Restaurants and Bars
A big deal in Sarasota is the restaurant scene. As previously mentioned there are over 240 restaurants and bars in the downtown area. Many have happy hour between about 3:00 and 6:00 weekdays, some even on the weekends. This is important even if you don’t drink alcohol, because they all offer discounted small plate specials, appetizers, etc.
My friend, also named Jerry, and I developed a hobby of going out and finding affordable early dinner options all over town. In the next section, we’ll provide advice on eating out on the cheap (possibly for under $100 per week!) at happy hours every day of the week, including weekends.
Previously Described Places
Already mentioned in the section About Mentone Court were places within a few minutes walking distance of the condos that included the Spice Station, Wolfies, Beer+Food, Mandeville Beer Garden, Station 400, Pazzo, Rosemary & Thyme, The Rosemary Bistro. In the About Sarasota section of this website, we mentioned Mattison’s City Grill and Salute, the large downtown open-air plaza venues. Also described were the Old Salty Dog and the New Pass Grill and Bait Shop out on Lido Key. In the section on the Marina, we talked about the three restaurants at Marina Jack and the Dinner Cruise, and O’Leary’s Tiki Bar in Bayfront Park. But there are still hundreds more to explore…
A Few Favorite Downtown Spots
Caragiulos, 69 S Palm Ave, is usually this writer’s first stop for a spaghetti dinner, upon arriving at the boat during his trips. They don’t have happy hour specials, so he found his way to the nearby
Classic Italian Chophouse, 1341 Main St on the corner with N Palm Ave, which has a great happy hour menu weekdays 3–6pm of small plates. Gail and I have an early complete dinner there from the happy hour food selections. Across the street is nice outdoor dining (with powerful overhead heaters when needed) is:
Cafe Epicure, 1298 N Palm Ave, is great for a Caesar salad and pizza, as well as Italian food of all types. Try the lasagna!
My friend, also named Jerry, and I developed a hobby of going out and finding affordable early dinner options all over town. In the next section, we’ll provide advice on eating out on the cheap (possibly for under $100 per week!) at happy hours every day of the week, including weekends.
Previously Described Places
Already mentioned in the section About Mentone Court were places within a few minutes walking distance of the condos that included the Spice Station, Wolfies, Beer+Food, Mandeville Beer Garden, Station 400, Pazzo, Rosemary & Thyme, The Rosemary Bistro. In the About Sarasota section of this website, we mentioned Mattison’s City Grill and Salute, the large downtown open-air plaza venues. Also described were the Old Salty Dog and the New Pass Grill and Bait Shop out on Lido Key. In the section on the Marina, we talked about the three restaurants at Marina Jack and the Dinner Cruise, and O’Leary’s Tiki Bar in Bayfront Park. But there are still hundreds more to explore…
A Few Favorite Downtown Spots
Caragiulos, 69 S Palm Ave, is usually this writer’s first stop for a spaghetti dinner, upon arriving at the boat during his trips. They don’t have happy hour specials, so he found his way to the nearby
Classic Italian Chophouse, 1341 Main St on the corner with N Palm Ave, which has a great happy hour menu weekdays 3–6pm of small plates. Gail and I have an early complete dinner there from the happy hour food selections. Across the street is nice outdoor dining (with powerful overhead heaters when needed) is:
Cafe Epicure, 1298 N Palm Ave, is great for a Caesar salad and pizza, as well as Italian food of all types. Try the lasagna!
Classico on Main Street
Cafe Epicure
Caragiulos
There are many Asian restaurants, like the Vietnamese
Pho’ Cali, 1578 Main Street – a Vietnamese noodle house; here are the ten best Thai restaurants in town according to TripAdvisor.
Bitia’s Taqueria, 3436 17th Street, doesn’t seem to have a website. They serve Mexican, Salvadorian and Latin food for take-out or in their informal setting which is out of town a ways.
Duvals, 1435 Main Street, is a classic spot considered maybe the best all-around restaurant in town. Uniquely, their happy
Pho’ Cali, 1578 Main Street – a Vietnamese noodle house; here are the ten best Thai restaurants in town according to TripAdvisor.
Bitia’s Taqueria, 3436 17th Street, doesn’t seem to have a website. They serve Mexican, Salvadorian and Latin food for take-out or in their informal setting which is out of town a ways.
