Cafe Amici provides excellent service and authentic Italian food. With an extensive wine list and…read moremenu (daily specials included), there are so many great options to select from. My family especially enjoyed the stuffed poblano pepper appetizer. My branzino special was a filet in garlic and butter sauce with a side of carrots and green beans. Absolutely delicious. I included each family member's dish below. Everyone enjoyed for sure! A must visit when in Downtown Sarasota.

Took some friends here- love both the atmosphere and food- consistently good. Our waiter was…read moreexcellent and recommended a few of the specials; we took advantage of his recommendations. The warm focaccia with dip was a good beginning. My arugula salad with Parmesan and tomato was excellent as was my pasta with lobster in vodka sauce.(both 9 out of 10) Each member in our party loved their meals and took home unfinished entrees. Full bar with nice wine selection added to the experience. Amici remains one of my favorite restaurants even though it can get noisy.

We celebrated a wonderful birthday dinner here…read more They start you off with complimentary bread basket - the warm raisins walnut bread was my favorite with the butter. We shared everything and the waitress was so helpful in the dish order to come out. Both the seasonal and Caesar salads were really good, and the octopus appetizer was a step above most places with its tender meat and slightly sweet sauce. The 40 oz tomahawk deal was delicious and came with the 2 salads and 2 sides. We got the Brussel sprouts (I really enjoyed this but it got a little too salty as I kept eating it) and the caramelized sweet potatoes (much too sweet for our taste but still tasty). It also comes with a grilled onion and homemade sauce that was a nice complement. The red snapper was good but the chilesan sea bass on risotto outshine it. Both the bass itself (so tender) and the risotto (delicious use of lobster and creaminess) shined through. They surprised us with a complimentary chocolate cake for the birthday girl. It was a little dry but not bad. We also got a key lime tart to share and it comes with a towering meringue. Again, a little too sweet for our liking but flavor was good. Lastly, I got the honey keeper mocktail which was the best drink of the bunch. My companions got the cucumber and strawberry basil lemonade cooler but both were too sweet. Another got the Bella basil - be aware, it is quite heavy with the Tequila. All in all, a fantastic dinner and the service was impeccable. There is complimentary valet so don't forget a cash tip.

Food was significantly overpriced for slightly above average food. This is a restaurant for…read morelocals, which while we are, we hadn't been to this restaurant before. Our waiter was definitely pandering to the locals at the tables around us, which was understandable. Most people were here for celebrations but we were just there to try out a new place. Son thought that the tartare was okay (favorite still at Antoine's). We had the salmon and snapper - both generous portions and well prepared but very hardy and not worth the price. The baked Alaska was super sweet egg whites slightly caramelized...I guess that I was expecting hard meringues like we had in Paris. Will not return...

This review is for their lounge…read more We stopped in for good wine and food and plan to return to try teir restaurant. We've - salmon gravlax - tacos - two kinds of house red The salmon is good, and the taco has the braised tenderloin, which is tender and delicious. The Wente Cab is excellent: even the fly likes it too. We pass by this restaurant all the time: it's the first one on Main St from the Opera house. The elegant restaurant to the right has a bar, too. After the Miami Open rained out for us the other day, we arrived to find a lone customer at the bar. I went in and asked for the tennis channel, but the bartender replied, "he just asked for March Madness." Reportedly, they installed the TV a month ago. It seems this year, the Miami Open just isn't happening for me. Oh well, little Missy, better luck next time. Edit: the bar tender did change to tennis after the gent left, thank you.

We love trying new places before we go to the theater and last night we decided to try Element on…read moreMain Street downtown Sarasota. The place should be called Elegant! Find dining at its best at quite a reasonable price. Our server, Josh, took extra care to make sure that everything was timed perfectly. The food was outstanding in presentation and in flavor. The vibe of the place was just perfect. Pretty bar and private party room. Ambient music playing in the background that was just at a level that you could hear yet talk to your Table mates. It was a fantastic evening and a great find. PS: The Chef aced the Pittsburgh, black and blue 1 inch thick steak! We will definitely be back.

