Seasons 52

2 out of 5 stars

Seasons 52 needs more seasoning…

I have been watching what I eat lately and so has my husband so we were looking forward to our trip to Seasons 52, which boasts that every dish is under 500 calories. We had gotten a gift certificate for our birthdays, but it took a while to find reservations that fit our schedule. Often you'll have to plan about a month ahead of when you'd like to go here!

We noticed when we arrived that we were the youngest in the place, and a piano player was playing that night (but not a very good one). We were seated quickly but unfortunately ended up on the border of the kitchen, which is in the center of the restaurant. There was a prep station just on the other side of the glass from our table with waiters clanging dishes and silverware the whole time, it was hard to hear each other beyond the noise, and it wasn't a particularly private seat since they faced us in order to prep the soup bowls. I wondered why this wasn't addressed, I mean this isn't the first restaurant from this large chain. Surely they've dealt with complaints about this before? The table behind us complained to the manager while we were there.

We ordered an appetizer of crab and shrimp stuffed mushrooms, which was cheesy and delicious, probably draining away all of our calorie reserves for the evening. They say each dish is under 500 but apparently that includes appetizers, so watch out!

Our entrees were underwhelming. My husband ordered a snapper curry on rice with some vegetables. He ordered it mild but this was beyond mild. It only had the faintest hint of curry flavor! I can only assume the restaurant is catering to the older patrons with this dish, because it was incredibly bland. I ordered seared scallops with a garlic pearl pasta and asparagus. My scallops were cooked properly but completely devoid of flavor. The pearl pasta had a hint of garlic and a few tomato pieces but not much else. Considering these dishes were about $20 each, I'd hope the chefs could be a little more inventive than this. Fresh herb crust, a glazed sauce, something! How often have you had scallops so bland you left a few on the plate?

The desserts are full flavor, I don't think they even attempt to lower calories, but instead give you a tiny shot glass sized serving that costs only $2. They were pretty good, but nothing exceptional. We each had one and enjoyed them – a Boston creme pie and a carrot cake. Each one of these little shot glass darlings sets you back about 250 or so calories. I've done really inventive desserts at 150, so I wasn't really impressed.

Our bill for the two of us came to about $64, which included a drink. In the end, Seasons 52 did not live up to the expectations or the month-long wait for a reasonable reservation time. How hard could it be to have make low calorie fish?  Perhaps someone who has tried one of the meat dishes would have a more favorable impression. I've also heard the flatbreads are very good.

One great aspect of the restaurant was that the service was wonderfully attentive. Our server was always accessible and very polite to some of his rude guests. Unfortunately the loud and inconvenient location of our table prohibited us from fully relaxing and enjoying that service.

Seasons 52

2300 NW Executive Center Dr.

Boca Raton, FL 33427

(561) 998-9952