The Crafted Plate

Overall I would say go elsewhere if you feel like it and you’re on the company card. The food is decent. I had the salmon with a goat cheese and spinach stuffing. It was more like a pesto poured over the middle of a slightly overlooked, under seasoned, but tender salmon served over tasty risotto. The happy hour is ok with $ 3.75 premium beers, but sadly for a local craft brew its $ 6.75. Service was great but the food was just ok. They’re clearly surviving on hotel guest hostages.

Staying at the Marriott and I thought I would try out the restaurant. Big disappointment! The service was horrible. Waited a while to take order. I selected the Pig Wings for appetizer and Salad for dinner. After waiting over 25 minutes, both the appetizer wings and salad came out the same time.
The Pig Wings were disgusting. First, they advertise them as wings but they are chicken drumstick legs made to look like wings. Not sure why they do false advertising. I wouldn’t of order it if I knew they were dark meat chicken legs. Second, they try to make it taste good by smothering it with BBQ Sauce and Ranch all over the wings /​legs.
The arugula spinach salad was ok. Nothing special.
The waitress was not very friendly, bad food, and very very slow service for a $ 30 meal. I will pay for a cab tomorrow than have to endure this place again.

Incredibly disappointing service. The hostess was not polite and waitress seemed put out when I asked for a cranberry juice. My wife and I both had the «buffet» The made-​to-​order omelette was very good, but the rest of the «buffet» consist of; scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, some fruit and milk and yogurt. And it’s $ 16.

For a hotel restaurant I wasn’t expecting much more. Don Shulas is the exception! Drinks were a bit sweet. Service was on point. Hit the happy hour deals 4−8…

Instead of going to the nearby Hilton Luna which is consistently good but never exciting, I decided to take some business colleagues here for a change. With only a few people at the bar, the noise level was high, speaking to the bad acoustics. I always like it when the server comes to take your order by saying «Yeah?» and the orders needed to be repeated several times because of the noise. The appetizers, chips and wings, were good, the salads as well but the entrees were all over salted to make them borderline inedible. I’ll stick to Luna in the future.

Yikes… so we had a party of 5, including myself. This restaurant was in our hotel and we decided that would be quick and easy so we could still work and prepare for our meetings the following day.
We were seated and told our waitress would be along any moment to get our drink orders, we were not left with any menus or enough place settings. Around 15 min. later the waitress came by to get our drink orders (we were all thirsty and starving from traveling all day). I told her we never got a drink menu and asked to see one and started with water for all of us. Another 10min later she came back with water and took our beer/​wine order. Another 10min later (are you starting to see a pattern here?), she came back with our beverages and we all ordered so we wouldn’t have to wait anymore. Mind you, it was not busy at all! I ordered a flatbread app for the table which took about 15 min and we all devoured it… I can’t tell you how it tasted because I would have considered anything edible at that point! About 20 min later the waitress came out and said they were out of 1 of the menu items we ordered… she JUST figured this out??? So the order was resubmitted and about 25 min later she brought our food. Still missing a place setting that we requested 2x she brought just a napkin and no silverware for my co-​workers pasta dish… then eventually it took us 30 min to flag her down for the check. Food was just OK, nothing special, service was awful, we will find another place to eat tomorrow night!

We returned and once again: Ugh.
There is nothing unique or crafted about the food or the experience. We came for happy hour and asked what was on special: Apparently they changed their menu and no one knew. I specifically asked about a great cocktail I’d had not three weeks before and they couldn’t find mention of it on any menus. We ended up simply ordering drinks and paying full price, since no one seemed able to confirm what was included in the «happy hour.» We also ordered a couple things to eat and they were average .
It was disorganized, at best.
I continue to be surprised by reviews about the décor. It’s a hotel bar and restaurant and that’s the look and feel it has.

James was a great server the minute we walked in he was attentive! Got us bread and drinks. Came right back checked in if all was good and he was in training. Brought our salad and more bread he said he put more for us;)! Gave us a togo box and i wanted more fresh bread and he never said no. James way to go!!! Keep up the great service!

The place was empty at 5 PM but after watching the blonde bartender ignoring us and waiting for server — I am not surprised.
After a cocktail and sending back wings that were raw, we decided to go down the street to the Hilton and had a fabulous time.