Of course I had to go back to Ocean Prime this time I went with really good friend and my…read moregirlfriend in our server Amanda took great care of us. And let me tell you the food did not disappoint just like always. And such a beautiful restaurant. Everything has so much flavor the steak melted right in your mouth Everything was cooked perfectly and I always have to get the black truffle mac & cheese side. It's the best.

Deducting a star because our server was great until after we ordered our food…read more... There was a table across from us that knew the staff and celebrating engagement. So basically all the staff members were attentive to their table, from free desserts, taking pictures etc. We sat around and waited for our server so much that the lady who picks up the plates had to bring us a dessert menu so I can pick out my birthday dessert. I thought she should get all the tips because she seemed to be the only one attentive.... Anyways -- Visited ocean prime for my birthday, this was my first time visiting. Aesthetically is low light, very romantic, fancy, I loved it! We were seated and immediately serviced which I thought was great, depending the tables around you it can get pretty loud. We ordered the vegetable roll, parm truffle fries, truffle Mac & cheese (no lobster) and the Cesar salad. - I ordered the mocktail bee squeeze which is basically a lemonade with honey, unfortunately I did not like this too much, the honey after taste was weird. 0/10 - Mac & Cheese was creamy. And cooked really well, no overpowering of flavors overall 10/10 (shareable) - Parm truffle fries - HUGE fries, not sure how they cut the potatoes this big lol but they were massive. Cooked really well & the cheese was fresh. (Shareable) 7/10 - Cesar salad - so good, I loved the Cesar dressing and the parm crunchy cheese on top. - veggie roll - this was interesting to me as I expected a different kind of normal roll lol with nori etc. but this was refreshing, light and delicious. Can def share this too it was a big roll with 12 pieces. 10/10 I ordered the warm butter cake and it was delicious the ice cream on top of the warm cake, the tang from the raspberry syrup. 10/10!!! I would return again and hopefully have a more attentive server and hopefully everyone can get the same top level service as well.

This place is great. They have an awesome bar on one side and restaurant on the other. We sat in…read morethe private room with our larger group. All of the drinks are great and interesting (shout out to Diors, the bartender!). For apps, we had the mussels, bread service, and duck wings. Do not skip the duck wings - they were a great portion, the meat fell off the bone, and the flavor was phenomenal! For dinner, the group ordered the ribeye, shrimp and grits, chicken sandwich, pork ragu, and fish sandwich. The crowd favorites were the fish sandwich, chicken sandwich, and shrimp and grits. Great spot in downtown Sarasota!

Updated Visit: We went to recreate and celebrate our anniversary and we were a disappointed with…read moreour food and the libations served as they were very acrid smelling and tasting. They drinks were remade but unfortunately the taste didn't move very much from its original state, perhaps that's how the Spritz tastes? The pork ragú this time was missing that je ne sais quoi. Perhaps a change in recipe? The server too, they were missing that dazzle that Connor had provided and fell flat with her personality. All in all, the experience wasn't as illustrious as the first go around. Previous Experience: From the door being opened for us, to the moment we walked out, the experience at State Street was celestial. The libations were on point and I thoroughly enjoyed two orders of the Holla Peña, it had a wicked nice kick! Their fresh, homemade bread was excellent and served with a nice side of salted butter. My date took the special. The filet with the dauphine pommes and enjoyed it very much. She couldn't stop smiling. I had the Pork Ragu and I'll say...it is something I'll fantasize about for sometime to come. LOL It was CHOICE. Our server Connor was so polite, timely, knew how to read cues and overall made it the best experience out dining in a while. It's all how you take care of patrons with pacing and knowing your menu. He also had some friendly recommendations for the rest of our date and couldn't have asked for better time. We will be back.

This was out first time visiting Lido Beach. We stayed at the resort where this restaurant is…read morelocated. With the restaurant being on the 8th floor, with large windows, the views of the gulf and bay were amazing. The restaurant is fancy without feeling pretentious. The server was amazing, welcoming and attentive. I had the crab-cakes and shrimp cocktail from the appetizer menu. Both were delicious. I highly recommend Drift, and I look forward to our next meal there.

