Florida

Sarasota’s 17 Best Restaurants: The Essential Dining Guide

Kojo

By Eric Barton | March 2, 2025

There was a time when Sarasota felt like a small town that happened to have a beach, the kind of place where your dinner options were a grouper sandwich or comfort food at Yoder’s. I lived downtown back then, a cub reporter at the Herald-Tribune, walking to Main Street for dinners out and counting the options on one hand.

But over the years, the formerly sleepy Sarasota dining scene suddenly woke up, improved largely by young chefs who cut their teeth in big cities and now bringing what they learned here. The sleepy restaurants got replaced with ambitious kitchens, the kind where chefs aren’t afraid to put fennel pollen on fish and charge $38 for it. Now, it’s a real food town, one worth exploring, and these are the 17 places that prove it.

1. Kojo

1289 N Palm Ave | Website | Instagram

Ramen meets Southern comfort at Kojo, a Japanese-inspired restaurant that’s anything but conventional. Wood-fired ramen, pork belly buns, and a cool vibe make this the spot for anyone who wants a global twist in a place where flip-flops are still acceptable.

2. Indigenous

239 S Links Ave | Website | Instagram

Chef Steve Phelps, a James Beard semifinalist, takes sustainable seafood to another level at Indigenous. The menu changes based on what’s fresh, and the focus is on local ingredients, making this a Florida-forward dining experience you can feel good about—ethically and gastronomically.

3. Adeline

1920 Hillview St | Website | Instagram

Chef Drew Adams, previously at James Beard-nominated Mintwood Place, brings the heat at Adeline (formerly Meliora), where the menu changes daily. Whether it’s bone marrow or octopus a la plancha, this is the place where Brooklyn meets Sarasota in a culinary love affair, minus the pretension. They’ll even let you park your beach cruiser outside.

4. Element

1413 Main St | Website | Instagram

For a more swanky Sarasota night, Element is where Michelin-star experience (from Chef Nils Tarantik) meets wood-fired steaks and pasta so good it will make you rethink all your carb decisions. This is Sarasota’s power-dining scene, but without neckties.

5. Lila

1576 Main St | Website | Instagram

Downtown Sarasota finally has a vegetarian-friendly restaurant that doesn’t feel like a compromise. Lila serves dishes so fresh and well-prepared you won’t notice that half the menu doesn’t involve meat. The house-made fettuccine with cauliflower is a favorite, but the real star is the grilled Brussels sprouts—charred, smoky, and tossed in something vaguely addictive. It’s a casual spot, bright and airy, where the servers can actually tell you where your vegetables were grown.

6. Mediterraneo

1970 Main St | Website | Instagram

One of the few places in town where you can get a proper Neapolitan pizza, Mediterraneo does Italian food without the shortcuts. Fresh seafood, house-made pastas, and a few stellar meat dishes round out a menu that feels effortless but refined. Their thin-crust pizzas, crisped to perfection, are worth the trip alone.

7. Jack Dusty

1111 Ritz Carlton Dr | Website | Instagram

Jack Dusty is where Sarasota’s maritime heritage meets an upscale, waterfront dining experience. Set inside The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, it’s a spot for shucked oysters, fresh seafood, and cocktails that go beyond the usual resort fare. The signature Siren cocktail is a local favorite, and the Sarasota Cioppino stew is reason enough to go. Whether you’re a hotel guest or just stopping in, it’s the kind of place that makes you feel like you belong to Sarasota’s more glamorous side.

State Street Eating House + Cocktails Sarasota

8. State Street

1533 State St | Website | Instagram

State Street Eating House + Cocktails is a downtown staple that does elevated comfort food better than most. The cocktails here are the main event—thoughtfully mixed, balanced, and dangerously drinkable—but the food holds its own. It’s the kind of place where you’ll find a perfectly crisped chicken schnitzel sitting next to a creative ceviche.

9. Sun Garden Café

210 Avenida Madera | Website | Instagram

Mornings in Sarasota should start here, ideally with a plate of their sweet potato pancakes. Tucked away on Siesta Key, Sun Garden Café is a breakfast and brunch institution, the kind of place where people linger over strong coffee and impossibly fluffy omelets. The menu leans healthy, but not in an obnoxious way—there are plenty of indulgent options if that’s what you’re after.

10. Jpan Sushi & Grill

3800 S Tamiami Trl | Website | Instagram

For years, Sarasota’s sushi scene felt like an afterthought. Jpan, now with two locations, changed that. The fish is fresh, the rolls are inventive without being ridiculous, and the kitchen goes beyond sushi with dishes like sizzling teriyaki and seared scallops. It’s casual but polished, the kind of place where you might end up ordering way more than you meant to.

11. Café on St. Armands

431 St Armands Cir | Website | Instagram

For half a century, Café on St. Armands (formerly Café L'Europe) has been the grande dame of St. Armands Circle, offering a dining experience that feels both timeless and timely. Established in 1973 by Titus Letschert and Norbert Goldner, the restaurant occupies a building originally intended as John Ringling's real estate office, adding a touch of historical flair to your meal. The menu expanded after a rebranding and now takes inspiration from places like Spain, Greece, Italy, North Africa and the Middle East.

12. Selva Grill

1345 Main St | Website | Instagram

If there’s one restaurant in Sarasota that could pass for South Beach, it’s Selva. Neon lighting, a lively crowd, and a menu that leans heavily on Peruvian flavors make it stand out. The ceviches here are the main attraction, bright with citrus and just the right amount of heat. Pair them with a well-made mojito, and you’re set.

13. La Brisa Tacos y Mariscos

1156 N Washington Blvd | Website | Instagram

The best taco joints tend to be the ones that put most of their energy into the food, and La Brisa nails that formula. It’s a no-frills kind of place, just solid tacos, fresh seafood, and a cucumber-and-cactus salad that somehow tastes like the beach in a bowl. The ceviche, served with homemade tortilla chips, is bright and refreshing, a perfect bite on a hot Sarasota afternoon.

14. Owen’s Fish Camp

516 Burns Ct | Website | Instagram

Hidden behind some serious banyan trees, Owen’s Fish Camp gives you upscale seafood with Southern charm. There are porch swings, fried green tomatoes, and a whole lot of folks pretending they’re at a family reunion with a Michelin-star chef. It’s casual, but in the kind of way that feels deliberate.

15. Drunken Poet Café

1572 Main St | Website | Instagram

It’s been downtown forever, a mainstay that doesn’t get enough credit for being consistently good. The vibe is a little chaotic—books stacked against the walls, dim lighting that makes everything feel a little more interesting than it is—but the food is the reason to come. Thai curries that actually bring heat, sushi that’s well above average, and a kitchen that isn’t afraid of spice. The Drunken Poet roll, a messy, delicious mix of tempura shrimp and spicy tuna, is a safe bet.

Tide Tables Restaurant and Marina Cortez Sarasota

16. Tide Tables

12507 Cortez Rd | Website | Instagram

Perched right on the Intracoastal in Cortez, Tide Tables is the kind of place you find once and then start planning your entire day around. The fish tacos and smoked grouper are the main draw, and the setting—a weathered tiki bar with boats bobbing nearby—is just about perfect. Get a cold beer, order whatever’s freshest, and linger until the sun starts setting.

17. New Pass Grill

1505 Ken Thompson Pkwy | Website | Instagram

You go to New Pass Grill & Bait Shop to soak up old Florida. You go for the burgers and fish sandwiches and crispy fries, served on paper plates and best eaten out back on salty tables that overlook in the water. You go for a rare spot with no pretense, just simple food served on paper plates with a view of the water.

More From Sarasota