The Smiling Bison - Sanford in Sanford

My boyfriend and I cant bring ourselves to eat anywhere else because the food is so good. I have never had a meal I did not like. Absolutely our favorite place to eat and highly recommend. Also the waitress there is the bomb!

Weve tried coming to this restaurant for a while now but it was always booked!!! A true testament to just how good the farm to table food is. We ordered the duck poutine, the wings and the creme brulee desert. Everything was absolutely DELICIOUS.The drinks by TJ deserve their own paragraph. The Moscato wine was the best Moscato Ive ever tasted. My girlfriend ordered the Peruvian Punch (which has pisco in it). If you like your drinks sweet, make sure you tell TJ to sweeten it up, otherwise its a stronger, less sweet drink. It was absolutely delicious. Ive had my share of pisco since I am Peruvian. The drink allowed to me to enjoy pisco without feeling like I overdid it.While the food was amazing what really blew me away was how well the restaurant took care of us and its staff. Since COVID-19 started, weve been to a couple restaurants and none went as far as this one to make you feel comfortable. We were the only ones there, and the staff was composed of the chef, the bartender, and the waitress. Other than the silverware, everything was meant to be thrown away after our meal. There was hand sanitizer at the table, and they stuck to a strict reservation policy. People kept trying to walk in but the restaurant stuck to only allowing people that had reservations so they could manage what would have otherwise been a crowd.VERY VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!

ordered off Uber eats. The biscuits were delicious however everything else was severely lacking or flat out wrong. I ordered the French dip sandwich, which the meat was so burnt and acrid tasting. My husband ordered the Country fried steak sandwich and we received the fried chicken sandwich. the chicken sandwich was fine , but not what we ordered. just a heads up, stick with the biscuits.

I went here Saturday for dinner and have not stopped raving about this place since. We shared nachos (yum!and I had the bison burger. My boyfriend loved the crispy pork belly. The guava margarita was great as was the hibiscus tea. Ask for Astrid if you can. She was awesome. I can’t wait to go again.

Came for dinner when another place had a two hours wait. The bison had two spots left at the bar so no wait. The bartender was fantastic and service overall was very quick for busy Saturday night. The chicken gnocchi was really good but the forgers pasta was last meal delicious. Will def be back

Food is over priced for what you get. Service is terrible .... meaning the waitress was not keeping an eye on the table. Appetizer csme before our drinks ... 20 minutes. Food was ... fast food type. A 12 oz steak waa $45 and did not included any sides which were $6. The steak was nothing special.Definately do not recommend!

I really wanted to give this place a low star rating for the slow service but everyone was hung over being it was the 1st of the year so I figured I would give them a pass. The food however is what saved it this review. The onion rings amazing. $5 drinks and appetizers before 7pm. $10 burger night on Wednesday night. Very good food. I highly recommend trying the nachos as a good starter. Overall, great food and atmosphere. Could use a good manager and maybe new servers that don’t look like they are completely hungover.

1st time coming to the smiling bison and was greeted upon entering the restaurant. Super cute and very chic loved the decor and the atmosphere. I had the bison watermelon margarita and it was the perfect twist of sweet and sour. The server Brittany was such a delight to have. Will be returning!

I called Monday the 21st to make an 8pm reservation for today, the 29th. When I made the reservation I told them that it was for my anniversary. "Thats our wing night!" I was told excitedly. I specifically asked whether this was going to be a loud night, and explained again this is for my anniversary dinner. "No, its just a regular night, but we have wings". I made the reservation for 8pm and said: We like wings! Well probably have some. "Cool, youre all set".Today, when I arrived I was told they did not have my reservation. "Who did you talk to, did you get their name?" They were able to make with a table, but the host did not tell the Server that theyd already screwed up our reservation, so she did not know.Our server took 10 minutes to get to us. She had a large party that all wanted individual checks, so it was not her fault, but again the host could have helped, and did not. Our server explained that they were all out of wings. Would have been nbd, but when I made the reservation, explaining that by 8pm there was a chance the wings could be gone, would have gone a long way.This is supposed to be an upscale place. I suppose if you take a reservation you dont intend to keep, there is no point explaining the menu availability.There was also loud live music! At no point during my reservation call was there any mention of live music. Even after the 2nd time I mentioned this being an anniversary dinner.Anyway, no wings. We ordered a fried mushroom appetizer. It was fine. My wife got the chicken pot pie. It was a "deconstructed" pot pie. Basically a bowl with chicken, veg, gravy, and little tiny crouton on top. Technically fine, but less tasty than the frozen variety. I ordered the recommended Bison Ragu (pictured). Served lukewarm and with so much smoke flavor (probably liquid smokeit was inedible.Upscale prices, reserve at your own risk (make sure you get the name of the person you speak to!), and subpar food. Very disappointing.

