Rusty’s Bistro

Clearwater Beach, United States

3.9

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 727-595-1611
Address:
1160 Gulf Blvd, Clearwater Beach, FL, 33767
Indian Rocks Beach
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
280 ft"GULF BLVD & # 1180"
390 ft"GULF BLVD & # 1067"
550 ft"GULF BLVD & SAND KEY PARK ENTRANCE"
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
No
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Good For
Brunch
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Local time (Clearwater Beach) –

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 11:30 am
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday 7:00 am – 12:00 pm
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Description

Specialties

2010 Florida Trend Golden Spoon Award winning Rusty’s Bistro at Sheraton Sand Key Resort features the Cuisine of the Sun using only the freshest local ingredients paired with classic flavorful Caribbean foods. Choose from any of our A La Carte selections or sample a bit of everything from our Seafood and Prime Rib buffet.

History

Established in 1980.

For over twenty years Executive Chef John Harris has been enhancing fine dining at the critically acclaimed Rusty’s Bistro. Using only fresh, bold flavored foods and the seasonal ingredients of the local markets, Chef Harris and his team have created a cuisine that is «Kissed by the Sun.» This philosophy is what each of Rusty’s Bistro’s dishes are based on. Chef Harris’ soup creations are by far the most popular among the locals, it has become commonplace for them to visit Rusty’s Bistro restaurants to sample his latest soup creation. In 2003 Chef Harris was inducted into the prestigious international culinary society — The Chaine des Rotisseurs — and was also named 2003’s Chef of the Year by the Suncoast Cooks and Chefs Association.

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Vicinity

Near this location:
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1160 Gulf Blvd
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20 reviews of Rusty’s Bistro

