Dinner at "Trendy" Punta Gorda Restaurant, Torch

Since it was our last night together in Florida, Shane and I went out to dinner to a new restaurant (for us), Torch Bistro in Punta Gorda. The restaurant's Web site describes the place like this:  "When stepping into the doors of Torch Bistro you ask yourself..."are we in Charlotte County?" With the modern and sleek look of the restaurant the design reminds you of a Miami or New York style restaurant."

From the outside, the place is lit up with numerous tiki torches.  When you step inside, you can tell they are going for a modern look.  There is a glassed in bar area with sports programming on the TVs. We were seated at a small table for two on the wall on the other side of the bar. Glittering glass-like beaded curtains divided the rooms.

Though we were told we couldn't get a reservation for four at 6:30 (we had originally invited Shane's folks to join us) the place was about half empty when the two of us arrived for our reservation at 7:30. What I didn't really like about the place was the noise.  Though it wasn't that full, it was loud in there. They need something to absorb the crowd chatter.  It must be really bad when it is busy.

Anyway, we both had nice glasses of Cabernet and ordered steaks. They brought "bread" to the table, which were really bread nuggets. No need to worry about filling up. We got about four bite-size pieces.  They brought us a good salad in deep white square bowls. I had a tangerine vinaigrette, which was very good.

Our steaks came and they were surround by some sort of green sauce. We are not sure what that sauce was, but it was not the best looking presentation of a steak. The steak had a tiny dollop of mashed potatoes covered with a beef gravy and all that was covered with several well-done pieces of asparagus. 

The steak was OK, but I wouldn't say this was as nice as the River City Grill, another restaurant we like in Punta Gorda. We'll give Torch another chance, though... sometime.