The dining room was empty when we got here. Considering it was lunchtime this should have been a warning sign.
We both ordered the Espresso BBQ Burger with fries, which the server highly recommended. Nothing on the plate was seasoned, including what I suspect were frozen burger patties. The patties were so charred they literally looked like pieces of coal. The inside meat was not pink as it should have been but instead was grey. Even the fries were overcooked!
This place is a total joke and not at all farm to table or fresh tasting in any way.

I’m stepping up my rating of this place after numerous repeat visits that were much better then the first.
The service here has really improved as well. Not sure if it’s because I’m a «regular» now but they’re better at greeting you at the door and service seems speedier.
I always have the elderflower martini here ($ 11.00) which is good, strong, but good. I like a good strong martin after a crap day so no complaints here.
They’ve changed a few things as well, still trying to find perfection. The heirloom tomato salad ($ 9.00) is presented in a stack style now, which I like, and it’s very good. Numerous types of tomato with nice fresh mozz and a great balsamic.
the chicken and waffle sliders ($ 10.00) also seemed to be stepped up some, although still not on advertised «Belgian «waffles. They should just deleted that word from the description. The chicken is done so well though, its very good!
had my traditional gnocchi bolognaise ($ 20.00) which is a little high priced for pasta dish, but it is at a hotel restaurant, and it is darn good. Barely tweeked from the old vincenzos days as it really didn’t need it. He had the chicken marsala ($ 26.00) Definitely overpriced for chicken BUT have to say, best marsala I’ve had In a long time. Really good stuff, and the chicken was soooo juicy. Impressive.
Had a bottle of Justin Isocseles with dinner ($ 80.00) suggested by our waiter, and it was very good and not badly off pricepoint either.
I will continue to support this business and look forward to return visits. (Hopefully without 40 kids screaming around the very visible pool-​they really should put curtiains on the windows)

I would say our server Jill was the best. No lie, best service we have ever had. We had the chicken and waffles to start, waffle was good, the chicken could have been better. The filet Mignon is worth coming for! I would definitely go back and try something else. They should update the atmosphere.

Service excellent. Flat bread good
Grouper was terrible. Very disappointing

I’ve been here once for dinner and twice for lunch since the Unilocal event and their opening. Don’t let the fact that it’s connected to a hotel deter you from coming for lunch or dinner if you work nearby because, as far as quality, taste and creativity are concerned, it is one of the best and is right up there with some other elite restaurants that are getting a lot of attention in St. Petersburg.
This is another restaurant the Tampa Bay area can be proud of, and for me, I was sold as soon as I tasted the fried cheese curds. These things were way better than I could have expected. They were so crispy on the outside, but when I cut into one of them, creamy cheese curds poured out. I honestly don’t know if there was a sauce or any garnishment on the dish because I just ate the curds without stopping to look around.
I ordered the braised beef and veal ravioli that I experienced in the tasting event because they are freaking awesome. Beef and veal stuffed into homemade pasta and ladled with jus… I mean, I’m probably going to order this every time I go for dinner, even if I try another entrée. They have homemade gnocchi on the dinner menu, so I should come hungry.
The lunch menu is much smaller, but still delivers big flavor. I started both lunch visits with the roasted tomato bisque. I’m usually not too impressed with tomato soups because they often taste like marinara. This, however, tastes exactly like roasted tomatoes with subtle herbs and spices. It is simple and rustic, like it should be. It also has a nice little surprise in the middle of the bowl. It is served with a mini grilled cheese sandwich and compliments it perfectly.
For the lunch entrée, I had the potato and bacon flatbread the first visit and the rigatoni ala vodka on the second. Again, everything was impressive. This flatbread is one of the best I’ve ever had. It is simple and rustic like many of the other offerings. It is layered with bacon, thinly sliced potatoes and roasted garlic. They all work together extremely well and the crispy bread delivers it all wonderfully. The rigatoni I had on the most recent visit lived up to the standards set by everything else I’ve had. It is completely homemade pasta with pancetta and a delicious vodka sauce.
This is a great lunch location for anyone working in Feathersound, or anywhere else nearby, because the service is good and it only takes about 30 minutes to complete your meal. Also, it is very refreshing to eat some real homemade food in a location littered with chain restaurants, while still being competitively priced.

