper bites excellent Service waiter fast and…read moreattentive Ambiance river front setting excellent !!!! Live music... cheered us up for our road trip ahead!

Stopped in to grab breakfast while visiting my father. I guess it's a small local chain, with 4 or…read more5 locations in the area. We were seated quicky, wait staff was friendly, it has an old timey diner feel, but much bigger than it looks from the outside. Their menu is pretty extensive, offering a good variety of breakfast items, salads, sandwiches for lunch, burgers, entrees, steaks and even seafood, though they are only open for breakfast and lunch. But there's sure to be something on this menu for anyone you're dinging with. I ordered a "Quickie" from the breakfast platters, scrambled edges with diced ham, which also came with choice of toast and hash browns. The food came out quickly (as the name indicated), and tasted great. Pricing was fair and reasonable. Based on this visit, I'd recommend Popi's Place, and would go back again to try some of their other food options.

The food was amazing. The salad was very fresh and crisp. The chicken (sounds weird but it was also…read morereally fresh real chicken meat) was crispy, moist and great flavor. I usually don't like chicken because it's dry but another Massachusetts neighbor recommended it and I'm so glad I came to try it out. The fries were hot and perfect. The honey mustard sauce was also yummy. My husband's skillet was on the soft side. He enjoyed the flavors but the potatoes were not as crispy as he typically likes them but we'll be back. We got seated very quickly despite the full parking lot which was another win! Tammy was a cheerful and very pleasant person taking our order and smiled! It was so nice! The place was clean and busy with great energy but not too loud or obnoxious. We really enjoyed our visit.

So much nicer to be here when the snowbirds are gone! IFKYK…read more... Kayleen was our server, and she was very friendly and attentive. Hubby got his usual drink, and I got my coconut Mojito, but this time in a fancy tiki glass. Learned that they're only served indoors, as we have only eaten at the bar or outside by the beach. Got our standard ahi tuna poke nachos, Yum, and a dozen chargrilled oysters, Yum Yum! Hubby and I shared Joe fish tacos, grilled, and they were delicious as always The change in tonight's meal with Jenna "parading" ( ok, not exactly true...) through the restaurant with HUGE brownie sundae s--3 if I recall correctly. Now, I am not a big chocolate fan at all, in fact, I avoid chocolate, yuck, and hubby has to watch his sugar, but when she told me about bananas foster bread pudding-- well, you can see where this is headed! We have never had room for dessert before, and tonight was no exception, but I was enticed by Jenna, and then Kayleen , so...OMG! Absolutely delicious! A bit sweet, but we finished the ice cream and the bananas and a little bit more than that, and got the rest to go. So glad that this is literally about a mile and a half down the road from us, so maybe next time. ;) Also, love the cute merch: jewelry, stickers, T-shirts, caps, stuffed animals, lotion, etc., etc.

A group of 8 of us came in for an early dinner. WJ's is right along the Manatee River. It has…read moregreat views of the water and the 75 bridge. It's a large place with a lot of outdoor space including a large outdoor bar as well. Since we wanted to enjoy the view, we decided to sit outside on the deck. Since it was early, we were the only ones outside. The music was really loud; so loud we had to shout, so we asked if it could be turned down. The manager agreed and it was turned down. A little. We still had to shout a bit to talk with each other, so we asked again, but they wouldn't turn it down any more. So, not very nice for us, the only customers on the deck. Our waitress was hustling, perhaps she had too many tables assigned to her. I had the Jambalaya, which was OK, not great. It seems like the ingredients were cheap. Don't think we'll be back.

Went to Ruby Tuesday in Ellenton for lunch on a Tuesday... entering the restaurant it appeared they…read morelike so many other places were short handed....no one at the front and the bartender taking orders in the front of the restaurant. Sat at the bar which had menus already placed which was pretty smart I thought. The bartender returned and took my drink order before scurrying off to take more orders and clean tables for a slow steady stream of customers entering the front door. Sitting at the bar looking around the restaurant looked old. The bar was rough possibly needing new finish and everything else inside looked like it was installed 20 years ago and hasn't been refreshed. On the third dash by where I was sitting the bartender brought the beer I ordered, took my food order and with the waiting area full - help from the back came out and then things seemed to calm down a bit. It wasn't too long before the burger and tots came out and honestly it was a really nice burger. Tasted good, cooked right and presented well. Maybe it was the second beer talking? (Beer is two for one - FYI) Anyway - very busy place - driven possibly by the inexpensive Tuesday specials but regardless - good food, rough restaurant and stressed employees trying to keep it all moving. 3.5/5

Complete Disgrace to the chain. Probably best to Level this place…read more The entire interior was Sticky & quite frankly disgusting. What used to be a really nice salad bar is No longer. Service entirely sub-par. I'm honestly considering calling the health department. I can't even imagine what the kitchen looks like. See pictures & definitely look elsewhere...

Been wanting to stop in and try this place and finally made it. Parking lot and exterior of the…read morebuilding wasn't anything special...that I'll take as a good sign because I'd rather see a smokehouse put their love into the Barbecue. When I entered I was immediately greeted and told I could sit anywhere I'd like. I sat at a booth and the waitress brought a menu and a wooden pig with all the available sides. Ordered the smoked turkey size large with collard greens and baby potatoes. The turkey was amazing - I could have eaten it without sauces but I tried both of their homemade barbecue sauces and they're both good...one tangy and the other one a little spicy. Waitress checked in a couple times, I cleaned the plate and was out the door. Great barbecue - can't wait to try some more.

Flew down to Florida for a quick weekend get away to celebrate my father's birthday. The first…read morenight in town he asked if I wanted BBQ for dinner, and suggested Hickory Hollow. Just a short drive from his home, it's apparently one of his go to spots. It's a small space, with limited seating, and when we arrived, I got a good laugh at the (2) goats in the a pen in the parking lot bundled up for the cold weather. There was a bit of a wait inside, but as tabled cleared, they re-sat new parties quickly. The menu had a good variety of options, their sides were listed on a seperate "menu", made with removable velcro items, so when they run out, they can remove it form the list. I went with the combo plate, getting baby back ribs with pull pork, and potato salad and mac and cheese as my sides. The food came out quickly, and the the portion sizes were pretty good. In addition to my food, it also came with a few huge corn fritters, which were tasty and super moist. The ribs and pulls pork were very tasty the mac and cheese was ok, but no better than what you'd get from the blue box, but the potato salad was a bit more authentic. Service was friendly, good portions and fair pricing. I'd visit again !