Djonisi's Restaurant — Restaurant in Sarasota

Wow! Our first time here. We happened to be in the area as we live down in Nokomis. What a great find! The food is not only the best Greek we’ve had, it’s also at the top of any cuisine we’ve experienced in the Sarasota area. We went mid afternoon so we were the only ones there but by the time we left the place was filling up quickly. So we had the pleasure of being served by Djonisi’s himself. He is a gregarious and attentive host and just exudes love for his business and his customers. We ordered the hummus, the beet salad, and Djonisi’s Platter. The hummus portion served with toasted pita was generous. It was creamy, tangy, and delicious. Loved the combination of flavors and the fresh roasted beets in the salad. The platter meats were cooked to perfection (I asked for medium on the lamb chop). The seasonings and flavors of the bifteki and gyro were oh so good as were the chicken skewers that were filled with tender, juicy morsels of chicken. One note of interest is that the gyro meat was not overly salty as it so often is at other Greek and Mediterranean establishments. The platter came with the yummiest lemon potatoes, a salad, and rice with tomato, a side dish I hadn’t had before and which is now a new favorite of mine. For dessert we had the Galaktoboureko. Homemade doesn’t get better! And it came with vanilla ice cream which is not something I had experienced in the past with this dessert. It is a perfect complement. We cleaned the plate. I topped off the meal with an espresso. As a Cuban American, I’ve had a lot of espresso in my life. Djonisi’s espresso is top notch! Bold coffee flavor yet creamy, nutty and smooth. I recommend this place highly for a fun, fine and flavorful...

First time experience with this restaurant. Ordered Greek Salad with Gyro meat. The lettuce and other vegetables very fresh with plenty of large chunks of feta which was welcoming! I was disappointed in the Gyro meat though which was in pretty small pieces (1/4" to 1/2 " wide by 1" or so long) and mostly fat and gristle. They looked and tasted like scrap pieces and this was the case with all the Gyro meat. I was looking for a new fav Greek restaurant to frequent but won't be back after this experience. The women that took my order was very pleasant.

Response to Owner: Thank you Djonisi Owner for your reply. Sorry for the confusion on my review, but to clarify, the problem of the Gyro meat had nothing to do with it being take-out, eating 20 minutes later or the like but it was the quality of the meat which was mostly fat and gristle. I've been getting Greek Salads with Gyro meat on them for over 50 years with majority being take-out, eating later in evening or even next day and none ever having this issue. In addition, I've worked in restaurants for 20 plus years in my younger days so familiar with food, quality and the like regarding restaurants. My comments were meant to be helpful as a business can only get better when learning from their customers experiences - good or bad - and hope you take it in the spirit it...

We had a lovely experience last night at this wonderful relatively new Greek restaurant on Fruitville Road in Sarasota. From the very beginning learning that the family owned restaurant prides itself in delivery of authentic Greek food, made by the parents of the peaked our interest.

My friend and I had the a Greek wine which was semi sweet. A lovely balance of sweet wine with a nice refreshing taste, we agreed. It was delicious and we are bound to try to find it at our local wine store.

The highlight of the day, however was actual the food. My husband had the moussaka, he’s a real moussaka fan, and said that it was the best he’d ever tasted. I had the lamb shank, which was delicious. There is an extensive menu with many Greek offerings far past the Gyro and other more typical Greek food.

What made this place so fun was our waiter who is the son of the owners. Evidently this restaurant and the exact menu comes from a restaurant the family owned in Germany for 30 years. The entire family migrated to Sarasota, Florida, thankfully to share the exact menu with us here in the United States.

Try this restaurant you won’t be...