First, I was excited to return to the hotel where I met and married my amazing husband. The location is VERY central to St. Pete and Clearwater and has plenty of available parking. The hotel is amazing itself — so if you happen to have too many of the powerfully tasty drinks… well…who needs a cab when a bed is soft and ready for you!
All of the food is fresh, farm to table, rustic, hearty, and well formed. Beautiful presentation, wonderful flavor profiles. Something for everyone too! Nothing will leave you hungry, but it will all leave you wanting a little more. As a non-​fish eater, I absolutely loved the goldened grouper and brown butter roasted brussel sprouts. Mashed potatoes with whole grain ale mustard were the best I think I’ve ever had.
They have Gluten Free pasta options available too! The pasta is made in-​house (as is everything else from the sauces to the marinades — VERY fresh and full of flavor. Chef Karen not only knows her stuff, she is top of her game.
The hotel itself is a great venue for a 50−75person get together. For my wedding of about 100 guests it was a tight squeeze. The Food and Beverage Director, Jill, is very hospitable and open to helping you host an event. Bonus? Chef Karen, and the Craft St. Petersburg, will be your cooks!

Let’s see-​frequented this place a lot back when it was an Italian joint-​truthfully as much as I once loved the place it had slipped a notch or two-​and let’s face it-​change is not always a bad thing…
OK-let’s start with the cocktails-​let me preface this by saying I’m pretty much a jack-​on-​the-​rock/​beer guy-​so what does my open-​mindedness get me? To begin with-​a fantastic Bloody Mary-​bit spicy with a hint of Old Bay I believe-​well I had more than one or two over a couple visits. Garnished with olive and pickled okra-​clever. Also a raspberry martini (really-​since when are sweet silly drinks called «martinis?but I digress) that was pretty good as well. Decent selection of beers-​could be a few more but… decent selection. Can’t have it all. Virginia G. had her standard elderflower martini-​little more boozy than in other places-​nonetheless again-​pretty good. Scott H opted for beer and turned me on to Banana Bread beer-​not that I’d drink it every day-​but it’s pretty good.
Wine list has been pared down considerably. Had a bottle of The Prisoner meritage-​decent-​not great by any means-​followed by a Franciscan Estate meritage (Magificat) which was in the same price range but a superior wine. I do like the Franciscan label-​they do not over-​oak their wines as so many Californians tend to do. Leave that to the French!
Apps-​Scott had fried cheese curds (we passed) –said ok but needed to be covered in the sauce-​not laid over it as to leave the flavor in the dish and not in the product. Good point. Ahi tuna was generic-​did have a couple of sides of sauce (peanut and dynamite) which was interesting as well as the standard soy/​wasabi/​pickled ginger. Seaweed salad needs a lot of work-​light on rice vinegar-​rather dried out-​well below par.
Salads-​chop salad was pretty good-​NOT sloppy and overdressed. Had the spinach/​arugalu/​pecan salad previously-​chop salad wins hands down. No it’s not like Ruth Chris but its well above average.
Entrees– Gnocchi with Bolognese-​fantastic stick to your ribs stuff. Think it’s same recipe from previous owner-​and I did always like that stuff! I think I ordered it virtually every single time I went there. I had the pork chop on a gouda macaroni pasta-​I had tried it previously under old régime with glazed brussel sprouts-​they were done poorly-​now with green beans-​maybe a bit of a cop-​out but it worked. An al-​dente zuchinni or summer squash on the side would be a better match IMHO.
Final analysis-​right now need some tweaking, ironing out-​but some definate clever ideas going on there under new name. I will certainly be back.

I enjoyed my visit to The Craft on Friday. Although there were a couple things of note.
Ambience is trendy with large lighting and booths divided by sheers. Plenty of bar space and dining area. Some of the booths were at windows facing an elegant pool.
The evening with friends started with fried cheese curds and a Stella. The sauce was a buttery gravy under fried cheese wedges topped with spiraled beets with bacon. A nice start with warm creamy flavors. Kind of subduing.
I was delighted they served banana bread beer. A new pleasure.
We ordered another appetizer. Ahi Tuna that had delightful peanut sauce, spicy mayo, and the typical ginger and wasabi. The tuna was room temperature.
As dinner started we enjoyed a bottle of wine the Prisoner. Similar to the taste of a Shiraz.
For dinner i had the Gnocchi Bolognese. The sauce wasbexc excellent. The gnocchi was room temperature and relied in the sauce for warmth. The combination was very good together.
As the evening wound down we hadca bottle of Magnificent. Also excellent.
The one negative was a drink was served with a bug. The server «bartender» who obliged us with table service in an excellent manner and took care of the issue once brought to his attention.
I would recommend this place but I did not think it was consistently wow.