I wanted to have a great expense at Drift, I truly did, but that was impossible…read more For starters, it seemed we were forgotten about after checking in for our reservation. We were seated only after watching everyone else around us be seated and finally decided to go check back in. They'd forgotten about us and sat us right away at that point (finally!). Our server was very nice. She was warm and helpful, no issues there. The second issue was the food itself. I ordered the Lido Key Fettuccine and genuinely couldn't figure out if it was good or not. The pasta itself was actually quite good but the acidity of the sun-dried tomatoes clashed with the Alfredo sauce's creaminess and nuttiness. To make matters worse, my husband ordered one of their steaks, which he was very excited about, but quickly discovered had a propane/chemical taste. He ate as much of it as he could and we considered bringing it to our server's attention but ultimately didn't (possibly a fail on our part). From my understanding, this type of propane taste is typically due to a faulty burner and/or dirty grill parts, both which are quite concerning. The mashed potatoes that accompanied the steak were very good so at least there's that, I suppose. All in all, our experience was lackluster and not worth the cost. We both left feeling very disappointed.

We had dinner here while in Sarasota. It's a lovely restaurant in a nondescript location on…read moreLongboat Key- easy to get to and easy parking. Family owned and run- the decor is lovely! It's a Prix Fixe meal- 3 courses of which you have the option to choose 1app, 1 entree and a dessert, everything is made in house by the chef/owner. The food was great - as if you were dining in France . The service was excellent- Sam was pleasant, personable and gave us great recommendations. We will definitely back! The beef Wellington was the best! Chef and his lovely wife were a pleasure!

Madison Blanche must one of the only white table cloth restaurants in longboat key, and they don't…read moretake that for granted. The elegance of the dining room atmosphere, the wait staff, and presentation of the food was not overlooked and executed to a level where you can tell the staff truly cares about the diner's experience. The pre fixe menu is simple enough to not get lost in, and wide enough to keep you coming back for more. Everything we ordered was delicious, unique, and contained a French twist. The special was tilefish, we ordered several kinds of seafood including lobster, crab, and snapper while I had the lamb saddle. Personally speaking the blue crab avocado appetizer was something I had to order because of all the pictures I had seen, and it did not disappoint. The romulade alongside the dish gave it a fresh, elegant bite which was rich but bright. The Colorado lamb saddle had the texture of a well prepared filet mignon perfectly baked inside of a puff pastry. I was calling it a lamb wellington for fun, but that may have been the most I have ever enjoyed a lamb dish. It was hearty, and perfectly balanced between tender meat, crisp crust, and savory sauce. The pineapple dessert was light, refreshing, and felt like a unique cross between a tangy desert and a sweet airy coconut whipped ice cream. I was however very jealous of the others that ordered the rich chocolate soufflé. 10/10. I would say this is a necessary experience for anyone that lives in the area.

We went for the prime rib special and it was excellent. The service was amazing. Very very friendly…read morestaff very helpful. We had the nicest time and a very reasonable price.

We arrived early for our reservation so that we could have a drink at the bar. If you are a…read morebourbon drinker, this is the place for you. I have never seen such a list. Since I am not a bourbon drinker I opted for a lemon drop martini. The bartender was not friendly but brought our drinks quickly. This was a really good lemon drop. A little tart, but with the sugared rim, it was perfect. The atmosphere is rustic, with deer antler chandeliers and lots of wood everywhere. The privacy screens between the tables was a nice touch for a more private conversation. We waited 10 minutes for a server and she came and took our drink order and brought us water. Only 2 drinks at this time for the 4 of us. The menu is typical of a steakhouse and there was a page of daily specials. We waited 20 minutes for those 2 drinks and for the server to come back and take our food order. Totally ridiculous. I settled on the salmon special and I shared an order of asparagus with my husband. While waiting, they brought a basket of small, warm rolls with 2 different butters. My friends ordered an appetizer which came quickly. My husband's soup didn't arrive until we flagged down the server. Pretty sure she forgot it. Our meals all arrived at the same time and everything was hot. My salmon dish was very good. The sauce with the fruits on the side were perfect and the jasmine rice was tasty. The asparagus was plentiful and grilled well. If not for the poor service throughout our time here, this would be a 5 star review.