This place is mostly hype. The food was alright, too expensive though. We wont be back. We tried the duck pizza, bison burger and poutine. The duck pizza was very fatty and overly rich, though the crust was good! Bison burger was tiny, much more like a slider than a burger. But the burger wasnt gamey! The poutine was very disappointing, basically just fries with some sauce on it. The reason for the 3 stars is the staff. They were wonderful!!

First time visiting at the Sanford location. Still a fantastic establishment. Great service. Excellent food. And a really great happy hour menu! Seared scallops were delicious and the Bison Burger (add eggabsolutely fantastic. Dont forget to order the banana bread pudding or the carrot cake to finish off your experience.

Fantastic local food located in a cute little spot in sanford. Everything they have here is grown locally and because of that the menu is rotating. My wife and I split a bison burger and a pasta dish that they had and both were terrific. The burger was one of the best I’ve had in a long time. They make their own condiments in house and I can say the ketchup and bbq left me wanting more fries. This is not an Applebee’s or anything of the sort. You are going to pay a bit more and get a bit less but the quality is top notch. I also may have had the best drink I’ve had at the establishment. Unfortunately I can not remember the name of it but it goes to show they have a great bar as well at reasonable prices.

Amazing food, service, and drinks. Their menus are constantly rotating to provide fresh new tastes. The food is farm to table and you can taste it. Highly recommend.

I absolutely love this place. This charming restaurant offers a menu to caters to everyone, amazing drinks, and an atmosphere that will loosening up even the stuffiest of people. Great music and a staff that treats you like family. I will definitely be going back. Thanks Kelly and Lindsey for being so great. 😘

Fantastic flavors! Wonderful gastropub in a beautiful old Downtown building with a nice bar and fantastic menu. Everything I had was delicious! I especially love the duck lover’s pizza, poutine, and pork cheek sandwich. Would recommend to anyone!

Cute vibe, interesting menu but nothing really special. We had the Bacon Fat Biscuits. They were maybe a little over-cooked; drier and harder like a cookie. We had the pickle spears which were good and the pork belly. The pork belly was the best thing on the menu but for $12 the portion size was very small. We split the Bison Strip for an entree and it was mediocre at best. Even though we ordered medium rare (and it WAS cooked that waythe meat was so dense and tough we were, essentially, sawing into it. That portion size was substantial-but Id choose quality over quantity any day. The drink selection was good and the wine selection was decent. We might go back after weve worked our way through the other downtown Sanford restaurants.

The Smiling Bison is my all time favorite restaurant in Sanford.An unique and savory menu. And knock you on your butt drinks.This place is small so make a reservation.The Duck Lover Pizza is truly something to fall in love with.

Just had the pleasure of dining here last night. I don’t usually leave reviews but this place is exceptional. The food, from appetizer to main course, was top tier and the the bar tenders really know their craft. Every cocktail was perfectly balanced and fresh! Overall, this place was of the highest quality and I highly recommend it. Well done guys!

I have not lived in Sanford for long, but this place has the most thoughtful, caring, and talented staff I have ever encountered in 20 years of going to restaurants. Just the other day I was there my baby, I snag a table outside because they were very busy inside on Friday night. Once I ordered a wine from the hostess, it stared POURING RAIN. The host and waitress were so kind to me, coming out right away and packaging up my bison burger to go, and I’ve never been treated so well by staff before. The Smiling Bison has the best staff of any restaurant in Sanford. They have amazing food, they are super cool and trendy, but the people are warm, down to earth, and lovely. You have to go see this wonderful spot downtown!!

