Country Breeze Restaurant - MALANDA

I visited this restaurant with two families who both enjoy smoked meats. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with our experience. The beef brisket was dry and tasted overcooked, as if it had been sliced from a roast. Other dishes seemed to have been cooked earlier and reheated. The service was average at best, and when the head waitress asked us about our meal, she quickly moved on before we could fully respond. Overall, it was an expensive disappointment.

While the staff was helpful and friendly when we arrived, the food was extremely disappointing. The smoked brisket and Guinness pie tasted like it had been smoked over a gasoline fire, with an overwhelming amount of smoke flavor. The sauce on and in the pie tasted like dark glue, and the vegetables were undercooked. The fish was good, but it was drowned in lemon butter sauce. This was a disappointment because our last visit in 2019 had been enjoyable. Unfortunately, this meal was one of the worst restaurant experiences I have ever had. I will not be returning.

We tried the house special smoked meat platter on our first visit, along with what we thought was an appetizer-sized seafood pasta. Both dishes were excellent, but the portions were too large for just the two of us. The platter would be suitable for 3 or 4 diners, especially with the side salads. During our second visit, we each ordered a seafood pasta and shared calamari, which was still a bit too much food, but manageable. By the way, this was one of the best seafood pastas we have ever had. On our last visit, we tried the smoked brisket and ribs. Every meal on all three visits has been fantastic. As locals, we plan to return to try more items on the menu. The staff is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and the variety of dishes offered by Mel in the kitchen is impressive. Keep up the good work!

We booked dinner to celebrate our anniversary and it really didn't live up to expectations. Being mid-range we expected a nice restaurant atmosphere. It was a cool night and there is a fireplace in there, but it wasn't lit. Tables were interspersed with couple tables sandwiched in between big groups that ended up having very noisy patrons. Not at all a conducive atmosphere for a nice intimate dinner. The food was OK. Some of the meat on the mixed platter would have been really quite good if it had been hot. Same for the sides on the buffet- the 2 hot sides were not at all hot. Salads were good though. The wine selection was reasonable and the wines we ordered were quite good. We didn't end up sampling dessert or aperitifs as all I wanted to do was get away from the screaming kids. We were there for less than an hour and I have no desire to go back.

New restaurant, new menu at the same location. Great meat dishes served by great staff. Definitely go there again if I’m in town.