Claytons Siesta Grille

I’ve been a regular for three years now at a rapidly declining rate. Three years ago, the food was very good. After bringing my guests on several occasions, I’ve experienced dry short ribs, grossly undercooked risotto, lamb that was near inedible, steak that was not close to being worthy of a special and a cup full of potatoes that was supposed to be fish chowder. I decided last year to only go to CSG when I am in the mood for fish tacos, because I love them there and haven’t found any to rival them. Last night, I left the restaurant hungry after the fish tacos. As a regular, I asked my waitstaff friend if it would be appropriate for me to mention the tiny piece of fish in my third taco and he said yes. The chef didn’t think it was a valid grievance. As a regular that has spent thousands of dollars there, I was disappointed. So, now I leave a review to say that the ingredients for the salad have been awful my last few visits (not to mention, all portion sizes get smaller and smaller) and my guest’s Ceasar was made entirely of tiny, yellow romaine hearts including the huge end! There wasn’t a green leaf of the plate, just bitter lettuce. My greens were ok, but the cucumbers and tomatoes were not good. It’s only a $ 4 salad, but the ingredients suck. CSG has AWESOME wait staff and Julia is the best on the bar. I love that Clayton buses tables and interacts with the customers, but he never remembers me and he never asks me how the food actually is. It’s a fun place to visit across from the beach, but if you don’t want to drop NYC prices (I’m from NYC) for Florida food, go to Flavio’s or Miguel’s or Longboat Key.

I have eaten at Claytons for many yeas now and have never had a bad meal until today. Once We were seated it took a very long time for menus to come and the drink orders to be placed. After about 25 minutes of waiting for drinks they were finally brought out. The food was soon ordered and 4 out of 7 means we’re cold and not eatable. After telling our waitress the food was taken back and took at least 20 more minutes to be brought brought back and was just not good. The service was awful and our waters and drinks were never refilled even after request. Over all I was very disappointed!

Claytons Siesta Grille is my favorite restaurant on Siesta Key. It is actually one of the best restaurants in Sarasota. They are known for their breakfasts. For lunch they offer the best fish tacos, the best burger, great salads and good gourmet pizzas. I enjoy everything I order. I love sitting outside on the patio. I just wish they were opened all day, but they break in the afternoon to prepare for dinner. I believe they are closed Monday and Tuesday.

Terrible atmosphere, mediocre food and drink, great service… keep looking is my advice.

Many breakfast options. I order a simple breakfast with scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, toast and bacon and it’s always prepared exactly as I order it. Reasonably priced. Best potatoes by the way. I took visitors there recently and they wanted a healthy breakfast and there are several tasty, fresh options on the menu. Staff are friendly and efficient. Large indoor seating area in pleasant casual atmosphere plus seating outside with fand. I’ve heard they serve an excellent dinner too!

Every time my family is in Siesta Key we make a point to come to Clayton’s. The food is always amazing and the atmosphere is great too. They have great art for sale all over the walls (I think by local artists, but I’m not sure). For an appetizer we always get the tomato jam jar which is fantastic. When I was there last night I ordered the pear and arugula salad with the mahi mahi tacos; both were amazing! The service is awesome, and everyone is so friendly and attentive without being pushy. Everyone at my table was thrilled with their meal!

Cute little place with a very nice menu. Not a huge menu but all appeared to be tasty and unique. I really like a menu which is much shorter, I think it shows a place that puts a lot of thought into their food choices. There was a enough variety that anyone could be happy selecting off of their breakfast menu. My husband had a design your own scramble which really look good and I tried the eggs Benedict. Instead of Canadian bacon they substituted a very good ham which I found I liked better. If you Unilocal in to this restaurant they will generously give you a free Bloody Mary. Coffee was refreshed often. Seating can be inside and outside. Upon entering there are two Long community tables which look like they would be great fun to sit at for cocktails or your meal. Also noticed a bar. We will be back next year to try both their lunch and dinner menus.

This must be one of the best restaurants in Sarasota — siesta key area. We enjoyed it so much for brunch that we had to come back for dinner.
For brunch we had pancakes with almond granola, strawberries and banana. It was the best American pancakes I ever had !!! We the continued with a steak n’ egg. It was also very good with home fries.
When we went back for dinner we were not super hungry but needed to take something, u had the burger and I was not disappointed, it perfect grilled with sautéed onions and good cheese.
My wife had mahi mahi tacos and they tasted so well so she almost ended up licking the plate ;-)
Thanks Claytons for making our last day in our vacation a very memorable one !!

After second review, we had to go back after trying several other «must try’s». This place has defiantly gotten it’s game together. The spring rolls are so tasty and perfect. The pizzas are delicious for an upscale joint, really? Yup! Best key lime pie on the island and the food is just Goooood! Filet, the best, grouper is my awesome and the owner… Clayton is a hard working guy I see running all over. Had the opportunity to speak with him tonight, yea, he gets it and is nothing less than a hard working business owner topping off my water and cleaning my table. Never would have known it was him unless my wife didn’t recognize him from a picture on Trip advisor. This is a must do. Come, eat, be thankful you did!

Our service wasn’t the best but not terrible either. My wife and I split a pizza (Fungi –very good) and the short ribs (kind of dry — not that good). We were disappointed that they charged us a $ 5 sharing fee when we ordered two entrees. We would go back but definitely order something else. It is a cool place to be though.

