Savor Guide: Italian Restaurants | Visit Sarasota

We are gearing up for a favorite time of year for foodies: Savor Sarasota! With more than 90 local participating restaurants offering special multi-course lunch and dinner menus for just $16 and $32 per person, you might need some help deciding where to go!

Why not start with taste? Here you’ll find our 2019 participating restaurants divided into a specific category for your navigational ease. Italian options are highlighted below so you can sample everyone’s sauce in Sarasota County.

The Restaurants

Andrea’s

Serving up homemade bread and pastas made from flour sourced from a small mill in Napoli, Italy, Andrea’s is the real deal. Their Savor Sarasota menu features classics like prosciutto and melon, and mozzarella caprese. Tuck in for some unique offerings like veal three ways, or their daily ravioli special.

Bavaro’s

Bavaro’s is featuring authentic Neapolitan pizza baked in a piping hot wood-burning oven. Located in downtown Sarasota, they are sharing their authentic homemade recipes during Savor Sarasota. Begin your meal with a choice of salad, bruschetta or garlic bread, and move into entrees with your choice of three different pizzas or pasta bavaro. Cannoli and gelato round out the evening, completing what is sure to be a memorable meal.

Pizza from Bavaro’s

Bevardi’s Salute! Restaurant

Located in the heart of downtown Sarasota on Lemon Avenue, Bevardi’s Salute! Restaurant is in the center of the action. With generous outdoor seating, guests can watch other visitors pass by while enjoying traditional Italian cuisine. There are plenty of choices on this year’s Savor Sarasota menu, including hits pappardelle al funghi (wide pasta with mushrooms), ricotta agnolotti, and grouper parmesan.

Flavio’s on Main

From the moment you walk through the antique green front door, you are greeted with romance at Flavio’s on Main in downtown Sarasota. Their dining room and garden terrace are rich with baroque influences perfect for a romantic evening out. They are offering a generous menu for Savor Sarasota with highlights including eggplant rollatini, beet salad with feta, handmade ravioli and trout almondina. Stop in for lunch or dinner and enjoy an exquisite meal.

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Flavio’s on Main

Café Gabbiano

Nestled in the Siesta Key Village, Cafe Gabbiano serves authentic Italian cuisine in a cool, relaxed atmosphere. Their extensive wine list ensures that there will be the perfect bottle for your meal. Mussels in white wine, Caesar salad or mozzarella crostini kick off the meal for Savor Sarasota diners, with veal saltimbocca, pollo mama Lucia and lobster ravioli rounding out the second course. Traditional favorites like cannoli and tiramisu make for a memorable end to the meal.

Custom wine cellar and seating at Café Gabbiano

Brio Tuscan Grille

Located at the University Town Center, Brio Tuscan Grille is delighting diners with Italian dishes and tasty grilled entrees served in a warm Italian atmosphere. This year guests are invited to dine for lunch or dinner and select from several different Italian options. Get excited for shrimp Capri, sautéed with arugula, tomatoes and lemon sauce served over pasta. We also can’t wait to try their lemon sorbetto to end our meal on a refreshing high note.

Café Baci

Cafe Baci is a Sarasota favorite. Located in midtown Sarasota, all the locals wait to see what hilarious adage they are going to post on their sign. Chef Roberto Mei invites you to discover their authentic Northern Italian cuisine by sampling items such as ossobucco with saffron risotto, grouper or chicken francese and ravioli di funghi.

Café Barbosso

Dining at Cafe Barbosso is all about having a great time, with a tag line that reads “Eat, Laugh & Love OR ELSE”. The chef owner has a great sense of humor, and from the moment you walk in the door you are treated like family. Dine with family and enjoy their arancini rice balls, stuffed mushrooms or antipasto salad for a first course. Grandma’s spaghettini with Sunday sauce is sure to take you back to the old country.

The caprese salad from Café Barbosso

CasAntica

CasAntica occupies an historic home built in 1926, on the edge of downtown Sarasota. Outdoor dining is offered when weather permits, with rooftop access tucked under the branches of the live oak trees on property. Highlights from their extensive Savor Sarasota menu include garganelli primavera with plenty of mixed vegetables, veal scaloppine marsala and pappardelle bolognese.