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Place rating: 4
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Rusty’s was very handy to go to for a meal in the hotel we were staying in, but it is a tad expensive, for breakfast at least. When you compare it to Maggie Mae’s down the street, it’s twice the price. But you won’t be waiting here at Rusty’s for a table in the morning.
A big shout out to Roberta, who was our server on both occasions we had our breakfast here. She’s an angel who dispenses coffee. Charming too. She was definitely a highlight of our visits to Rusty’s.
The breakfast food is nice, especially the bacon. Mmmmm, crispy bacon with maple syrup was my naughty food of choice.
We also had the wedding meal here on the day my best friend got married. The service on this day was also spot on. The food very nice also. It was a very pleasant wedding meal.
Recommended.
Place rating: 2
Clearwater Beach, FL
I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. My husband had the seafood buffet (nothing special) and I have the petite filet and crab cake. The filet was excellent as were our deserts. The waiter was very nice, BUT. he must have had 15 tables! We watched from our table as he ran his butt off trying his best. His attentiveness was greatly diminished due to poor staffing. While he did apologize, the establishment did NOT appear to be well run. There was a separate busser who appeared lost, and lots of customers waiting long periods of time to have their order taken. When I politely mentioned my displeasure when we left, the «manager type» at the exit, just stared out over the restaurant and looked back at me with no comment. No customer service. As locals, there are too many other options. Overall a disappointment, will not be returning.
Place rating: 2
Gainesville, FL
The Rusty’s Bistro at the Sheraton (in Clearwater) is nothing to brag about. Personally, I hate restaurants where Service and the Food Quality are sub-​par but prices are inflated to help elevate the perception… This is definitely one of those restaurants.
My family and I had dinner at Rusty’s on New Year’s eve 2015… The service was Poor (with a capital P). The $ 35 and up entrees were 99% the same items that were on the buffet. Food was cold and bland in the buffet (I know this because my children had the buffet), and Food was cold and bland as entrees… unfixable!
We had a crabby and ill-​mannered old server who hates children and it so clearly showed on his face we felt sick to be there (and no, my children were not loud or running around, they sat through the whole torture session with something close to a smile on their face).
Will not be returning to Rusty’s Bistro.
Oh, I almost forgot: The music was nice and this review does not reflect on the excellent pianist that played all night long. He was amazing!
Place rating: 4
Frankfurt, Germany
Diner was very good. Both me and my husband enjoyed the time here. You forget that this is a hotel restaurant as it is very lively.
Place rating: 3
Mableton, GA
Rusty’s Bistro sounds interesting. I’m sure Rusty is a swell guy who owns the restaurant. To me, it just sounds like eating rust.
Rusty’s is inside the Sheraton Sand Key Resort Hotel. They offer buffets, prix fixe meals, or you can just order off the menu. They always seem to have cool specials going on.
The atmosphere reminds me of a cruise ship restaurant. I don’t know why. I think it’s because of the quality of food, the piano player playing adult contemporary piano hits, the staff, and a slight level of cheesiness in the atmosphere.
We tried the buffet. They have decent stuff there. They have salad, a bunch of protein stations like snapper and lamb, and a prime rib station. They also had soup.
The buffet, as you expect, was very salty. Everything was too salty to eat. I think it would’ve been a decent experience if they controlled the salt levels. I think even for a buffet, they used too much salt.
Their prime rib is obviously not the best quality prime rib. It was mostly fat. And of course, it was very salty. But hey, unlimited prime rib. How can you go wrong with that?
The service was very friendly and top-​notch though. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant. Hmm, maybe I was. I just couldn’t shake off the cruise ship vibe.
It’s not a bad place to go if you’re too lazy to venture out of the hotel, or if you’re stuck there. Personally for me, I would rather try the places outside the hotel.
Place rating: 4
Largo, FL
All Good, Nothing Exciting
Usually I’m dubious about hotel restaurants. But we’ve heard good things about Rusty’s for many years now. So we finally decided to try it out. We took another couple with us.
The setting is a rather large, austere space and feels a bit stiffly formal – exactly what I figured a hotel restaurant would be like. The servers, however, were all welcoming and friendly and that softened the tone.
Two of us had the lobster which the waiter recommended. I’m not sure what you can do to a boiled lobster, and it was fine. The other two tried the buffet. Everything was quite good and better than typical buffets.
Nothing, however, was very interesting or stood out. Maybe if we had something different on the menu then we would have gotten a better indication of the chef’s talents. As it was, I would definitely go to Rusty’s if I was a staying at the hotel. But I doubt I would go there otherwise. There are too many other places around with interesting atmospheres and more exciting menu items.
Place rating: 1
Dallas, TX
This place is terrible. The hostess told us it was «fine dining.» Well, I guess it tried to be, but everything was wrong at this ridiculously over priced restaurant. First there is a buffet. No fine dining has a buffet. It looked okay, but I wanted seafood. The only purpose of the buffet was to attract families with kids and cause an atmosphere of children running wild and crying. I ordered the steak and «Maryland» style crab cakes and steak. The steak had the oddest texture – mushy inside. Possibly from freezing too long? The crab cakes were stringy crab that smelled fishy. It’s quite possible the crab was from a can. So that’s the food. The service started out fine and went down hill from there. He started out being at the table to the point of being annoying and then got busy and disappeared! To top it off, I asked if I could have a side of the seafood mac n cheese from the buffet. But he brought me a bowl of Kraft mac n cheese. Huh? There weren’t any children at the table. When I told him what I wanted, he didn’t take the box mac n cheese off the table, saying we could take it back to our room. We didn’t want it at all! All this for $ 125 for two people – with no alcohol. Lastly, let’s talk about the décor. First – no windows! I felt like I was in a basement. It’s on the beach, so no windows is a surprise. Second, they have a large wine rack. Could be nice if it weren’t covered with dust! Obviously I’m not a fan. I think the people who gave it a high rating, haven’t been to a restaurant other than Applebee’s!
Place rating: 5
Norwalk, IA
This restaurant was the best part of my stay with the Sheraton Hotel. The food always meet or beat my group’s expectations for a fair price. The service here was the only thing that out-​shined great food. Try prime rib night, ours was great!
Place rating: 4
Placida, FL
Wow we made reservations here for Mothers Day and decided to have Chef Harris special which was Filet Minion (2 approx 4 oz)
