Cafe Epicure — Restaurant in Sarasota

Cafe Epicure has been on the Sarasota dining scene for over 20 years. Which is IMPRESSIVE in the world of restaurants. So they’re clearly doing something right. And that thing is the FOOD. The interior is quite lovely, the location is an excellent downtown corner with lots of outdoor seating on the sidewalks, but there is also a choice of seating options inside with a dedicated bar and high top communal table on one side (with tables as well) and a more casual Trattoria setting on the other side with a large flat screen TV playing daytime television.

The food is LEGIT wood fired, thin thin crust pizzas (quite a variety), pasta dishes, a small selection of breakfast/egg options, plates that are great for sharing (Fritto Misto, Eggplant Parm, Warm Octopus “Salad”) and salads.

LOTS of choices. Really something for everyone and everything freshly made from excellent ingredients.

My parents LOVE this spot. I mean LOVE it. When I mentioned the fact that the person who appears to be in charge has a rather abrasive/unfriendly demeanor. Look I OWN a restaurant and work in it 50+ hours a week - so I KNOW from the service industry and what it takes to do it and my exact quote was, “I find that to be an interesting choice of demeanor for the service industry.”

Like, YIKES. I’m deducting a star for that alone. Rude. To my father. Super regular customer who spends A LOT of money and sings the praises of this joint. Unprofessional.

That being said, 4 stars for the food. It’s fantastic.

The bread that comes is really good; dense, flavorful. You get white and an olive bread that is really really good. It is also served with an olive tapenade that is pretty freaking great. (Don’t worry, they’ll give you more if you’d eaten your first round.) But don’t fill up on the bread! Which would be really easy here. LEAVE ROOM!

Fritto Misto (fried calamari, shrimp and zucchini) is absolute perfection! This is a very hard thing to find. Perfectly fried, delicious and lightly coated with just the right amount of salt. I could eat this all day.

Eggplant Parm. It’s good. Above average. Eggplant cooked perfectly. Marinara a little bland. Ask for the red pepper flake!

I ordered the Caesar Salad because you KNOW ya girl is ALWAYS going to order a Cases if It’s on the menu. Epicure’s Caesar is now tied for Best Caesar Salad I’ve ever had. It is THAT good. They’re not overthinking it: fresh, crisp Romaine, paper thin slices of Parm, just enough dressing (the most common “error” with a Caesar Salad is that it is DROWNING with dressing. Not at Epicure! This salad is what every Caesar Salad should aspire to.

I definitely wanted to have pasta because it is a VERY rare place I will order pasta at. Because it is a very rare place that is doing honestly good Italian food. Cafe Epicure has got pasta on lock. I wanted Puttanesca, but I didn’t want it with the pasta they were serving it with, I wanted Rigatoni (which was also on the menu, so I knew they had it in house). No problem at all. They subbed the Rigatoni, which was cooked perfectly (don’t EVER be serving me pasta that isn’t al dente, I will not eat it). The Puttanesca was good, not too much, just the right balance between pasta and “sauce.” Although their Puttanesca is not really a traditional “sauce.” There is no tomato base. Just the capers and olives, etc, tossed with the pasta. It’s good. Really good. I’d eat it again.

Finished with a double latte. Yes, they know how to make an espresso drink. Which is another thing that A LOT of places attempt and also FAIL at.

Excellent spot for authentic Trattoria/Roman style Italian food and espresso drinks. We couldn’t sit outside because it was 55 degrees and raining. But it was lovely...

Would give this place zero stars if I could. My friend and I went this afternoon for a late lunch; sat outside. Ordered a glass of wine while looking at the menu. Waiter dropped off glasses of water and a basket of bread. We asked for lemon for the water and straws - he never came back. We had no utensils so could not butter the bread. After a long wait, our waiter came back with the wine, gave us utensils and took a simple order - a salad & a pizza. We waited almost 30-40 mins and no food. I got up and went inside to find our waiter - asked how much longer it would be before the food. He said he would find out. I asked for more wine. The waiter returned with ONE glass of wine and said that he was not in control of the kitchen. My friend expressed her frustration with the wait and no food (while other tables around us sat down after us and already had their food). He went to get the second glass of wine and said that the wine was "on him" and left. He was rude. We waited at least another 20 minutes. My friend signaled a gentleman who appeared to be the manager and he identified himself as the owner. We told him what was going on so he went to talk to the waiter. The waiter returned to the table and admitted that he never put our order in, it was his mistake and he would pay for the entire lunch out of his pocket. The order was still not in the kitchen. We opted to leave. It seemed to us that nobody was managing the customer flow and service. Waiters would come out with food and not know which table the food was for. No table should sit for almost an hour with empty wine glasses and no food. My friend and I understand the staffing issues restaurants are experiencing and we are willing to wait. But you can't eat your bread if you don't have a knife to butter it or a fork to put the olive tapenade on the bread. And if your waiter doesn't return to the table to see how things are, it's pretty much all over. Terrible service., I can't tell you if the food is any good because we never had any. I would not waste my time with so many other good...

ITALIAN RESTAURANT WITH DISRESPECT

Travel to Sarasota frequently at least 5 times a year. This evening had dinner at St. Armands circle with my girlfriend and her parents. As I have eaten numerous times at Cafe Epicure I wanted them to experience Italian espresso and dessert at Cafe Epicure. Upon our arrival we were met by the manager Joe whom I informed that we were interested in having only dessert and coffee. I told him that we had dinner 2 nights prior and loved the dessert so we wished to return to indulge in the same. He informed us that he was overwhelmed with customers and reservations and that we would need to wait which we replied that we would happily await a table. We were seated very shortly at a table and gave our order to a our waiter Peter who was outstanding. Peter returned a few minutes after taking our order to inform us that THE OWNER STATED THAT HE COULD NOT SERVE US DESSERT WITHOUT US HAVING HAD DINNER AT THE RESTAURANT.. This discriminatory and egregious behavior from an owner of a restaurant that serves the general public should be addressed and called for what it is. It is disrespectful, condescending, discriminatory, unprofessional and reprehensible. What type of owner refuses customers. !!! We had agreed to wait our turn. We were respectful. We were patient. We were dressed in suits and ties and dresses. We are professionals. And we were wanting to spend more money at a restaurant at which we have eaten at many many times. The manager Joe informed Peter our waiter to serve us and we gave Peter a tip that was 150% of our bill because of his outstanding service. As far as the owner is concerned perhaps some remedial education in customer service and satisfaction is in order because discrimination against clientele is a serious offense and results in the collapse of...