Duvals, 1435 Main Street, is a classic spot considered maybe the best all-around restaurant in town. Uniquely, their happy
Photo from Facebook
C’est La Vie, 1553 Main Street, is an award winning authentic French bakery and café pictured below. They
Photo by the Sarasota Magazine, 8 years ago
Just a Few More Special Places
You’ll need to discover options for yourself, like dining at:
Whole Foods, 1451 1st Street, which has a huge hot food and salad bars with prepared foods, as there are just too many places to mention. They are right downtown with outdoor tables and a free garage where you can park while you shop or have lunch nearby at Circo, see below.
Circo, 1435 2nd Street, a Tex-Mex joint downtown, off the Main Street district (like many other places) has Taco Tuesday with two-for-one tacos for like $5. They have a
Photo by the Jimmy Geurts for the Herald-Tribune 12/31/19
The Mable Bar & Grill, a rathskeller environment, bears mention. It is popular with students at the Ringling College.
Photo by Ted D. 12/29/23 on Yelp.com
Owen’s Fish Camp is a must mention. One of the most popular restaurants in town, it is also one of the weirdest. It’s hard to get a reservation during the season, and even if you do you may wind up waiting in their courtyard, which is like a dilapidated junk yard – although it looks better with dim lighting at night. Just as odd are some of the items on their menu. Expensive, but it is among the best fish places on the Florida gold coast, so it’s worth a shot for a special occasion.
Even More Special Places
Things keep coming to mind. A must visit is the
Lido Key Tiki Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Club, 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive, out on Lido Key. Built on right on the beach behind the Ritz-Carlton, it was supposed to be torn when the Ritz was built, but public outcry forced the Ritz people to keep it. Check back as it was closed temporarily (we hope) for hurricane repairs.
Photo by Northwest Florida Daily News
The LeBarge Tropical Cruise is described under Marina Restaurants in the About Sarasota section. Dance to live Jimmy Buffett-style music while sipping exotic rum drinks. We can vouch for the happy people singing and dancing as they cruise by our boat in the marina. It’s a trip!
Southside Village
But wait, there’s more! At some point you’ll want to drive a couple miles south of downtown to Southside Village, which is in a beautiful, expensive residential area behind the hospital. It’s fun to just drive around and look at the classic homes and mansions on the waterfront.
There you’ll find the, not inexpensive, Morton’s Gourmet Market where Gail and I might stop for take-out snacks (wine and cheese or sandwiches) before heading out to the beach on Lido Key. They helped me plan a menu and supplied me with ingredients for shrimp scampi I cooked for Captain Lisa and my friend Jerry’s wife Susan onboard Alto one night.
One day I ran out of ham for sandwiches (a staple on the boat) and went to Morton’s to restock. They don’t sell cold cuts, but the staff gathered together pre-measured portions of ham they use in their gourmet sandwiches and sold a bunch to me cheaply. They are super nice folks who stock everything including fresh vegetables, groceries, wine, pastries, bakery items, chocolate, gourmet cuts of meat, cheeses and premade delicacies.
Restaurants abound in the village. The village Merchant Director lists 16 if you include coffee and tea houses, a delicatesan and Morton’s, all within a 500 ft radius. Libbys has nice small plates for happy hour. Origin is a cool pizza cafe with wonderful salads and middle eastern fare. Gecko’s is a great sports bar with good, affordable food in larger portions and a friendly vibe, especially at the long bar.
A favorite place for a really good hamburger or a complete meal is Knick’s Tavern and Grill, also known as the 1818 Grill. The owner obsesses over quality and almost had a heart attack when he learned I had asked the bartender to zap a vegetable that came out of the kitchen a little cool. He wanted to comp the entire meal, fighting when I refused to not pay since the food was excellent.
That also happened at Gecko’s and they refused my request to zap my meal, replacing it with a complete new one as well as the manager presenting me with a $10 gift card, which we used just a couple nights later. I now hesitate to mention anything (God forbid I should complain) as a problem, given how the restaurants seem to over-react in trying to please
even a happy hour customer.
Someone is in my seat at Knick’s!
For a foodie, or anyone who just enjoys well prepared, sometimes unusual dishes, often at affordable prices, Sarasota is a remarkable place. Next up is the section on how to eat for a week for ~ $100 exploiting local happy hours.
