Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro

Wife and I stopped in for lunch on a random Wednesday. Ate on the patio with our puppies while looking out onto the water. They offered plenty of umbrellas for shade and had large fans oscillating throughout to help keep everybody comfortable. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and opted to go with traditional bbq sauce instead of the white sauce it is served with and a side of French fries. I throughly enjoyed both my food and the atmosphere. Unfortunately my wife ordered the chicken Caesar wrap and it was just ok.
It was actually our first time in the area and we were just driving around looking for what looked like a nice place to eat.

First of all, sit outside when you go here. The inside is pretty dull but outside has a great view. This is a great spot for brunch. The bananas foster French toast is awesome. They also have some of the best bloody marys in town. Their grouper sandwich is on point. I’ve been coming here for several years and have never had a bad experience. I just wish they would bring back the escargot. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a casual place to chill on the water.

Out here for vacation and family brought us here for the view. Service was fine. Lobster bisque was pretty good. I also really enjoyed my pomegranate martini. I don’t recommend the lobster fra diavla at all. For some reason they put the big empty lobster tail right on top for decoration I guess. The scallops were way over cooked, rubbery and gritty with sand. The lobster was over cooked and chewy. They left the tail shells on the shrimp which was a pain since it’s a pasta dish. My friend got the salmon which also looked very over cooked. It was very dry and shriveled on the corners. If you’re going to be a water front seafood restaurant then you should teach your chefs how to cook seafood. It’s a very delicate thing that doesn’t require much time at all. The brunch looks good from the pictures I saw so maybe they should just stick to being a day time café.

We showed up on a Friday at dinner time and had no problem getting a table. The service was fast and friendly. We all enjoyed our meals (mahi and a pizza) and will absolutely come back again. Nice waterfront location.

We stop by here each time we are in St. Pete and we have a great experience each and every time.
The food and prices are all reasonable and the view of the marina is one that no other restaurant in the area can duplicate.
The staff has always need very nice and accommodating.
If the weather is nice, sit in the patio, preferably a table right next to the water, and have some wine. It’s certain to put you in a great mood!

And food is okay. The service is absolutely terrible. The waiter took my order and that was the last time I saw him. The only good thing about this place is the view.

Excellent calamari, hamburgers and spinach salad. Great ambiance on deck overlooking the marina. Dog friendly. Service was friendly.

This place really surprised us. We enjoyed the ambience and the food of course. Our server took care of us every minute, and suggested some delicious appetizers. No long wait for the food even though the restaurant was almost full.
Surely we will return.

We read reviews that were rough on the service but ours was really good. Food came out quick and drinks were refilled when we wanted them. We started with the lobster empanadas which overall were really good but seems light on the lobster. I then went on to the chorizo Benedict. Really good. Hollandaise was some of the best I’ve had. Had some toys on the side that were cooked perfect. Could just munch on those! Overall it was really nice with great views and food.
A note to Allie we are local and live a little south of downtown on Coquina Key.

We were there for brunch with another couple. This restaurant is on the water with a great atmosphere. We all ordered egg dishes which were very good. But the best part of the experience was our server Angelina. She was attentive and open to some special requests on the menu. My guy likes to joke around with servers and they sometimes get intimidated. Not her! She joked right back and made the experience so much fun. We will request her again when we return.
Allie, in response to your question, we had been at Frescos last year for a quick drink but did not eat or review. We were back in St. Pete last week visiting friends and they recommended Frescos. That’s how we wound up back there.

