Raintree Restaurant

My husband and I have dined at the Raintree on special occasions and have always found the dining experience exceptional - from the warmth of the atmosphere and friendliness of the staff to the wonderful food selections, (we've tried most of them and loved them), we have left the restaurant knowing that we'd we back. We've taken Out of Town guests with us and they have commented that we were right when we said, "Let us take you to a quaint little restaurant in St. Augustine for a wonderful dining experience."

This restaurant has delicious entrees and appetizers but I have to vote for the DESSERTS. The desserts are famous through-out Florida. Yummy! Only negative is that they are not open for lunch during the week.

The Jacksonville Florida Times-Union sent me out to write a review about Raintree. When we came in, the English woman (owner, I guess) was snooty and made us feel very unwelcome. Every inch of space was jammed with tables. Maybe because it was Sunday, the fish I was served definitely wasn't fresh and smelled rotten. When I pointed this out to the server, she made no apology or made any offer to exchange it. I didn't eat it, but she cleared the table as if all was normal, and charged me for it. Of course, the paper edited out these comments -- with them, the restaurant, not the reader is #1. So in the end, the review was basically positive, just like the Times-Union wanted, but this is not a place I can recommend. Oh, yes, the tiny, very expensive, lamb appetizer was ok. The wine list features plonk I wouldn't serve to my worst enemy -- the paper cut out these comments, too. A rip-off. Don't go.

Apparently this used to be a great place to eat, but no longer. After several recommendations over the years we decided to try it out in 2006. Good atmosphere. Service was okay. The crab claw appetizer tasted of iodine and not fit to eat. The shrimp too tasted medicinal. I returned both and finally settled on salad and wine. We gave Rain Tree a second chance recently, but with the same results. Although edible this time, the grouper was clearly not fresh and for the price charged, it was a major disappointment. We will not go there again.