Tonic Seafood & Steak

We decided to check out Tonic after seeing the Brandywine restaurant week advertisement. We came here on the first day of Brandywine restaurant week, but they did not seem to offer restaurant week menu to us. Since their usual menu looked interesting, we decided not to pester them about it. We got the meat and cheese board, seafood salad, and fillet. We enjoyed everything we ordered and would recommend those. The sticky toffee pudding was okay! Too sweet for my personal taste.

We made reservations for New Year's Eve, and the food was good with an intimate ambiance. For the price, I expected larger portions, but there were plenty of options available. The drinks were decent, and the service was good. While I don't feel an urgency to return, I wouldn't mind revisiting if I can't find any new places to try in the city.

I pulled off 95 en route to Boston and picked Tonic because of its proximity to my hotel (Sheraton Suites). I had a good meal. Not excellent but solid. I ordered an 8 oz. Filet and got mushrooms and spinach to accompany. Vegetables were good. The steak was a very thick cut. Great crust. I worry that it hadn't come to room temperature before being grilled, though. I asked for it to be cooked straight up medium. When I first cut into it, I thought it was a little well done, but when I cut it in half, it was very rare (bright red) in the middle and grey at the edges. So, it wasn't the best steak I've ever had. I didn't complain nor send it back, cause I didn't intend to eat the whole piece anyway. I ate around the red center. The two bartenders (Brandy) were great. Good menu with lots of selections. I have celiac disease so none of the appetizers were safe for me. (Shrimp cocktail doesn't count in my book).

Went to Delaware to try out this spot because it showed up on my instagram timeline. I was impressed! The food is superb. For appetizers I had the short rib eggs rolls and mussels. So good! And for the entree I had the Bison Short rib with a side of mushrooms. Let me tell you, it was so well seasoned. Extremely flavorful. The drinks were also very good. I had a ginger beer whisky concoction which was delightful. The place is quiet, very intimate setting, and they had an 80s playlist that I thoroughly enjoyed. Service was very attentive. My waitress checked on us constantly, and gave recommendations. If I can rate it any higher I would. If I am in Delaware again, I will definitely be back here.

Where to begin? Our group of 6 started with 2 orders of the bison short rib entree as an appetizer. It pays to have a true foodie in your party...Can you say "melts in your mouth"? We cleared both trays including the marvelous mashed potatoes and honey roasted carrots. The 16 oz bone in ribeye was split between two in our group and was done to perfection. The wagyu NY strip is another melt-in-your-mouth delight. The creamed spinach is a yummy side. And then there's dessert! The house-made banana pineapple sorbet and the orange cranberry bread pudding are both memorable!! An added treat was executive chef Ivan stopping by our table to say hello....Cannot wait to go back and try more things!