Chef Tom Gray leaves Bistro Aix, plans new restaurant at St. Johns Town Center

[MusicMan]

In that specific circumstance I would probably not go back.

However if the events you described happened in a place that was packed and the vast majority of other customers seemed to be enjoying themselves, I would probably speak with waistaff and management about
my experience, trying to figure out if it was "just me" or is everybody getting lousy food and service.  I've been a customer of Aix since 2006 and have never had a bad time. I can tell you it is a successful restaurant, not what Chris described. That is a fact regardless of his or my opinion. The vast majority of successful restaurants either have a phenomenal location (which there is agreement on, this is fair location at best) or provide an experience
(food plus service plus value) to the majority of their customers that warrants a return trip or an endorsement. Aix may have upset a few but their success over the years is evidence that those negative experiences are few and far between.

[AntigoneStarr]

Last time I went there for dinner, 2 people, apps, pizza, cocktails... it wasn't even close to $100. And, the food was actually really good.

I haven't had their entrees in quite some time, but I remember them being pretty damned good.

As far as I'm concerned, it's decent food that's never come close to making me go broke. Never had bad service there, either.

I'll still go, mostly in hopes of seeing new menu items. That's been the downfall of so many places around, in my opinion. They stick to the same "country club menu".

And if another restaurant puts a beet "carpaccio" on a appetizer menu, or something else incredibly similarly beet-related, I may no longer eat out of my house again.

[kln1323]

Love, Love, Love one of the better Restaurants in jacksonville.

Have gone to Bistro for New Year's and it was great.  Go there for lunch love it.  Have never had anything i did'nt like  there.

From the French Onion Soup for lunch to the Mussels, and Salmon Caviar Pizza for dinner it is all amazing.

I love it so much I give gift cert. from them away for the holidays.

[ChefFreak]

Being a recovering Chef Tom employee/Bistro Aix crony I have this to say. When I was in the kitchen, the quality of food was paramount, it was absolutely the most important. The execution was to be without flaw. The imagination behind these dishes was seriously lacking. Tom tends to, as a great chef should, lean on his staff to help flesh out the details of his menu. His Executive Sous Chef Zeke, who will likely take over "The Beast" if he doesn't make the transition with Tom, is much better at involving his staff in the creation of a plate. That being said, Tom is such an egomaniac at times that the idea that a staff member would be able to arrange a plate in a more appealing manner, let along compose one. But I digress. The quality of food and service at Aix has seriously declined over the years, the plates are unimaginative, and joyless. The wine list which used to be stacked with awesome stuff is a shell of it's former self. The wait staff, who have always been a group of pretend wine snob, drug addled, and self important bunch of prats (save for a few, all of whom I hope have moved on to much better things), are some of the worst in the city. You can't handle 4 tables? I can handle 4 tables and still manage to cook their food, get it together guys. I have on a few occasions sat at my table with an empty wine glass, dried up cocktail, or melted soft drink so many times, it amazes me. My food is always respectable I suppose because when I go for dinner or lunch there is usually someone I know preparing it and I make a point to say hello to them and ask how they're doing, it lets them know I'm there and to please take care of my food, I suppose this is where I have a slight advantage. All in all, as a fellow chef, I hope Tom's new venture is a success, we never want to see our own fail miserably...well sometimes. I am positive that his choice to build at the town center is money motivated, I'm also positive that there are a slew of investors behind this new place as there were with "The Beast" 9 if I remember correctly, that's a lot of ways to split a dollar. Being at the Town Center ensures that the place will do business, after all, it is Tom Gray, the mastermind behind one of Jacksonville's most well known eateries. I'll stop in and try it out when it opens, offer my critique, which will be met with that grin he gets on his face when he doesn't like what he's being told, and I'll probably stop in from time to time to see how it's going, but other than that, I'll stick to eating at places where the food is inspired and joyful, fun to look at and delicious for my soul.