Cooked to perfection with Lobster chunks and a lobster sauce. Along with this was eggplant slice covered with tomato sauce, and an arugula small salad. After dinner we decided to share the Crème Brûlée with blueberries strawberry, raspberry boysenberry very nice. Wait staff very attentive and a great night to celebrate a great day.
Place rating: 5
Philadelphia, PA
My husband and I dined here on the first evening of our stay at the hotel. We were pleasantly surprised with our meal. It was beyond amazing!!! It completely surpassed our expectations for hotel restaurant dining. My husband ordered the filet and crab cake and I ordered the herb crusted grilled chicken. We found the serving size to be perfect and the seasoning to be on point. Prior to our entrees, we started with the shrimp cocktail and caprese salad. Both were great starters and we highly recommend. The caprese salad presentation was one of the nicest I’ve ever seen and the taste was just as impressive. We shared the bread pudding for dessert. Oh my, it was beyond words delicious! Our waiter was very polite and knowledgeable of the menu as well. We can’t wait to return again!
Place rating: 5
Tampa, FL
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING FOOD, SERVICE, and ENTERTAINMENT!!! We had the calamari, steak n cake, and grouper piccata. This is better than a 5 star restaurant. They also offer a prix fixe menu for only $ 29.
Place rating: 5
Wantagh, NY
Had the crab cake appetizer, the crab crusted snapper entrée, and the bread pudding desert. My wife had the mixed grill and the crème brule. All were as good or better than anything we’ve had before. The preparation and flavors of each dish were spectacular. One of the best in-​hotel restaurants we’ve ever been to.
Place rating: 5
Harrison, NY
I have absolutely nothing but the best to say about this place. We stayed at the Sheraton and my hubby did the most romantic surprise he ever had for me! (And trust me he does a lot of surprises that I can never guess and leaves me open mouthed!)
On Monday May 26th after a full day of being burnt on the beach we drove around aimlessly and were sitting at the bar inside around 7pm for a drink. A waiter came up and approached me and asked me to follow him. Outside by the pool area there is an upper deck where you can order lunch and that whole space was closed off with a single round table and 2 seats for us. It was very sweet with our own server and own dinner place.
Food: appetizers we ordered caprese salad and the calamari, main course: mixed grill and herbed chicken. The food was AMAZING, beautifully decorated and decent size, it was very flavorful. Dessert: heart shaped tiramisu which they made for us. (The mixed grill was so good that I even tried making the garlic mashed potato that came with it when I got home)
Service: I cannot go above and beyond to compliment Austin. He was attentive and amazing as well as making sure we always had a drink. Very well presented and give him A+++!
Thank you Austin for making this a very special surprise for me!
Place rating: 3
New York, NY
My boyfriend and I were staying at the Sheraton so we decided to try Rusty’s one evening since it was raining out and we didn’t want to drive somewhere for dinner. It was 7pm on a Sunday evening and it was empty. There was an older couple a few tables away from us but that was it! It was kind of nice, like we had the whole place to ourselves. We started with the conch chowder, which was amazing! I had the Seafood Extravaganza, which I really regretted. There was an abundant number of seafoods on my dish but there was this orange glaze that covered them. It ruined the dish for me and I couldn’t finish it. My boyfriend had the lamb rack which was cooked perfectly. Since my meal was less than satisfying, I was determined to get dessert! The chocolate lava cake is to die for!
Place rating: 4
Clearwater, FL
Rusty’s is one of my favorite restaurants in Clearwater.
I have eaten there many times. Our most recent visit was for a special birthday breakfast for a friend. The weekend buffet breakfast at Rusty’s may be the best in the city. There are plenty of choices – but more importantly, the food is very high quality and kept fresh and hot.
Rustys is inside the Sheraton Sand Key, which is a great hotel as well. Since it is a little off the beaten path, it is usually not too busy.
Give Rusty’s a try — and afterwards check out the hotel pool and facilities.
Place rating: 5
Sawyer, ND
The staff was very knowledgable and the food was great. They were very accommodating for our child.
Place rating: 4
Collegeville, PA
We ate hear on several occasions, but only for breakfast. It is not open for lunch, but is open for dinner. We stuck with the hot buffet breakfast and found plenty to eat, including eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits, oatmeal, sausage, pancakes or french toast, breads, cereals, and sweets. Service was very good and coffee and orange juice were always quickly refilled. Eggs tend to be on the watery side, but I like them that way. If you don’t want the buffet, you can also order off the menu. You can also skip the hot items on the buffet, and the price goes down. We enjoyed Rusty’s for breakfast and would certainly go back.
Place rating: 5
Clearwater, FL
My husband and I have eaten at Rusty’s several times since moving to Clearwater and every visit has been wonderful. They are located inside the Sheraton Sand Key Resort. I recommend using the valet parking, as finding a parking space can be difficult at times.
I haven’t tried all of their dinner menu items, but on our last visit, I had the Mediterranean Risotto. This dish came with leeks, mushrooms and grilled artichokes. It was outrageously delicious! Best risotto I’ve ever had. The dinner buffet is pretty good too and has lots of items to choose from including different variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, and other side dishes.
The salad bar has a nice assortment of veggies as well as different types of fruits. If you don’t eat at the salad bar then I highly recommend their caprese salad, it was so good that I ordered two of them. For dessert I had the vanilla crème brulee with fresh berries and it was ahhhh-​mazing, needless to say I left Rusty’s very full and very happy.
The live music adds a touch of class to the place and the staff was exceptionally friendly. Definitely worth a visit even if you’re not a guest of the hotel.
Place rating: 3
Alameda, CA
I was at a conference at the Sheraton and there weren’t many options; a lot of fast food restaurants in the area. They didn’t really have any veggie options so I asked if they could prepare a pasta dish for me. It took a little wrangling but the waiter came back and said the chef could comply.
The chef tried a little to hard and put every vegetable he/​she could find in their kitchen in the pasta including edamame. It was weird. I had asked for a few specific things but somehow the communication didn’t get through.
The dish wasn’t bad nor was it good. There was a lot of it, that was for sure. I remember clicking my heels to remind myself I was no longer in the SF Bay Area because the waiter was about the opposite of a «foodie» — mispronouncing vegetables and fairly ignorant. But hey… it’s Florida… they know seafood!
Place rating: 5
Orlando, FL
Had the opportunity to revisit Rusty’s and had another great experience. They dropped the fixed price menu for the moment, so we ordered off the regular menu. Ordered grouper and my partner had the lamb/​steak special. Both dishes were excellent.
We also had the same waiter as our last visit. Once again, the service was superb.
I highly recommend this place.