La Mucca Ballerina — Restaurant in Sarasota

If I lived in Sarasota, I might selfishly not give La Mucca Ballerina 5 stars, wanting to ensure that it never got "too busy." But 5 stars it deserves! We stopped in for a light lunch on Monday -- shared a small pizza and a couple of beers -- and vowed to return later in the week for dinner. Last night we did and we could not have made a better choice. This is a family-run business (all somewhat recent arrivals from Rome) with a relatively limited seating capacity - less than 30 seats. For dinner we had the pleasure of being served by daughters Sarah and Julia, who also was cooking last night (Wednesday), having been told that Papa Zappaterreno had headed home after a long day of cooking.

As we entered, we were behind a couple from New Jersey picking up dinner. They had discovered this gem a couple of years ago and sung its praises. The small space was filled with the aroma of a recently cooked porchetta, visible in the counter display case, next to freshly baked bread that we later enjoyed with dinner. Apparently the porchetta is a weekly specialty and will be available for sandwiches today (Thursday).

We started with the Antipasto for Two. As you can see, it was beautifully presented. It consisted of both hot (meatball, eggplant rollatini) and cold (zucchini, cured meats, tomato, cheese) elements. Because the porchetta was made today, Julia informed us there was a special pasta for tonight only. The sauce was tomato-based, and used the drippings and pork bits from the cooked porchetta. The pasta was either spaghetti or spaghettoni, and was served with several pieces of delicious sausage. Although I had planned on ordering the Amatriciana, we both opted for the special -- and were not disappointed. It was rich, flavorful, and hearty. The pork flavor was strong, but not overly so, and it was not too sweet, as so many tomato sauces tend to be.

Although we finished our meals completely, we did not leave empty-handed. The porchetta smelled just too good to pass up, so we ordered some to take with us, and will enjoy that for our lunch today.

Sarasotans not familiar with La Mucca Ballerina should visit this "autentica cucina romana" without delay! ...

We fell in love at first slice. Back in December 2024, their food truck at the Bradenton Farmers’ Market served what might have been the best pizza in town — wood-fired, crispy, and bursting with flavor. Naturally, we walked into their full-blown restaurant with sky-high expectations... only to crash-land into service purgatory.

Things started off weirdly hydrated. The server brought us tap water like it was a Michelin-starred amuse-bouche, then vanished like my hopes for a smooth dinner. When he finally reappeared — at the next table — I flagged him down for a Peroni. Success! But my partner? Completely ghosted. Apparently, invisibility is free with dinner.

When our waiter eventually returned (after what felt like a brief sabbatical), I asked for a sangria for her. A simple enough drink, right? You'd think. Ten minutes later: no sangria, no server, no clue. After a gentle nudge, he said he’d “take care of it right away.” Translation: wait seven more minutes and prepare for a sad wine puddle in a glass. No ice. No fruit. Just... sadness. I’ve seen more exciting tap water.

Now to the food: pasta — decent, if your idea of portion size is “mildly offended toddler.” At $26, you’re basically paying for the plate. The pizza, tragically, had none of that food truck magic. It was as if someone described pizza over a Zoom call and a robot tried to recreate it. Bland, lifeless, and featuring "pepperoni" that would make an Italian grandmother throw a sandal across the room.

The finale? A disappearing act worthy of a Vegas residency. No check. No server. Just us, aging slowly under the restaurant lights. When I finally waved down our magician-waiter, he dropped the wrong check and immediately prepped for a card tap — no room for human interaction, just beep-and-go. I told him I was paying cash, then noticed we were overcharged by $10 and billed for the Fruitless Sangria of Doom™.

Look, I don’t like writing bad reviews. I came in as a fan, a believer. But what we got was more mess than meal. I sincerely hope they sort it out — they can be great. But until then, I’ll stick to food trucks and...

I’m from Venezuela and I grew up surrounded with Italian food, to the point I could wake up at 2 AM and go cook some pasta with it’s sauce from scratch.

Since I moved to this country I’ve been struggling to find good Italian spots where I can go sit down and feel like home. Mucca Ballerina has been the most amazing recommendation my friends could’ve given me so far.

Pasta is home made, breads are fresh. They do their oils with pesto, which makes it perfect for the quality of the bread.

I tried the lasagna from my friend and I tasted the pasta’s flavor, the sauce, the meat and the spices. Everything had their own delicious taste and it was just wonderful.

Pizza sizes are perfect.

My carbonara wasn’t what I was expecting, since in my country we do the white sauce instead of the eggnog sauce, and we also use a different pasta, but to be something authentic from the Roman chef I simply loved it. I’ll love to try it again with a different pasta and extra ingredients. Vegetables.

Drinks. Their water it’s good, even though I don’t like that type of water too much. I loved the way they serve Coca-Cola. And I’m definitely trying the wine next time.

About customer service: they were very busy at the time we got there. We got a perfect seat. But food, drinks and check were a little delayed. This wasn’t happening to just us. They only had 2 servers and almost every table was full. What I loved about this fact, and the reason why I couldn’t even be upset about it, is because the chef and owner came out to help his boys. He talked to every table asking how they were feeling and how everything was. Maybe what could be better? I’m not sure. He seems like a very good man, and it made all of us feel like this place is more than just a restaurant.

Going back next day off. Next time there will be wine and I hope to meet the owner too so I can...