How is The Smiling Bison - Sanford restaurant rated?

Name: The Smiling Bison - Sanford
Address: 107 S Magnolia Ave., Sanford, FL, United States, 32771
Telephone: (407) 915-6086
Price range: $30 and under
Rating: 4.4

The Smiling Bison - Sanford

4.4 (99)

$30 and under

Gastro Pub

107 S Magnolia Ave., Sanford, FL 32771

About this restaurant

Innovative
Romantic
Neighborhood gem

The Smiling Bison is an independently owned and operated restaurant, serving all handcrafted foods with a strong emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. Our menu is subject to weekly changes and regularly features our house made sausages & other charcuterie. We do feature a full liquor bar at this location, and provide a good variety of craft beers and wines additional to the craft cocktails.

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Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Gastro Pub, American
Hours of operation
Lunch Wed - Friday: 11am - 2pm Dinner Tuesday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 9:30pm Brunch Saturday: 11am - 2pm
Phone number
(407) 915-6086
Website
http://www.thesmilingbison.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Casual Dress

Location
107 S Magnolia Ave., Sanford, FL 32771
Neighborhood
Sanford
Cross street
Between 1st and 2nd Ave
Parking details
Public Lot
Additional
Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Outdoor Smoking Area, View, Weekend Brunch, Wine

Bread Service for the Table$5.00
house made bread, whipped vanilla & smoked sea salt butter
Poutine$9.00
hand cut fries, mushroom gravy, cheddar cheese curds
Fried Brussel Sprouts$9.00
bacon, yuzu vinaigrette, grapefruit
Smoked Fish Hushpuppies$9.00
house smoked scallop, rock shrimp & grouper, jalapeno, meyer lemon tartar sauce
House Made Italian Sausage Pizza$13.00
red sauce, pickled peppers, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano
Spinach & Mushroom Pizza$13.00
garlic puree, shiitake, hen-of-the-woods, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano
Chicken Pizza$12.00
jerk spiced lake meadow farms chicken, pineapple, monterey jack, caramelized onion, pickled jalapeno
Charred Broccolini$10.00
pear, parmesan, almonds, caramelized honey vinaigrette
Wedge$13.00
iceberg, cherry tomato, cucumber, snake river flank steak, watermelon radish, bacon-blue cheese dressing
Smiling Bison Burger$14.00
6 oz. natural bison, garlic aioli, provolone, mushroom ketchup, house bacon, texas toast
BBQ Sandwich$12.00
house smoked pulled pork, carolina bbq, coleslaw, pickles, kaiser roll
Bolognese$18.00
8 hour pork & bison ragu, house made pappardelle, parmigiano reggiano
Short Rib Ravioli$20.00
hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, mushroom brodo, pickled carrots, parmigiano reggiano
Bison Ribeye$32.00
10 oz great range colorado bison ribeye, potato puree, roasted cauliflower
Red Snapper$25.00
fennel, cerignola olive, blood orange, mint

Desserts

Orange Semifreddo$7.00
Cookie Plate$6.00
Hazelnut Macaron$5.00
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake$6.00

What 99 people are saying

The Smiling Bison - Sanford reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

