Reviewing the Latest Additions to the Sarasota Restaurant Scene

Laurie and I are having a difficult time keeping up with all the new restaurants opening in and around Sarasota – what a great problem to have!! Despite the challenges, we have done our due diligence to try these new eating establishments so we can share our experiences with you. So, are any of them worth visiting? Let’s find out!

Main Street in Downtown Sarasota - Restaurant Row

There’s a popular Facebook page down here that’s called the “Lakewood Ranch/UTC Foodies Restaurant Reviews” that focuses on locals providing their experiences eating at restaurants in Lakewood Ranch, the University Town Center complex, and surrounding areas like Sarasota and Bradenton. I’ve observed two odd things while reading through these reviews.

First, a number of reviewers prefer to remain Anonymous when writing their reviews, which many people DO NOT LIKE! They attribute nefarious intent on the part of these posters, claiming they are either restaurant owners or managers providing biased reviews, or cowards who aren’t “man enough” to own their reviews – tough crowd!

Second, there is a large percentage that have a visceral reaction to any review that is even slightly negative in nature. Their position is the restaurant industry is a difficult business, and if you don’t have something nice to say you shouldn’t say anything at all.

In my view, the former issue explains why many folks in this group might want to remain anonymous when they post their reviews, lest they get dressed down by a “no negative reviews” defender. In addition, isn’t the whole point of a restaurant review forum to help others make decisions on whether they should or shouldn’t spend their time and hard-earned money frequenting particular restaurants? It’s all pretty silly!

Well, I can promise you that this blog includes honest, no holds barred reviews of new restaurants, both positive and negative! That said, the one thing I make sure to do is give a new restaurant time to work out their opening kinks before Laurie and I visit the restaurant, review it, and share the review with others. So, without further ado, here’s my take on some of the new restaurants that have opened in the area over the past few months!

Pure Vida

Pure Vida restaurant, veggie omelet, and the perfect egg sandwich

Pure Vida is a restaurant that focuses on healthy, clean eating options. That description would normally turn me off, but we had heard so many great things about this place that we had to try it. And boy, am I glad we did! Pure Vida is in the former location of Norman Love’s Chocolates right across from the mall in UTC. The space is bright and airy, with comfy seating and a nice outdoor patio as well. You order your food at the counter, and they deliver it to your table.

The menu is a bit eclectic and includes smoothies, omelets, wraps, sandwiches, bowls, and salads. This place really shines for breakfast – their “Perfect Breakfast Sandwich” is, well, perfect with turkey bacon, fresh tomatoes, arugula, mozzarella cheese, smashed avocado, and a perfectly poached egg all served on a fantastic chewy homemade bagel. The omelets are great as well. The only downside of this place is the prices – nothing is cheap here. At a recent visit, Laurie and I paid almost $60 for two breakfast sandwiches, and an apple and orange juice! But we’d do it again – the food was that good!

Overall Rating: Very Good; Food: Excellent; Ambiance: Very Good; Service: Very Good; Cost: Expensive; Value: Average

Percoco’s Pizza and Pasta

Percoco’s restaurant, arancini appetizer, and chicken parmesan

This Italian restaurant on Mainstreet in Lakewood Ranch is located in an open and airy space with plenty of outdoor dining as well. The local reviews for this place have been off the charts with rave reviews, but I just don’t get it. Everything I’ve had here was average at best. The arancini balls were tan instead of golden brown and strangely bland, with a marinara sauce that tasted store bought included on the side. The chicken parmesan was slightly better but was also under seasoned and nothing special. Cocktails were standard issue, and all too sweet for my taste.

Also, I visited this restaurant alone when Laurie was out of town. I had an early reservation for a table in the dining room and when I arrived the place was empty. The hostess proceeded to desperately try to seat me in the bar area (first at the bar, then at a small high top in the bar). After letting her know I wanted to sit in the dining room, she conferred with two other hostesses for an extended period of time, before finally relenting and giving me the privilege of eating at a table in the dining room. Did I mention that I had a reservation for the dining room and the place was essentially empty? Not a good way to treat a customer!

This place can’t compete with any of the better casual Italian restaurants in the area, including Bar Italia, Mediterraneo, and Osteria 500 to name just a few. Don’t waste your time.

Overall Rating: Average: Food: Average; Ambiance: Good; Service: Average to Poor; Cost: Moderate; Value: Average

Wolfie’s

Wolfie’s in LWR, the pastrami Rueben, and the homemade desert case

The original Wolfie’s Restaurant, Deli, and Rascal House Bar is located in downtown Sarasota and offers a New York style deli experience. A new Wolfie’s recently opened in Lakewood Ranch in the middle of a Corporate Park behind Center Point off of University Avenue, but it’s very different from the original. It’s actually a commissary and production facility that offers “grab and go” items – there is no seating and everything is take out. So why am I reviewing a place that’s not technically a restaurant? Because the grab and go items are THAT GOOD!

In addition to prepackaged items like sandwiches, salads, breads, frozen foods, bagels, and desserts, this Wolfie’s location also offers made-to-order sandwiches that are out-of-this-world great (I strongly recommend made-to-order!). The pastrami Rueben was as good as any I’ve had (although nothing can beat the one at Katz’s Deli in NYC!), and the salads, pickles, bagels, and B&W cookies are also stellar. They also sell their homemade pastrami and corned beef in bulk. And the service is friendly and outstanding as well. Here’s hoping that they find a way to add indoor and outdoor seating at some point in time.