I have to preface this with a little background info. I have family that recently started working here. Years ago, we lived upstairs above the art gallery on the same block that The Smiling Bison occupies.Back then it was DiVincis, then Smokehouse BBQ and something else after that. Were not strangers in this neighborhood.But I moved away several years ago so Ive only been here at The Smiling Bison a handful of times and had some very good seasonal fare, both seated in the dining room and at the bar sharing an entree with a friend. All good experiences.On the last visit I learned they have a chefs counter where you can interact with the chef and see plates dressed as they go out.I got permission ahead of time to shoot photos with my Nikon which made it an extra special experience for me. The owner came by a couple of times and graciously spent some time chatting about the restaurant happenings too.Everything was excellent. You can hear and see the creative care and passion in the food first hand from these seats.I highly recommend booking the chefs counter on your next visit.

Everything my husband and I have had from there has always been wonderful and super tasty!! The service is always awesome, and staff is super friendly. We have become pretty much regulars there. Its not your every day food that you find in most normal restaurants, but everything has just great unique flavors!! Robbie, the executive chef, along with several of the other people there, (Kelly and Ron to name a coupleis always very accommodating to us.

Great food selection and really good quality strong drinks. The menu changes seasonally but great quality food. The only thing I could complain about was the portion sizes for the price of the food. Not the $16 burger that was DELICIOUS and a good size, but my husband ordered the pasta and it was definitely not enough to even fill me up and cost a lot more. Space inside was a bit crammed in a Saturday night but not bad.

The Smiling Buffalo is one of the better restaurants in the Sanford area. Seating is ample, the ambience is very pleasant and the service was tremendous. The food was prepared to perfection and the service was excellent. Overall, this restaurant is a definitely 5 star plus. The signage is clearly present, parking abundant and the cost for dinner is $$. Enjoy!

The bison burger on Texas toast is amazing. Its in a great location. The inside is small but there were plenty of seats available on Saturday night. Inside has the old-downtown-building converted feel. Very cute and quaint. Prices were fair. Dont visit Sanford often but I will now to go get that bison burger!

First time going there we were happy with everything from the food to the service. We werent aware they did reservations but were able to find a table in the bar area with no wait. Tried the duck pizza and wow!!!!!! Who would have thought that a Duck egg and Duck meat would go on pizza?! The cocktails were different but tasty! Definitely worth going checking it out!

My husband and I went with a large group. Server was super helpful with the menu and all of the food came out together. Everyone enjoyed their food. What a great "small place" to go in historic Sanford. We will be back.

What a great place! This was my first trip to the Sanford location but I have been to the Orlando location several times before it closed. From the moment you walk in you know youre going to have a good time. The staff is friendly cheerful and knowledgeable. The food is great and inventive as are the cocktails the beers and the wines on the list. I highly recommend making a trip to Sanford and stopping at The Smiling Bison.

I can’t believe I’ve lived in Sanford for almost 4 years and didn’t know about this place! The atmosphere is sooo cute and the food is delicious! The bison burger is out of this world and pairs perfectly with the watermelon basil salad! Everything is local ingredients and is farm to table! The best dinner we’ve had in a while!!

Love this place. Farm to table. Eclectic but delicious menu. Knowledgeable, friendly, and personable staff. Bison burgers are just off the chain. House made mushroom ketchup is out of this world. Good selection of craft beer, wine, and house developed cocktails. Reservations are not required. I would recommend making reservations on a weekend. Check them out if you get the chance.

The watermelon margarita is fantastic. The jalapeño gave the drink a great kick. I also ordered the burger, but I found it be average and not worth the $16 price tag.

This is a legit fancy food restaurant! Big prices, tiny portions, and its really, really yummy. As a penny pincher (ok, Im cheap), Im not sure if the product was worth the price, but the experience was worth doing it once (And for our anniversary). The five stars are for service. Ive never shown up to a restaurant with a reservation and felt so... Expected! Most places, they just tell you to sit down and theyll tell you when theyre ready for you. Here, he apologized up and down that the table wasnt empty yet, said they had cashed out and he was just waiting for them to leave. He seated us at the bar to wait and gave us free drinks. Then, after it was all done,my wife left the anniversary card I gave her, and since it was just paper, it got thrown away after we left. Well they earned 5 stars when they helped me dig through the dumpster to find the card!

