Nineteen61 - Lakeland

There is no question that Nineteen61 is the best restaurant in Lakeland and would be an exceptional restaurant even in a major city with numerous fine dining restaurants to compete against. The food is outstanding and the service at a very high level. Once Nineteen61 opens at its new location on Munn Park in downtown Lakeland, I am sure the level of food and service will rise to an even higher level. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant without any hesitation or qualifications whatsoever. Whether for lunch, dinner or Sunday Brunch, this is the place to be.

Our server made several helpful suggestions on each course of the meal, and we thoroughly enjoyed each dish we ordered. My wife had the Ropa Vieja and I had the Wok Seared Lomo. Both were excellent, with incredibly tender meat, and exceeded our expectations (which is saying something because Nineteen61 had come highly recommended). The Brussel Sprouts appetizer was indescribably good! We were celebrating our anniversary and really appreciated that we didn't feel rushed as we ate. We look forward to visiting again soon!

We dined 6/15/2019 for my wife's birthday, joined by our son for a party of three. We tried both sangrias and thought they were delicious if over-priced. The appetizers were good, we had the calimari special (delicious) and the charcuterie plate for the apps. I think they could be a little more generous with the cheese at that price point, and a couple more slices of pane cubano (there were just 4 cracker-size pieces). We all tried the shrimp special. We thought the shrimp was too salty; my wife refused to eat them, and she's normally the one to add salt to dishes before me or my son. The shrimp tasted fine after the bracing first bite. The underlying risotto was perfect, I could have just eaten that. For dessert we had the Key Lime pie. I think they changed the recipe to a sweeter version; I prefer the remarkably less-sweet, more sour version, but it was still pretty good. We're fans, we'll be back, thanks Chef Marcos! Congratulations and best wishes for the move to Main St.!

Every time I visit Nineteen61 I realize how fortunate we are to have this restaurant in Lakeland. Everything is outstanding. The food, service, ambiance and attention to detail could not be better. This restaurant is the best in Lakeland and I would highly recommend it for either lunch or dinner. Easy to rate it highly in all categories.

The food and service were wonderful as always. The size of current location is always a concern. Table seating is so close together it makes it challenging. The new location is very welcomed and we can’t wait to have our first meal in the larger space. Wait staff were wonderful and dealt with any situation that was given to them with professionalism and kindness.