Great view and outdoor space here but would probably give a 3.5 if I could. I came here with a large party and it took us almost three hours from start to finish. The service was slow but pretty good overall — our server was attentive and always noticed when drinks were empty and needed to be refilled. We had a major glitch when our food came out and it was barely addressed by management. Everyone got their meals after waiting quite some time, except for one person in our party. He sat and waited for almost 15 minutes until someone (a manager) dropped it off without so much as an apology or explanation. When we requested to speak to a manager about it, she claimed she didn’t know the food came out late and she was handed the plate and told to drop it off. What did she think it meant when everyone else was half way done with their meals and one person at the table didn’t have his? It was pretty obvious if you ask me. Not to mention his appetizer came out later than everyone else’s also.
For dinner me and my friend split a Caesar salad and the chicken fresco pasta dish. When our salad arrived, our server had split it for us without us having to ask. Nice — most restaurants don’t do that. The portion size was pretty big but the salad was over dressed. When our chicken came, it was also split. The dish itself was very tasty, but I didn’t really get a chipotle cream sauce taste. There was no chipotle flavor, but whatever flavor was actually there was very good. However, I found that this dish too was over sauced — The pasta was dripping in sauce. Restaurants really need to learn that less is more when dressing/​saucing a dish. My friend ordered their version of a spiked lemonade which tasted like pure juice with no vodka. She asked if she could have an extra shot added to her drink. The first time, our server came out with a straight shot of vodka to pour in ourselves. The second time she ordered the drink, it tasted like a good double, but the third time it tasted like pure juice. When we got our bill, we noticed that she charged us for 1 extra shot for the first drink, and for two doubles on the other two drinks. Each drink should have been charged as a double. Restaurants should take note that 99% of the time someone is asking for an extra shot for their drink, it’s because the drink is too weak. not because they want to take an extra shot at the dinner table. This was annoying and incorrect, but at that point we just wanted to leave because we had been there for almost three hours.
Overall, I left satisfied but thought the prices were a bit high. Entrée’s were kind of over priced and the alcoholic beverages were weak and expensive. These minor glitches didn’t alter my dining experience too much. I’m not from the area, but when I do return I would be OK with someone picking Fresco’s for a dinner outing.

Honestly, this place has the best Sunday brunch I have ever had, and their benedicts are amazing!
BUT THE SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER HAD THE LAST 3 TIMES WE WENT

Great location but mediocre food paired with higher prices is always bad when you sprinkle in slow, impersonal service. We had the bacon wrapped scallops and the lobster ravioli. Neither were bad but neither were memorable.
We liked the waterfront view and live music but we won’t be back.

Been here twice. First time was alright, second time was amazing, although getting bread … even offering to buy it … proved impossible.
Their grilled chicken sandwich was amazing. Fries were great and perfectly seasoned. Their tator tots are crispy and on point.

Before we get into this, I will admit that one large reason for the low score is a little bit out of the restaurant’s control. But it was still an important part of our meal, and honestly even without attacks from local wildlife, my brunch experience here was fairly disappointing.
So let’s start with the biggest problem. I was here for a Sunday brunch with friends and we made the mistake of sitting outside, and the birds were… crazy. I literally had a bird take something out of my hand as I was bringing it to my mouth. The table next to us had a kid that was constantly getting harassed. There must have been 20+ birds just on the banister behind me as we tried to eat. Obviously, the restaurant did not supply the birds, but there’s things they could do to try to discourage them. My friends mentioned using fishing wire or a net or anything that could keep the birds from finding this such a desirable place. But this needs to be addressed.
Now on to the actual dining experience. The waiter was attentive but he was using his phone to take down our order (and this seemed to be what most of the servers were doing). I have no problem with using tech like this, but it caused him to be much slower. So every order was separated by about 30 seconds of silence as we waited for him to type it into his phone instead of writing it on a pad like at most restaurants.
The food was pretty meh. The coffee was actually probably the best part, and ended up being much stronger than I was expecting. There were admittedly some interesting looking drinks that I could have ordered but decided not to. What I did order was the chicken and waffles. That was meh. The chicken was four scrawny strips of fried chicken breast on top of an unimpressive waffle. The side of breakfast potatoes was small and needed more salt, or flavor, or something.
All in all it just seemed like restaurant throwing together a slightly below average brunch so they can get access to that St. Pete brunch money, and not because they’re especially good at brunch. Maybe it’s better when you they’re for dinner or lunch. Maybe their seafood is awesome. But I’ll pass up going here for brunch, especially if they don’t find a way to get rid of those birds.

