the garlic

atmosphere was amazingly beautiful. the food was ok the bruschetta was very good.

stupid expensive, slow service, took 1 hour just to get out first round of drinks. 2 hours to get bread and appetizers, 4 hours just to have dinner. we complained to peter the manager and he said to us "what do you expect, we're busy" really $200.00 for 3 people to eat. i expect good service, competent staff, and not a 4 hour ordeal. never again will i waist myomere there.

what happenened?. this used to be one of my favorite restaurants. last 2 visits left me sad. first...let's turn the lights on after closing and really give the place a good scrub down. second....the service on my last visit was so disappointing. my wine....which should arrive during appetizers or at least before dinner did not arrive until my dinner was just about finished. i promptly returned it. i was offered a free desert however, but declined.

appetizers were good, but once again arrived same time as dinner. meal temperatures were not as expected and would have been returned if we were not already there waiting so long to get served.

please bring back the old garlic i remember so well. i hope i am patient enough to give it another try.

please bring snack the garlicnthat i fondly remember.

atmosphere is fantastic..food is delicious..but definetly over priced..a special occassion kind of place.

best in nsb, no doubt.. outstanding atmosphere. excellent food. amazing service. worth every penny. tried most everything in new smyrna. eat here three times per visit. go to the garlic for the experience, not if your'e in a hurry and not if you're a o'charley's regular.

go somewhere else.. a few friends and i recently went here for the first time because another friend raved about it. the experience was definitely not worth the money. management has packed way, way, way too many seats into the area and the crowd makes it almost impossible to sit comfortably. we requested inside seating but instead ended up getting seated outside where half of the table was facing due west and couldn't see the other half because the sun was in out eyes, and one side of the table was sitting on a wall where the other side was in chairs that skirted the very active service lane. we asked to be re-seated and instead one of the waiters just said to get some sunglasses. eventually we managed to convince the older lady working in front to re-seat us, but she was pretty rude about it. since it's a popular place to eat with the snowbirds and out-of-towners, my guess is that they can get away with being rude because they are going to get clients anyway. the food was way, way overpriced ($30+ for grouper and some mashed potatoes with veggies?) and wasn't really good. after talking with a few other people about it afterwards, they had comparable experiences as well. definitely not a re-visit for me.

do not go to this restaurant and bar if you’re self conscious!!! it’ll detrimentally affect your mental health. i have never been “fat-shamed” in my life until this emotionally deteriorating experience by the bartender. i was approached and verbally attacked for my weight. yes!! apparently fat-shaming is a thing. disgusted by the way i was treated by a staff member will surly not keep me from coming back because i respect this business however, i will steer clear from the blue bar which is unfortunate because that is my favorite part of the entire place.

i reached out to management prior to posting this review publicly and the response was the tiniest paragraph, ending with “hope to see you again soon!” which came across as not caring about their ethics of employees. some of the staff here are extremely rude.

one of my all time favs!!

this place is the best mika the server rocked! we split the bocce ball - biggest meatball ever with sauce and pasta!

best patio dining. food is good, bread and famous garlic probably a bit better, but the patio makes it all worthwhile. great place if you are in the mood for italian and the weather is nice. service is always friendly. only negative is the house red wine, you're probably better off ordering one of the lesser priced bottles than a full carafe of the montepulciano.

review of two halves. i have eaten here on many different occasions. the food is good; some dishes are excellent. it is a lovely setting and i would return. i very much enjoy spending an evening at the garlic!

second half.......

service or lack of ruined a great meal. now again, i have been to the garlic several times and this incident has been a one off. the server was terrible: drinks left empty for the entire meal, no courtesy checkups during the meal, bread was ordered but didn't show up, just a general lack of common courtesy. this particular server did her very best just to avoid doing her job. when confronted about her lack of service she became very defensive and rude. asked for a manager. the manager helped defuse the situation, offered us a free drink. we declined as we just wanted to escape and put the ordeal behind us. it was a shame that a representative of the business could make a meal so miserable.

i think and hope this is just a one off experience as i do enjoy the garlic. like i have stated i will be back at the garlic, but i cannot say the rest of the party will be return to the garlic, this server has lost them business!

i would have slapped myself if i had of served myself that badly at a buffet.

great atmosphere with live music, but the food is not that good. overpriced.

first off let me say i've been to this restaurant many times, continuously i've had the same experience. when it comes to atmosphere, this place is the best you could ask for. other than that aspect the restaurant is marginal at best. i order something different every time i go because i can never find something that is just better than okay. the portions are quite big, but i let it go to waste because i have no interest eating it again. the bread and roasted garlic are fantastic, but good luck getting a refill of the garlic. the servers cop an attitude. which is my biggest complaint. i have never had a decent server here. everyone always seems miserable and seem to be run to thin to be able to function. i've had to wait to order my food for over 30 minutes. it totally ruins the atmosphere! avoid this place.

i am one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. i cannot recommend this place enough! great atmosphere, great wait staff, great service and delicious food!

garlic (allium sativum) had been used since the beginning of recorded human history.  in the middle ages the church used garlic to conduct ceremonies in order to keep away evil spirits, which included fighting off demonic possession, werewolves, and yes vampires. 

the garlic is a small family owned restaurant between daytona and cocoa beach florida that will provide you with an authentic taste of the tuscan countryside that gives large pieces of roasted garlic and bread as a starter to every table from their il forno wood fired oven. they go through 1000 pounds of garlic each month. complementary valet, large patio seating, and an impeccable old and new world wine list. as a fun fact, china accounts for 20% of the worlds supply of garlic.

feature dishes: roasted il forno garlic, harlot’s cheese, bocce balls, pretzel brownie
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