About Mentone Court | Affordable Sarasota

Mentone Court

Mentone Court is one of the most affordable places to live in the downtown area. So we’ll describe what attracted us to it, which might help guide others in a similar search.

About Mentone Court
There are 16 identical condos in this small enclave at 631 N Orange Ave in the Sarasota downtown area. All use well laid out, two-bed/ two full-bath floor plan. Mentone Court is a small complex of 16 units in two block and tile buildings with assigned parking for the units (some covered) and there is lots of additional guest parking.

Mentone Court is immaculately maintained and professionally managed. There is no pool which keeps the HOA and insurance costs low. The center of town, at the Farmers’ Market, is an 11-minute walk.

There are no hills to contend with. Whole Foods is four blocks away. Its Walkability Score of 91 is considered a “Walker’s Paradise.” When the traffic lights are with you, the walk to Main Street in seven minutes.

What’s Nearby (next door)?
Our units are circled above. There are four restaurants in beautiful Citrus Square, shown above in the colorful buildings to the left of Mentone Court. Step out of the gate,

turn right and walk half a block to Citrus Square and you’ll come to the Blvd Cafe, a French bistro serving breakfast and lunch. Chef Mica bakes her bagels with dough from Brooklyn and her pain au chocolate is shipped from Paris. All else is locally sourced.

Main Lobster Benedict

Smoked Scottish Salmon on a Brooklyn Bagel

Photo by OpenTable

Also in Citrus Square is a nice Italian restaurant (Pazzo on Orange) which has unpublished happy hour deals on drinks. Next door is the elegant Rosemary & Thyme (dinners start at $30). All are in a picturesque set of buildings built around a courtyard or “square” which provides outdoor seating. Pazzo has a happy hour with discounted drinks, while Rosemary & Thyme does not, but they do have a bar menu with a burger $18, calamari $15 and beef tacos $18.

What’s 5 Minutes Away?
Tacky as is sounds, a favorite place is Food+Beer, a five minute walk from Mentone Court. Mondays, all day, their smashed cheeseburger and fries is just $6.99. You’ll meet new friends among the regulars who come from all over town. Weekends they have an extensive brunch menu, all delicious, from 10am to 3pm along with a bottomless Mimosa. Read more about this place in the section on restaurants.

Photo on Instagram. Just a five minutes walk away.

Curry Butternut soup, Korean Poke Bowls, Burritos, etc. Even a Chinese take-out menu.

Herald-Tribune, 01/15/23

Even closer are the Lefty’s Oyster & Seafood Bar (428 N Lemon Ave) and Station 400 which serves breakfast and lunch.

Picture by Richard S on 04/22/25 Yelp.com

Although it is a little further away (a six minute walk), another favorite is the Spice Station with its huge, well priced menu of Japanese and Thai influenced cooking. It shares an outdoor dining plaza with Wolfies, a real Jewish delicatessen with massive sandwiches.

Spice Station Image by eltropicale.com for the Restaurant Guidebook

Food by Wolfies, Image by DoorDash

It’s a 12-minute walk to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, an iconic large venue right on the water. Music, dance and theatre from all over the world are featured. See upcoming events here.

Mentone Court is less than a ten-minute walk to many other performing arts venues, like those below.

• Sarasota Film Festival
• Florida Studio Theatre
• Bowne’s Lab
• Goldstein Cabaret (dinner theatre)
• Sarasota Film Festival
• Compertz Theatre Company
• Keating Theatre (shown below left)
• John C Court Cabaret (below center)
• Urbanite Theatre (below right)

• Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe
•The Sarasota Players (The Shop)
• Fogartyville Community Media
• Sarasota Opera House
• Hegner Theatre Wing
• The Players Studio
• McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre
• Selby Library
• Sarasota Music Archive

Keep reading, in the next section we’ll describe the Rosemary District where Mentone Court is located.

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