Brought the man here for his birthday and had a really nice time.
Started with a couple sparkling sangria which are always good and refreshing.
For lunch I had the grilled salmon salad with sun dried tomatoes. .gorgonzola cheese crumbles… mixed greens and a really good creamy Ceasars dresssing. So good. It’s pretty much all I order here
.it’s that good.
He got the heart attack burger with bacon and fried egg on it. He thoroughly enjoyed it let me say! Lots of hmmm yummy coming from. his side of the table. Lol
After …we lingered for a few and moved outside to have a glass of wine on the deck. watching the boats go in and out. Pretty view. delicious food… good service.
Reasonable prices.
Can’t ask for much more than that

Great place to pull the boat up and dock it and go eat. They’re open early for breakfast now too, as well as late into the night being a bar and restaurant. Outside seating is all we ever get as the deck over looks the water, although inside has nice cold AC. The prices are a bit high and serving sizes are average, the food tastes good, and service is sometimes hit or miss. But overall nice scenery, good food, decent service, OK prices, and worth a try.

2 stars for the food and prices–
I’ve been to Frescos at least three times now due to work or friend gatherings and each time it’s always the same — mediocre food and high prices. This past time I had the yucatan spring rolls as an appetizer which, were edible (imagine: thawed veggie mix wrapped in wonton wrapper then deep fried). For my lunch I had the fried shrimp with a cucumber salad. Since fried shrimp is typically heavily breaded, I had them grilled. $ 12 later, I received 6 small (41 – 50 ct) shrimp and a little dish of cucumber salad. It was pathetic. I also tried their red sangria ($ 9.95) and it was horrid. Switched to a Bloody Mary ($ 9.95) and that wasn’t too bad. I’ll probably stick to a $ 5 beer next time that I’m forced to go there. I can only surmise that this place’s survival is based on their view of the marina.

Been here a few times and I keep forgetting to write a review. We ended up here on a Saturday for brunch, having been a few times previously for lunch or dinner. We’re never thrilled with our meals here, but its a good fall-​back when you aren’t sure where to go or can’t decide on a place. There’s nothing wrong with Fesco’s, but there also isn’t any spectacular. The type of place that probably deserves a 3.5 star rating, but doesn’t deserve the 4^th, so we round down.
The Fresco’s menu is one you look at and think it’ll be awesome. They have so much that sounds like it would be terrific, but unfortunately, they do everything okay and nothing terrific. On this morning, I had the texas toast sirloin — basically a steak benedict on texas toast served with a hollandaise and a southwestern sauce. Sounds awesome, right? The eggs were cooked perfectly, steak a little overcooked, but not much, and the potatoes were very good. But the taste of the benedict didn’t impress me like I thought it would. It was good-​and I can’t really complain about anything other than the southwestern sauce didn’t have much of a kick to it. Still, it was a solid meal-​just not anything worth dying for.
Service was a bit spotty. Hostess sat us and then we proceeded to be ignored by every server for 10 minutes. Turned out that no one knew whose table it was and it may not have even been assigned, so instead of someone grabbing our drink order, they just ignored us. I waited tables for a long time and if you pass a table a couple of times with people who don’t have drinks, menus are closed, and they are looking around, you stop and ask if they’ve been helped and if you can get them started with something. There was no teamwork. Eventually, a server picked us up and everything was fine from that point on.
Like I said above, Fresco’s is okay and its fine if you don’t know what you want or can’t decide or just need a place where everyone will find something on the menu to order. The location is great — just at the St. Pete marina in downtown, and their patio in nice weather is an excellent place to relax and have a meal outside. But if you’re looking for a top-​notch meal, you can find better in downtown St. Pete for similar prices. If you’re looking for an acceptable meal while you’re in the area, then Fresco’s is fine.

Another gem in the Tampa/​St. Petersburg area. Came here with some co workers and everything was amazing, we tried:
Calamari
Bruschetta
Shrimp angel hair pasta
The calamari was perfect, lightly breaded, and you get a large portion for the price! What I loved about the pasta is that the sauce wasn’t heavy, you can taste the lemon and garlic in every bite! I also liked the fact they had a good price range– you can spend 30 and get the filet, or spend 10 – 15 for a pasta dish. Great service, and an amazing view. This place is perfect for a meal outside with the view of the water. Go go go! :)