I had the Grouper cheek roll. Yummy. My wife always gets the bison burger with fried egg on top, because she loves it. We shared the salad, and it was plenty for us both. Not a very large selection of alcohol, so i stuck with tea, and water for my wife. Sixty bucks with tip. Pretty high considering no alcohol. Server was attentive. Watermelon salad inventive but salty.

We went with a large group and waiter handled it very well. He and the other servers were great. And the place looked well designed an comfortable. But it gets extremely noisy to the point of being deafening.We had a great time but I would never go back. Food was absolutely terrible. Myself and two others ordered the fish on special. And everyones had been way over cooked. Nothing look well plated at our tables. Having drinks after diner most I spoke with agreed they would not be going back. Was it just a bad night for the kitchen or have things changed from all the great reviews? I wanted to like it and think Sanford needs this kind of restaurant just with decently prepared food.

My husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to have our private reception at the Smiling Bison. We have dined in at this gastropub quite a few times before our wedding and we were never disappointed. Ron the owner, Josh the chef, and their team were all so attentive and detail oriented with everything. Our family is still talking about the food we ate at our cocktail hour and dinner reception. This is truly a unique place to visit. Menu options are carefully chosen and everyone could tell that the chef is passionate about what he plates for his guests. I was a very happy bride and my husband was a very happy groom, we wouldn’t have done the reception any other way. Thank you Smiling Bison for making our special day so memorable.

Man how far #downtownsanford has come! A local farm to table restaurant bringing killer, fresh food. Shout out to chef Josh for an excellent dinner! Can’t wait to return. Awesome atmosphere. @smilingbison

Amazing atmosphere! Russ is an expert and walked us through our dinner experience. He was knowledgeable and charming. The food was absolutely wonderful! Come and be impressed!

I am from out of town so I dont really know the local restaurant scene here in Sanford. I do have friends who live locally and wanted to try this restaurant they had heard about. We arrived at the restaurant at 7:15 and were told that because we did not have a reservation we had to sit outside. I did notice three tables that had nobody at them inside so I assumed that meant they were reserved and the people were arriving soon. Sitting outside was not bad, its not too hot and the humidity is not too bad at this time of the year, and the restaurant is very close to Lake Monroe which is also attractive.The menu is very limited, there are only eight options for a main course, and about the same number of options for appetizers. [I see a couple other comments written here that the restaurant was pricey.] We ordered two appetizers, good that we did because when they came they were very small. This is nouvelle cuisine in the stereotype fashion. The chicken strips came with a side of what they call couscous, but I am very certain no one from Lebanon would confuse this with the real couscous. This is more similar to a cold quinoa salad but it was not lacking in flavor. It was quite good. The other appetizer was 4 mini biscuits, each about 1/3 the size of Pillsbury Grands biscuits, tasty but quite expensive. From the menu my buddy and I chose the bison burger, and his wife chose the winter vegetables. Again, very small portions, no risk whatsoever that you will go home stuffed - I have attached photos of the main courses and desserts.I have eaten buffalo burgers in the past in both Oklahoma and Texas, and I am familiar with the strong, gamey flavor. We were told that the restaurant imports their bison meat from Canada so they can ensure 100% quality of the meat. In fact the meat does not have a strong gamey flavor, it tasted very much like Iowa corn-fed beef, except a lot more expensive at $16 for the burger and a half cup of red cabbage and carrot slaw. (The menu said this was coleslaw, but the menu is wrong. Red cabbage and carrots do not make coleslaw, and as an aside, coleslaw is supposed to have a dressing on it. Our waiter had a little trouble this evening, he did finally bring lemon for the ice waters about halfway through dinner after a couple prompts, but he was unable to remember to bring any sweetener for the tea.In most of my visits to Orlando, and dining out with my long time friends, after a hearty dinner we dont have room left for dessert. Not so tonight, so we ordered cheesecake for me and a chocolate mousse with peanuts for them. Both were excellent in flavor, barely 2 bites a piece. I took pictures to show back home when nobody believes my story of miniature portion sizes. I did use the restroom before paying the bill, and going inside I noticed the same 3 unattended tables they had when we first arrived. Apparently no one had reserved them, or perhaps decided not to show up later. Or perhaps, the young lady who greeted us simply did not want to give us a table without a reservation in order to teach us a lesson about making reservations before we come the next time. I dont think theres any risk that we will go a next time. As we left the restaurant we had an interesting discussion of where to go next to get some real food.I do not recommend this place to anyone. Go some place that treats you nice, serves a broad selection of dinner options, is attentive to your requests for lemon and sweetener and refills your water glasses... that is, a place that offers service and values your business... and most importantly, doesnt cost you $100 for enough food to feed a 10 year old (three 10 year olds, in our case).