Cassariano Italian Eatery

Cassariano touts itself as contemporary Italian, and they menu offerings breathe new life into old classics. Located on Venice Avenue in downtown Venice, Cassariano is serving up an excellent Savor Sarasota menu. This year guests can try their polenta valdostana, which features creamy fontina cheese and truffled oil. Gnocchi Sorrento in tomatoes with fresh mozzarella showcases a more traditional offering. Guests are invited to upgrade to the branding with mascarpone prosecco risotto for a truly decadent dining experience.

Chianti Ristorante

With live entertainment seven nights a week, every night at Chianti Ristorante is a party. Enjoy the sweet sounds of local musicians while dining on traditional Tuscan fare. Start the night off with burrata and prosciutto or pear salad and move into the second course with options like seafood cannelloni and fettuccine with clams.

Café Gabbiano

Element Modern Mediterranean Grill

Element offers a warm, plush and sophisticated setting in the heart of downtown Sarasota. Offering complimentary valet parking, Element is an ease to dine at during Savor Sarasota. They are offering a savory three course meal with standouts like spicy sausage and white bean soup, tuna carpaccio with a horseradish drizzle, and braised broccoli rabe linguini. If you are looking to step up your experience, you may want to upgrade to the Brasstown N.Y. strip steak.

La Dolce Vita

Chef Mauro and his wife Tina both hail from Italy and have tons of experience between the two of them with Mauro specializing in savory dishes and Tina showcasing Italian dessert recipes passed down from her grandmother and mother. Their cozy restaurant La Dolce Vita on Stickney Point will make you feel right at home.

La Mucca Ballerina

La Mucca Ballerina translates to “The Dancing Cow”, and you’ll definitely be dancing when you taste how wonderful the food is. Located on Main Street in downtown Sarasota, this tiny family-only Italian restaurant features both a fantastic lunch and dinner. Lunchtime guests can choose between a soup or salad for their first course and for the second choice there are four different sandwiches and five pastas to choose from. For evening diners the menu becomes a touch more sophisticated with options like pizza fritta, classic sausage and peppers, and salmon with fettuccine and creamy shrimp sauce.

Mona Lisa

Located in east Sarasota, near the Meadows subdivision, Mona Lisa is the very definition of neighborhood Italian restaurant. Their warm atmosphere and approachable menu makes you feel like you’re dining with family. Be sure to sample the veal Bartolucci with ricotta, spinach and white wine sauce. The chicken asiago is an equal treat with sun-dried tomatoes, and sherry wine sauce.

Ristorante San Marco

Ristorante San Marco, located on the island of Venice, invites guests to experience and enjoy the authentic and flavorful cuisine of southern Italy. Their offerings have a decidedly light touch and will certainly leave you satisfied without feeling stuffed. We can’t wait to try their sautéed artichokes with mint and tagliatelle with fresh seasonal vegetables.

Sardinia Restaurant

Head to Sardinia Restaurant in midtown Sarasota for a truly authentic upscale Italian feast. Written up for their outstanding cuisine by the Wall Street Journal, Sardinia is serving some of the most creative and satisfying Italian dishes in Sarasota. Their Savor Sarasota menu consists of three savory courses including octopus carpaccio with housemate bottarga, ricotta and orange zest ravioli, and roasted Mediterranean sea bass served with anchovies.

The Fountain

Dining al fresco in downtown Sarasota is about as good as it gets, and The Fountain is the perfect spot to enjoying our warm nights. With a huge Savor Sarasota menu, guests can choose from any salad, any pizza or pasta, and any dessert for a filling meal. We love their kale Caesar salad, penne puttanesca and truffle shuffle pizza.

Venezia Restaurant & Bar

This meal could come with a show if you play your cards right. The dining arm of the luxurious Hotel Venezia, Venezia Restaurant & Bar has live entertainment Friday and Saturday nights 6-9 p.m. near their poolside bar. Listen to those live tunes during or after your meal with a delicious cocktail in hand. Highlights of this year’s Savor Sarasota menu include lobster bisque, roasted parrot fish, and chicken penne carbonara.