4.4

4.4 based on all time ratings

4.4Food
4.5Service
4.3Ambience
4.0Value

Noise • Moderate

99 Reviews

OT
OpenTable Diner
Las Vegas4 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 2, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great place for happy hour! Bison burger deal on Wednesday is great as well.
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SH
SamH
Portland / Oregon2 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 2, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Never had a bad experience at this place! The food is always fresh and delicious, the chef is always willing to accommodate food allergies as well
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Orlando / Central Florida East8 reviews
1.0
Dined on February 25, 2018
1. Overall 1
2. Food 3
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
I have eaten at this restaurant 3 times previously and have to say the taste of the food has always been on point. However, tonight, on my fourth visit, my experience was simply mind boggling. After a delicious appetizer of sweated shishito peppers, I was served luke warm grouper on purposefully cold vegetables. I had my friend confirm the temp of the fish was way off and only after that sent the dish back. I was served the same piece of fish reheated on top of new vegetables without a fork to even eat it. Was this an acceptable response for a $30 plate and $100+ bill? When I sent it back Chef Josh came out to “apologize” - loosely offered here’s because, in his paraphrased words: I’m sorry you 1) don’t know how restaurants charging $30 a plate typically just reheat and replate food and you should accept this 2) you don’t appreciate that I am in the restaurant 5 days a week and work hard, 3) you should accept the food served to you a second time because the server indicated you just wanted it reheated, 4) I served at the James Beard awards so bow down to my greatness and accept my “I’m sorry you are unhappy but I’m correct and you are not” “apology”. You offered excuses and arguments versus simply preparing a fresh dish. The sad uneaten whorl of chocolate and overripe banana dessert you offered wasn’t going to cut it after a solid 15 minutes of mansplaining Josh. And, while I appreciate you covering the cost of one of two glasses of wine and my friend’s cocktail and you not charging me for the cold/reheated fish, you could have had a fully paid bill if you just remade the dish. We tipped our enthusiastic waiter for the full cost of the meal but I will not return and cannot recommend anyone else dining there despite my honest love for downtown Sanford and your establishment being a once bright spot to visit. If your margins are so tight I recommend the foodies patronize other places where the sophisticated diner’s expectations can more reliably be met.
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MS
MiguelS VIP
Miami - Dade27 reviews
4.0
Dined on February 18, 2018
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
Overall enjoyed the place. Great drinks. Very unique and fresh. The bison burger with the egg was very unique and cooked perfectly. Service was about 80% what you eiulc expect. Definitely a returnable place. Good vibes.
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SS
ScottS
Orlando / Central Florida East3 reviews
2.0
Dined on February 18, 2018
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 2
This place was a big disappointment after reading the reviews. First of all, the service was slooooooow. Three hours for appetizers and burgers? Come on. You gotta do better than that. Yeah, it was a Saturday night, but when we got there there were plenty of tables open, so not really an excuse for slow service. The food? Meh. Nothing to write home about. I had the beef tenderloin app, which was good. Salads were passable. Everyone had bison burgers. Not the best I ever had. And the patty was small for the price. The bread instead of a bun seemed out of place. Give me a big, meaty burger on a real bun and it would have been a lot better. The prices? Way too high for what you get. I keep asking myself, are the portions too small for the prices, or are the prices too high for the portions? I can't decide. While I like the farm-to-table movement, I can't recommend this place to people.
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K
Kevin3183
Orlando / Central Florida East3 reviews
5.0
Dined on February 15, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Bison burger was amazing. Bison steak was great as well but not sure if that was a regular menu item.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Orlando / Central Florida East2 reviews
5.0
Dined on February 10, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
The brunch was great! The food was best I’ve had in awhile. The chef is very involved too, bringing food out and talking to customers. Would highly recommend!
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A
Amazinggrace
Tampa / Central Florida West2 reviews
5.0
Dined on January 27, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Dinner with Friends before show - great service, good food, fair price! Especially liked the Mahi Cheeks over grits and the Bison burger. Looking forward to our next visit.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Orlando / Central Florida East4 reviews
5.0
Dined on January 26, 2018
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Russ, our server was great. Lots of information about food and wine. The menu is the most creative menu in central Florida, since the closing of K in College Park. And the food was excellent. The revived downtown Sanford historic area was the perfect before-meal backdrop to a truly first rate culinary experience.
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G
Galah VIP
Orlando / Central Florida East58 reviews
4.0
Dined on January 25, 2018
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
Great menu choices, wonderful flavors..
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FAQs

The Smiling Bison - Sanford is rated 4.4 stars by 99 OpenTable diners.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?

Claim this listing

Google Map for The Smiling Bison - Sanford

107 S Magnolia Ave., Sanford, FL 32771

Additional information

Cross street
Between 1st and 2nd Ave
Neighborhood
Sanford
Hours of operation
Lunch Wed - Friday: 11am - 2pm Dinner Tuesday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 9:30pm Brunch Saturday: 11am - 2pm
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Gastro Pub, American
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Public Lot
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Additional
Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Outdoor Smoking Area, View, Weekend Brunch, Wine

Website
http://www.thesmilingbison.com/
Phone number
(407) 915-6086

The Smiling Bison - Sanford

About this restaurant

Not available on OpenTable

There’s more to explore

Additional information

Menu

Main

Bread Service for the Table$5.00

Poutine$9.00

Fried Brussel Sprouts$9.00

Smoked Fish Hushpuppies$9.00

House Made Italian Sausage Pizza$13.00

Spinach & Mushroom Pizza$13.00

Chicken Pizza$12.00

Charred Broccolini$10.00

Wedge$13.00

Smiling Bison Burger$14.00

BBQ Sandwich$12.00

Bolognese$18.00

Short Rib Ravioli$20.00

Bison Ribeye$32.00

Red Snapper$25.00

Desserts

Orange Semifreddo$7.00

Cookie Plate$6.00

Hazelnut Macaron$5.00

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake$6.00

What 99 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

How is The Smiling Bison - Sanford restaurant rated?

Not available on OpenTable

Additional information