Delicious and fresh food combinations, putting a twist on many favorites and showcasing local foods. The staff is friendly and always happy to answer questions. Its a smaller space, so you may want to call ahead for a larger group. Definitely check out the fun cocktails.

Recently voted Sanfords best fine dining. The food is excellent but pricey. The atmosphere is very high end but also a bit funky. Bison meat is something fun to try if you havent and the dishes are very well prepared. The location is right off Magnolia Square and makes for a great date night experience.

Dined there last night with my daughter. I had the bison burger. It has a very nice flavor. Service was good. Restaurant was a bit noisy, but it was a Friday night. Will be back on a Wednesday for beef on weck. I look forward to it. My daughter had wings and those are right up her alley. Cool building too.

The service is fair, but the quality of the food does not merrit the cost/price.Shrimp appetizer was a bit over cooked -- not a soft bite. Shrimp and andouille sausage was better, but sofrito and grits were bland.Wine by the glass was decent, but options were meager.

We actually went here as a back up plan because we were trying to go to the German place around the corner. We ended up being a lot more happy that we went here! The food is excellent! Its very easy to have a conversation here without some loud noise nearby. Excellent drink selection and some great twists on classic entrees.

Very personable service, the staff had time to talk about the menu and the cocktails. The food was top notch. The drinks were unique twists on familiar favorites. We decided to step out of what we were comfortable with and try something new. This place was a fantastic choice.

First off, let me start by saying the food was delicious (my husbands fries were a little on the brown side but they were still tasty), the service was fabulous and fast. I struggled with how many stars to give it. I wanted to give it 5 stars, I really did, but I didnt for 2 reasons: a restaurant charging $16 for a burger should filter the water, not bottled water, thats bad for the environment, just filter it. And both my husband and I ordered medium-well. We got medium-rare. It could have been that he didnt hear the server correctly. It still tasted amazing. Id definitely eat here again despite the water, and our burgers not quite being cooked how we like them. Try it and see if you dont think so, too. Im sure youll agree.

Excellent craft cocktails and food. Would have been 5 stars but service was a touch spotty and deserts need improvement.

The cocktails and food are great. The servers are attentive and friendly; they are knowledgeable about the menu and cocktails.

This is the best meal we have ever had. The bison burger was sublime. It was fresh, cooked to perfection, juicy and garnished with an amazing pickle. The chicken thighs and broccoli salad were heavenly. The biscuits with honey mustard butter put southern grandmas everywhere to shame. You MUST go!!!

Came here for brunch and it had a quaint but classy small-town feel. I got the bison burger which was delicious and juicy with quality ingredients! The menu changes often but the burger stays on. The portion sizes appear small (from our standard american dietbut they are filling! Mom got the fried chicken biscuit she said it was uniquely tasteful. You can tell the cooking staff takes care in surprising the palate. Great service! Coming back soon!

Pretty good. Went for their valentines day dinner. Food was good. I thought their dessert was a little lacking.Update: Finally got to go again, and thing as before. Food was pretty good. I got the bison burger pizza, everything on it was good, but the crust was a little lacking in flavor and texture. The crust on the bottom was equally as hard on the sides.Dessert was sub par again. I dont think desserts here are meant to be. There are plenty of dessert shops within a 2 minutes walk, I would recommend to go to those.

I love the $5 cocktails during happy hour. The mushroom pizza is amazing and I havent tried the burger yet. I love the atmosphere and loved our server. I just feel a lot of love for this place. 😉 update: the menu changes all the time. The mushroom pizza and Bison burger ate gone but the new burger is delicious! I love coming here!