Best bar and restaurant on SK. The outside is very casual while the inside is more upscale — about the nicest interior atmosphere on the Key.
Breakfast on the porch is great — they have very tasty omelettes. Happy hour at the long high-​top tables is fun and reasonable with food and drink specials — great $ 8 margarita pizza that will feed 2, $ 4 wines and $ 4 well drinks.
Went back for a full dinner and had the short ribs — again, very delicious.

Great atmosphere! Indoor outdoor seating, we decided on inside with high back leather booths and attractive décor and fun art!
Loving the art. I ordered the Veggie Filltada and Jeff ordered a beautiful pecan French toast. Everything is wonderful tasty cheesy grits YUM

Came here on a Tuesday night and asked to be seated outside. Not very crowded and tons of tables open. We were seated in a strange little side table on the patio because the server said it was the «only clean table.» None of the other tables were bussed from previous customers (ew!) Anyhow, server took about 10 minutes to come to table (I was ready to leave.) got the sense he was new or just overwhelmed. Ordered a round of martinis and the crab appetizer. Drinks were fantastic and the crab appetizer was delicious. Ordered a sausage pizza for dinner and it was delicious and perfectly proportioned for 2 people. It had a thin but crispy crust (which we love.) Overall bill was reasonable. I’m giving it 5 stars for the food and 3 for service (waiter eventually got it together and even gave us good recommendations for places to eat that weren’t as touristy.)

My wife and I liked so much that we went 3 times during our vacation. The staff is courteous, friendly, and helpful. The food is very good as well. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming while the decoration is a nice break from the «everything beach» elsewhere. The first time I had the grouper, a nice portion for a dinner, and my wife got the pasta primavera. The service was outstanding and we had a nice conversation with the owner. You can see he cares and likes his restaurant.
The second time we got the shrimp lettuce wrap and fungi pizza. Both were amazingly good. If you do not know what to order, get these. The only problem however was that the paper underneath the pizza stuck to the pizza and couldn’t be separated. It tasted ok for paper ;) We told our server and he took it out of the bill and, on top of that, gave my wife and aloe Vera lotion because we mentioned during our casual conversation that she overexposed to the sun that day.
The last time we went for breakfast. The Siesta Key omelets is a good option.

I normally don’t go to Siesta Key for a nice dinner because I feel most of the customers just come and go as tourists. But a friend of mine recommended that I try Clayton’s siesta grille and we were blown away by the quality of food that we had. From the appetizer to the main course and dessert, everything was excellent.
We are now regulars at Claytons and we enjoy trying different things every time. My wife & I think its great that the owner, Clayton, goes to work everyday and meets some of his patrons. Most restaurant owners don’t even come to their restaurant much less go out and meet some of their customers. We love taking friends that come visit us because it’s always a great experience.
This is one of the best restaurants in Sarasota and I think it’s really due to the fact that the owner takes such an interest in his customers and also some of the reviews here on Unilocal

My husband and five year old daughter read some random reviews about Clayton’s and decided to give it a try!
So. Glad. We. Did.
For starters, we got the calamari. So good! I had the filet and my husband had the scallops. And we topped it all off with the crème brûlée. Everything was amazing. Can’t wait to come back!

I’ve been here a handful of times. Every time I have come here, I’ve never been disappointed, however last night was a different story.
Which started out as a great dinner with appetizer (muscles and caesar salad), my boyfriends entrée was a huge disappointment. He got the margarita pie (gross) and I got the scallops (very good). The waiter talked up the pizza saying it was very good, however it was not good at all (too cheesy, not a good crust, and did not taste like brick oven). Additionally the waiter came off slightly arrogant, however drinks were refilled and plates were cleared right away.
He experience several hours of uncomfortableness in the restroom (TMI) as this was more of a four cheese pie than a margarita. Moral of the story, do not come here for pizza. Their seafood and short rib is where you should focus your attention.

Have never had a bad meal here. Changed the menu and it is great. Had the lobster Benedict and it was incredible. Never in my wildest dreams would I thought of that combination but it was great.
The atmosphere is so florida you have to check this place out.
Make sure you check in on Unilocal for special.

For our appetizers, we shared the coconut shrimp; it was ok. For our dinner, I had the Grouper, one of my daughters had the fish tacos, my other daughter had the duck (looked a little over-​done) and my husband had the hanger steak (a little under-​done and my husband likes medium to rare) which was the special of the night. I really enjoyed the sauce that came with my dish and my daughter really loved the duck. For dessert, we shared the Banana’s Foster which was really yummy. All in all, our food was delicious, and the service was pretty good.

The last time we came to Siesta Key, we stayed just down the street at Vista Hermosa for a week and never knew about Claytons. That was definitely unfortunate, as Claytons has some of the best food IN Siesta Key!
I had their mahi mahi fish taco with salsa verde, and it may have been the best fish taco I’ve ever had. My wife had their burger (delicious), and my in-​laws had their braised beef which was also awesome according to them.
What prevented me from giving them a full 5 stars is that their patio (where we sat) is rather sparse. It almost felt like we were sitting in their parking lot. We’ll definitely be back though, and next time, we’ll try sitting indoor.