The Main Bar Sandwich Shop — Restaurant in Sarasota

This is not the Main Bar I remember. This was 13 bucks with a drink. Two slices liverwurst with one piece of cheese. It was embarrassing.

Funny enough Chip, yes I have seen the prices. Are you shopping retail for a food service business? Yea, I've got a little experience on hospitality. I don't mind paying the right price for the product delivered. It's called value. And I don't mean a "value" meal. When you pay for an expensive steak it's worth the price. What I paid for is not equal to the price. If you would like I could layout a spreadsheet with the breakdown of product of liverwurst, which I have been to Jones Dairy Farm in Wisconsin to see it being made, the bread and the cheese and the food costs variables for different weights for each portion and then the menu prices with margin. Your response is a real glimpse into your vision of hospitality and it doesn't line up with mine. You have no empathy for a customer who is wanting a fair value versus price and the idea you aren't purchasing from a broadliner is a poor business decision on your part. From a long time hospitality worker in this town, and yea I actually worked at the main bar making sandwiches, none of this is good for the small mom and pop places in this town. Do yourself a favor and go eat at Millies on clark rd. You will pay the same price for what I paid for but at Millies it has "value". And be nicer to your customers on the...

Have to thank "the ex" for introducing me to this go-to institution, I was unaware of it until we met. Now I've been coming here for 25 years. They've been here since 1958. And in that quarter century nothing has changed except a few faces and the prices. The service is wonderful and friendly, very diner-like where, even if you've never been in before, you're treated like a welcome friend. And unlike most lunch-only places that close at 2:30, they stay open until 4 pm. The biggest - only - problem I have is the menu. There are so many things to choose from. And many of the sandwiches have cool names, too. Alexander the Great, Taj Mahal, Balkan Express and many others. At this point, I've had most of the menu and there is not a thing on it I wouldn't have again. Today, it the muffuletta. Because it's on Main Street, parking can be difficult unless you use the parking garage across the street. Of course, most of their clientele are walking in from the surrounding office buildings and government offices. It's a great location. All the photos on the walls were left by the original owners and their son - all circus performers - and show many circus people they knew. Check out the pics, meander through the menu. It's worth the...

Love the nostalgia of the old circus and art but that’s where the love comes to an abrupt end for us. Tend to agree with one previous reviewer that says there’s not enough cold cuts on the sandwich.

Corn beef Reuben are traditionally “grilled “ not toasted. This place doesn’t have a grill according to the waitress. So I decided to take a shot on the Pisano and like the previous reviewer said no meat. I didn’t order a vegetarian version did I? There is nothing worse than eating an oil soaked roll that is bursting with a load of shredded lettuce and a few red peppers in between.

As many who follow my reviews know, I’ve been in the food industry for many years and the first thing any even minimally experienced person in the industry can tell you….”you’ve got to clean the coke dispenser daily”

No disrespect but we could have taken our hard earned $42.50 and went elsewhere for the same amount and got a decent meal we’d be raving about here.

I’m sure it probably stays afloat with the heavy foot traffic from the courts and offices nearby but I can’t see a boatload of new customers lining up...