Overall Rating: Excellent: Food: Excellent; Ambiance: N/A; Service: Excellent; Cost: Moderate; Value: Excellent

The Toasted Yolk Cafe

The Toasted Yolk Café, Veggie omelet, and the cowboy scramble

This café is the latest addition to the wonderful breakfast and lunch restaurant scene in Lakewood Ranch, and it turns out it’s one of the best in the area! Toasted Yolk is a southern states breakfast/lunch chain. The dining room is bright and airy, with comfortable seating and nicely spaced tables along with a nice bar as well. The menu is huge, with a great selection of both traditional and unique items to choose from.

For example, they have five different “Arnolds”, which are the equivalent of eggs benedict but upgraded in fun and different ways. I’ve had the southern fried Arnold which was two biscuit halves topped with crunchy chicken tenders, poached eggs, and country sausage gravy – absolutely delicious! They also have a great selection of omelets, egg scrambles, breakfast sandwiches, and pancakes. And nothing can beat their cheesy hashbrown casserole – don’t leave without ordering it!

They also have delicious breakfast cocktails to kick off the morning right! Service is friendly and efficient – they seem genuinely happy to have you there! Compares favorably with First Watch, the Granary, Egg Town, and the Breakfast Company.

Overall Rating: Excellent; Food: Excellent; Ambiance: Very Good; Service: Excellent; Cost: Low; Value: Excellent

Trattoria Belle Napoli

Trattoria Belle Napoli restaurant, linguine Cacio E Pepe, and tris arancini

This cute and cozy Italian restaurant is located right in the heart of downtown Sarasota on Main Street. The restaurant offers modern Italian food in a tastefully decorated modern space. They have two small indoor dining rooms as well as outdoor seating on the sidewalk. The focus is on Neapolitan Italian cuisine, with over 20 different pizzas on the menu along with an extensive list of salads, antipasti, and homemade pastas. The pizza was made with fresh ingredients and was very good but had a thicker crust than we were used to from a Neapolitan restaurant.

The antipasti are where this restaurant shines – the offerings are creative and delicious and include dishes such as Tris Arancini (three different fried stuffed rice balls – one with a white base with mushroom, one with tomato sauce base and ground beef, and another with a white base with ham). The pasta and entrees we tried were all good but not great – they were quite rich and liberally sauced. We’d definitely come back but would probably focus on creating our meal around the antipasti offerings instead of the pizza and entrees. All that said, the service was good, and the wine list was well-curated with nice ‘by the glass’ options.

Overall rating: Good; Food: Good; Ambiance: Excellent; Service: Good; Cost: Moderate; Value: Good

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Fleming’s Restaurant, NY Strip, and shrimp cocktail appetizer

Flemings is national steakhouse chain that compares favorably to Ruth’s Chris and Capital Grille. The newest Flemings in Sarasota showcases a more modern look, with a beautiful dining room with soaring windows and ceilings, comfortable and well-spaced seating, and a lovely large bar. They also have a large outdoor patio for Al fresco dining.

The service is impeccable – attentive without being intrusive. The menu reads like a classic steakhouse menu, with prime and classic cuts of beef along with a good selection of seafood offerings. Everything is served ala carte, with sharable sides ordered separately. The wine list includes over 50 wines with each offered by the glass or bottle. The markup on the wines is very reasonable, and the wine service is excellent as well (high quality glassware, and wines served at the perfect temperature). Flemings also has a great special events program with frequent wine tasting dinners showcasing different wine producers similar to Ruth’s Chris.

But be warned – this place isn’t cheap! Order a couple of cocktails and nice wines by the glass, add on a shared appetizer and salad, along with two steaks and two sharable sides and you can easily breach the $300 mark (which we did!). Of the three fine steakhouse chains I mentioned, I’d rank them Flemings first, then Ruth’s Chris, followed by Capital Grille a distant third.

Of course, none of these come close to Hyde Park Prime Steaks in Sarasota, which is the gold standard for superb steakhouses in the area! That said, Flemings is definitely worth a visit for a special occasion celebration.

Overall Rating: Excellent: Food: Excellent; Ambiance: Outstanding; Service: Outstanding; Cost: Expensive; Value: Good

Sprinkles Sarasota

Sprinkles Sarasota, and a mixed half dozen Sprinkles cupcakes

Sprinkles is a bakery that makes handcrafted cupcakes, mini cupcakes, layer cakes, cookies, and brownies. They have 20 different cupcake offerings ranging from black and white to red velvet to salty caramel to triple cinnamon to chocolate marshmallow. The full-sized cupcakes are actually pretty small – like a regular cupcake but with a lot of frosting on top. I found myself wanting more cake and less frosting. But the mini versions of the cupcakes had the perfect balance and cake and frosting and were fresh and tasty.

If you go, I’d recommend focusing on the mini cupcakes, which are perfect for bringing to a party or get-together with friends. Sprinkles can’t compete with Nothing Bundt Cakes, but it’s a nice alternative if you want to do something different.

Overall Rating: Good: Food: Good; Ambiance: N/A; Service: Good; Cost: Low; Value: Good

That covers the latest restaurant openings in the area for now! I’ll be back in a few months to review the next round of new restaurant openings. Until then, happy eating!!!