Florence and the Spice Boys — Restaurant in Sarasota

Food: Everything was delicious. We got the Brown Butter Hummus with pine nuts, the smoothest hummus we’ve ever had, the taste was more savory vs. bright with lemon, we loved it with the grilled pita.

I got the Spice Boys Burger, my go-to from the other location, still just as fantastic and precisely what I wanted. The side salad that comes with it, is refreshing and with some sort of vinaigrette or pickled cabbage (?) but it’s offset with the cooped up sweet dates and sliced almonds.

Hubby got the Chicken Shawarma and an order of the brussels sprouts. The Shawarma wasn’t my thing, but for what it’s worth I appreciate that it’s the best version of it and very flavorful, the chicken was tender and the seasonings full of depth. The Brussels Sprouts were incredible, perfect char and the chutney boosted the flavor.

If we’re honest, we both thought the food here was better than their other location.

Also got the soft serve ice cream, Lemon Meyer and Vanilla mix. Yum!

Service: It’s newly opened so I will give them some leeway. Technical issues with who got seated when and where, we did sit there for a hot minute, but once I flagged them down, they were very attentive for the rest of the night.

Atmosphere: The best in Sarasota! Every little detail thoughtful and planned. A lot of love went into this place and it shows. Just look at my photos and others. Silverware, porcelain dishes, Art Deco glassware, pewter serving trays…the list goes on. The noise level wasn’t bad for as big as the space is, they did a good job managing it. The music is fun but not over powering and fits nicely with the theme of the place.

Price: The price is fair, for everything above, plus two regular drinks we paid about $95 with tip; note that we didn’t get any cocktails or specialty drinks. Well...

It was great. Not good, not real good, but great. You get the feeling that it might just be great right when you walk in. Someone, or a team of someones, tried to get the tropical bohemian vibe right, and they succeeded. Nothing felt like an unconsidered afterthought or decor filler. There's a flood of attractive art to look at, there's plants coming out of the walls, there's a tasteful amount of florescence in the lighting to give you a bit of a South Beach feeling, even the flatware is interesting. The place felt like it was thoughtfully curated with little details, and that ethos carried on to the food beautifully. I was able to try several things, superlatives all around. Everything was expertly prepared, but the details made the food something special. The brown butter hummus with pine nuts and lemon had a touch of mint... you know what I would have never thought to put in brown butter hummus with pine nuts and lemon? Mint. It was out of left-field, and it was great. I expected to find mint somewhere in the perfectly cooked lamb chops, but I didn't. There was a coriander chutney that put lamb's usual accompaniments to shame. If you put the lamb's coriander chutney and Peruvian pepper sauce together on a napkin, I'd eat the napkin. The pork kabob had a green sauce that paired with a kewpie sauce wonderfully, and there was a bit of fresh dill garnish that cut through the semi-sweet glaze perfectly. Functional garnishment... inspired. I didn't need dessert, but I got it anyway. The bread pudding dish was like a sweet, warm hug. I apologize for the length of this stream-of-consciousness-style treatise, but I kinda glazed over and got lost in how...

This place has a good atmosphere and pretty cool decor. We were seated right away. Our waitress was ok except for when she was standing right over us and staring right at me while i was paying and putting her tip in the machine. She made it pretty awkward. I liked most of my meal, but the babba ganoush was pretty weak. It was 2 very small spoonfulls of very blended babba ganoush on an oversized plate with 2 pitas. For $11, the portion was very small. The protein portion of my bowl was pretty small as well, but the dish was definitely tastey. My wife ordered the lamb flatbread and I'm sorry to say it was absolutely disgusting. It was overcooked and tasted like a pre-made then microwaved dish. The lamb was completely dried out and looked like a burnt hamburger patty. It didn't have much of a taste. My advice is to stay away from that dish. They charged a dollar for a tiny little 1 ounce shotglass of tzatziki sauce. Sauce wasn't even that good. Seems petty to charge for a small portion of tzatziki like that. Our bill for 2 during lunchtime was about $80 out the door with no alcohol. Just an appetizer and 2 dishes. Can't say i would come back. Didn't feel the food and portions were worth what they are charging. If your looking for traditional Mediterranean food, this place is not it. This place is more of a trendy fusion Mediterranean type of place with blue rice, very colorful dishes, and a horrible attempt at a...