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Dining review: Stonewood serves fine food, family-friendly

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Oak Grilled Filet Mignon with steamed asparagus, tender crab meat and hollandaise sauce (left) and Grilled Rosemary & Garlic Lamb Chops at Stonewood Grill and Tavern.

By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 27, 2009

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BRANDON - Who says upscale has to be uptight?

Brandon's Stonewood Grill & Tavern is a delicate combination of fine dining and relaxed atmosphere. Depending on the day of the week and the time you show up, this can be a place to take a special date — or the whole family.

The Ormond Beach-based chain opened its Brandon location a little more than a year ago, and it has become a neighborhood staple. The bar attracts professionals after work and gets packed on weekend nights.

Located off Bloomingdale Avenue, across from Bloomingdale Square, the restaurant is nestled within the community — not among the clusters of other restaurants near State Road 60. The chain has one other Tampa Bay location, in New Tampa. Both are open only for dinner.

The menu offers an impressive mixture of oak-grilled steaks and seafood as well as burgers and sandwiches.

We started with the Bleu Cheese Chips, which came very highly recommend by our server, and bruschetta.

The chips were amazing. The red, white and blue potato chips were topped with warm bleu cheese aioli, bleu cheese crumbles, and a balsamic reduction drizzled on top. We were grateful that the kitchen didn't hold back on the toppings.

The bruschetta featured fresh grilled garlic bread topped with diced tomatoes, olive oil and parmesan cheese, but it was the balsamic vinaigrette dressing that really popped the palate.

Other tempting appetizers included Oak Grilled Quesadillas, Emerald Bay Crab Cakes and Baked Brie.

Along with an ample wine selection, Stonewood offers an inventive list of signature cocktails. We sampled the Fruit Fusion, a blend of vodka, fresh fruit, mint and lime with raspberries (it's also available with blueberries) and enjoyed its refreshing, original flavor.

Service was great, and all our server's suggestions were good ones.

For entrees, we tried the Ginger Lime Salmon, flame grilled and served moist and fresh over a bed of crisp vegetable slaw. The ginger lime sauce gave the simple dish a full flavor.

We also tried the Oak Grilled Filet Mignon, served with garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. We requested it be cooked medium, but it came out more of a medium well. Even so, it was still so juicy and tender we didn't mind.

All Stonewood's steaks are hand-cut and aged nearly a month.

Other enticing entrees included Grilled Rosemary and Garlic Lamb Chops, Mahi-Mahi and Chicken Pot Pie.

Our preschooler chose the kids' macaroni and cheese meal (which includes a drink and costs $4) and impressed her parents by eating almost every bite, plus several bites of the salmon and steak.

For dessert, we picked the Crème Brulee Cheesecake and Tiramisu. The vanilla bean custard cheesecake had a sugar glaze on top that set it apart from traditional cheesecake. The tiramisu, on the other hand, was good but a bit soggy. We ended up fighting over the cheesecake.

We arrived shortly after 5 p.m. on a Thursday and found other families getting an early dinner, too. Stonewood clearly caters to adult palates, but the staff does a good job making sure kids are happy: Ours was given crayons and very large coloring paper.

Still, we were glad we chose early dining. By the time we left, the atmosphere was changing. The bar area was lively with people who seemed to know each other and were having a great time. The quaint dining area was getting quiet, and the children were filing out.

It made us want to come back and experience the place all over again.