A Handy Sarasota Restaurant Cheat Sheet

Below are some of our favorite Sarasota restaurants. There are many more; perhaps readers can add favorites on the comments at the end if we have left a favorite off. We could go on and on; instead we’ve made this quick and handy list so you can have them all in one place.

Downtown

El Greco: Classic downtown Greek dinner spot. The perfect Greek-American restaurant. They opened in 1969, year of moon launch, and still consistent each time.
Selva Grill: Peruvian, and sensuously so. Scene at night. Happening without attitude. We do agree with the skirt steak and plantains dinner entree.
Marina Jack’s: Big wide view of Sarasota Bay; the place you take mom for Mother’s Day, or just want the big atmosphere. Dinner boat too.
Mattison’s City Grille: Downtown on Main Street, Mattison’s is part outdoor, and is always a scene. Great food but the view is better. Love the torches.

Longboat Key/St. Armand’s Circle

Cha Cha Coconuts: Perfect spot for a beer and sandwich or burger on the circle. Good prices. Make that GREAT prices. Sister location in Tampa.
Columbia Restaurant: Always good, and with the same menu as sister restaurants around the state, but a Sarasota flair all its own. As close to Cuba as you will get, but with a St. Armand’s flair. www.columbiarestaurant.com – (941) 388-3987
The Old Salty Dog: This is our favorite Sarasota restaurant, not just because of the view, but the food, which includes local fish. Still, the big appeal is the view; the rumble rumble of the drawbridge gives it all a sense of drama. You could eat there every night. Really.
Tommy Bahama’s: If you like this sort of thing, it’s here.
The Colony and Monkey Room. At The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort, the main dining room attracts regulars from Longboat, and is the sort of place that would have been called “fancy” 30 years ago. Still is. The outdoor Monkey Room is a less expensive bar; at night there is jazz. Make sure the kids order the pasta, which is shaped like tennis racquets.
Chart House: Expansive and extravaganza few of the pass between Longboat Key and City Island. Chart House was one of the great 1970s restaurant innovators, and it is still that amusing.
Euphemia Haye: Gourmet stuff at Chef Raymond Arpke’s romantic restaurant at the north end of Longboat.

Siesta Key

Lobster Pot: A cozy little seafood restaurant in Siesta Key Village.
Salty Dog: A streetside version of the one near St. Armand’s. It’s great but we love the other one so much that it always disappoints.
Turtle’s on Little Sarasota Bay: Overlooking the Intracoastal near Turtle Beach, it’s the quintessential cozy waterfront restaurant where the bar is hopping and an upstairs terrace gives you the perfect date night. Casual but not too casual. Cozy in a Thursday-night-drinks-out sort of way.

South County, Tamiami Trail

Alpine Steak House: We’re not fans of the Terducken they serve here, but we are fans of the other burgers and meat. With a mean deli, too; if you are in town do stop by and see what they have in the way of tenderloins, etc.
Demetrio’s Pizza: Fast service, a local favorite for pizza since 1973.
Philippi Creek Oyster House: Busy place, the ultimate “you have to stop here on vacation” spot. Seafood is workable; folks just like to be there. Wish more folks would come via the dock.
Sam Snead’s: In the area around Morton’s, this is a golf course grill type restaurant that turns luxe at dinner. Food is great, but you want to be there to see what’s going on and who drops in. Oh, and chomp on a big steak.
J. Ryan’s on the Grill: What more good can be said about this bistro? The prices are seemingly right out of 1968 (we exaggerate a bit) as is the completely original menu. Chateaubriand, chicken piccata? What you imagined a restaurant to be, and no self important chef attitude. Fast service too.

Osprey/Casey Key

Casey Key Fish House: How many good things can we say about this place? First, its ultra-casual, but on expensive Casey Key. Seafood is always fresh; the whole place just smells right. Pelicans on the marina get a bit close, but that’s all part of the scene. Tiki bar was kept closed by weasels in the county and pesky neighbors, but was set to reopen with limited hours. What a great Florida restaurant looks like. Osprey, (941) 966-1901

Venice

Briandi’s: The sort of restaurant Frank would have stopped in at; it’s intimate (around a dozen tables) and has Italian classics. The Italian restaurant you remember from 1962. Nothing has changed, thankfully. No website that we can find.202 S Tamiami Tr., Venice, 941-488-9511
Sharkey’s on the Pier: Kids will love the shark bones and teeth, and parents will love the fact that kids can run on the beach while you wait for a table. Packed, at the south end of Venice near the airport.