Hillview Grill

How to start a review of a place that has so many faults?  Reservations taken only on the 1/2 hour, not an issue, unless when you get there about 5 minutes prior to the res. time, the "host' says the others in your party must be seated since the name is crossed off.  Where are they sitting you ask?, he has no idea (it is soon apparent he has no idea about much) and he replies they may be at the bar, at a high top, or in another section.  Of course they have not yet arrived and are thus not seen when you look about the place.  When they arrive, the res. was in their name, you are made to wait 25 minutes PAST the reservation time to get a seat.  While waiting one of your party inadvertently leans against a dimmer switch which makes the some lights go higher and lower.  Why it is placed where folks who are waiting can easily move the switch only the management can answer.  However the "host" glares at my friend and is rather rude when telling her to not move the switch, as if she was aware she was doing so..
Finally seated, we order.  When ordering one guest asks the waitress if the cilantro and tomato can be left off her fish tacos.  I ask for a side of russian dressing and tabasco sauce.   No problem we are told.
The apps/soups arrive.  The black bean soup is too spicy for my friend so she puts it aside.  Next come the mains.  My friend's fish taco comes with, you guessed it, cilantro and tomato.  When we note this to the staff who brought it to the tablet he says he's only the food runner and stands there in silence for a moment.  He then says he'll take it back to see if he can correct the order.  Before he leaves I ask him  to also bring the russian dressing and tabasco I had ordered for my dish.  He says they do not have russian dressing ias it is not offered as a choice.  When he returns with the correct fish taco dish for my friend he loudly informs me, as he puts some seemingly russian dressing down on the table, that "he made it himself".  Nice of him.  BTW since we received the apps we've not seen the waitress again, despite our drinks needing refills and any other issues she should have been interested in checking on.  
OK you may think so they got the "special" fish taco order incorrect but they fixed that.  I might tend to agree, except my spouse's fish taco (standard regular order, no requests re same) has been served without the  chipotle aioli sauce listed for it on the menu.  At the time the correct taco is served to my friend we note to the "runner',(still no sighting of the waitress), that one of us needs a fork.  After an initial blank look, he goes and brings one to the table.  Unfortunately the folks was not a clean one, as he had gotten it from another table and it arrived with bits of food on it.
As for the food, who cared at this point.  To be fair the hamburger i had was fine.  Other items either arrived not as ordered, see above, and/or, were not anything special.
BTW as we ate someone else made the mistake of leaning on the dimmer switch near the entrance,  I know this because for about five minutes the light fixture set above our table put on an annoying light show as it brightened and dimmed.  
When we got our check:
it needed to be redone as we had been charged for items not ordered;
the waitress noted that my friend had not eaten the soup.  This after the bowl having sat on the table for at  at least 45 minutes after she moved it from her place setting (the charge for the soup was removed from the bill); and,
the waitress apologized for the situation stating it was her "first day working at the place".
All in all a very poor excuse for a restaurant.  Also i am still waiting for my tabasco sauce to arrive as requested.

Four stars if for nothing else but their burgers.  Went with a group not knowing Thursday burger madness.  We have been here before to find the food mediocre But wanted to try it again.  It is extremely crowded on Thursday...burger and beer for $10. You need a reservation but we were able to find seats at the bar. Which worked well since we chatted with interesting people to the side of us. The burgers were perfectly prepared, juicy and flavorful.  The service at the bar fast and friendly.  If it is a burger you crave I recommend Hillview or Square One....two of the best places in Sarasota for burgers.

Had a very good cheeseburger with bacon, mediocre onion rings (not crispy enough, and not many of them) and good service. The ice water had a very nasty and chemically flavor.

Would go again.