The Garlic – Ravenous Rendezvous in New Smyrna

My husband and I were headed out for an Anniversary dinner and celebration with our daughter and my dad. It was a fiery August afternoon, as we squeezed into the parking lot and hoped that we'd get a table without a reservation. It was a Sunday, and the place was packed. It was a family night out and we were ravenous with anticipation. Plus some hours of swimming by beach had us more than ready for dinner.

• The Garlic  556 E 3rd Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169

We quickly discovered a menagerie of outside waiting areas before opting for some shade in a semi-enclosed enclave near the host stand.

If you drove down 3rd Street headed for an afternoon of surfing at Second Light in New Smryna, you might notice an intriguing-looking building. Actually, you would notice two. Very close to one another. The Treehouse Restaurant and The Garlic are quaint, sprawling restaurants that nearly spill onto the main road to the beach. Each is like a Smyrna siren, begging beachgoers to come explore.

Looks are Everything

The restaurant boasts that it is an "Italian Country Grille." It's kinda like Cracker Barrel went to Verona, kidnapped a woodfire brick oven, raided a Trader Joe's, took cooking lessons from Woofgang Puck, then attempted to construct a forest out of wood carved tables, plants and twinkle lights.

The decor is like rustic whimsy meets explosion of kitch creativity.   That might not sound inviting, but it is in the way that dinner out can sometimes be more about an experience than the basic: table, food, eat, leave. Just like Kickbacks in Jax is an immersive steampunk palace, the walls of the Garlic are alive with story, enchantment and mystery.

To really complete the ambiance, there was a musician on the other side of the room, playing guiter and singing trop rock.

Often service is either a little good, a little bad, or fairly unremarkable. I blog about menus, not servers. But we had a marvelous, fun, friendly server. He told jokes, he made food recommendations, and he predicted our every need. It always such a fantastic bonus when you get to engage with a warm and welcoming server out of the blue.

The Daily Noodle

Once you try the fresh roasted garlic and baked bread, you may not have room for dinner. You could easily pair that with a pitcher of red sangria and be satiated. But you would miss out on the expansive menu and trying the daily noodle (daily specials). Here is where this experience greatly differs from Kickbacks. Here, the food is phenomenal.

The Ravioli Bolognaise is a savory, rich, and spicy pasta dish. The ground filet mignon in the sauce makes this an elegant and hearty option. The Pork Osso Buco ignites a competition between meat and potatoes. The winner is the mushroom and shallot sauce that perfectly weds the bragadocious elements of this dish.

I sampled the lamb, the alfredo (kid-friendly!), the artichoke dip and the Zuppa de Garlic. It was truly all divine. Perhaps it was the charm of my forever groom sitting next to me, but I was totally spellbound. This was one of those evenings to remember.

Sometimes sleepy coastal towns keep the best secrets.