Restaurant Reviews : Cafe Epicure Italian Restaurant in Downtown Sarasota, Florida

This is a favorite restaurant destination for several of our family members. Every year they escape the cold weather in upstate New York and spend some time in Sarasota. We visited them this past April to enjoy this section of Florida’s Gulf coast. It was almost mandatory that we visit Cafe Epicure during our stay. That was great with us because we love trying out new eateries especially in good company. We packed into the van and headed out on our way to downtown Sarasota.

Parking was easy to find on the street behind the restaurant. The restaurant itself was packed. Even though we did not have reservations, our party of six was seated promptly. The decor is modern and casual. There are large windows everywhere bringing the outside in and the inside out (so to speak). A large deli case takes up a sizable part of the dining room. It is filled with Italian delicacies. We would have gotten some if it wasn’t for the flight back to California. The waiters were well trained. They were quick, polite and asked the right questions. When our orders arrived, the food completely covered the table. We had several pasta dishes, some house wine, a pizza, few salads, and appetizers, not necessarily in that order. Everything tasted really good. Pasta was cooked right, the ingredients were fresh, flavorful and not overwhelming. Pizza had a thin crispy crust and perfect amount of toppings. Appetizers were served from the deli case and tasted great. It does get loud here and would not be suitable for a quiet dinner. The sound reverberates from the voices of happy customers (I say). It is kid friendly and many families come here in full force to enjoy their meals.

I am sure that we also created some of the noise. Our meal continued for an hour or two. In the end, everyone was happy and pleasantly full. Prices for most entrees are in the mid teens which we found appropriate for the quality of the food. If you are in downtown Sarasota and would like to get some very good Italian food in a casual, busy, colorful and airy environment than this is the place for you. I really liked it and do recommend it indeed.