Sarita a Restaurant

Food was awful and overpriced. Carpaccio was smothered in mayo and inedible. Tomatoes in Caprese salad were pale and not flavorful. Fries were pale and flaccid. So disappointed as I support Lakewood businesses. Loved its former incarnation, Players. Second time I’ve been to Sarnitas and most likely will not return.

I’ve never had fry bread before so I wanted to try it. I don’t know if it is usual to have grease ooze out when you bite it or if it was made wrong; like how sometimes you get good crispy fries and others times you can get soggy greasy gross fries. But all that grease in a bite made my stomach sour. I’m still giving this place 3 stars since the other people I came with liked their food (expect the tomato bisque that tasted like spaghetti sauce), the patio is very nice, and the ambiance was great that night because we sat next to a small wedding reception and the bride looked awesome in her white halter top pant suit– but that’s a whole separate story.

The food was definitely really good, but I went with a friend for the happy hour special and it was still a little pricy for the amount of food we got. The Sarita signature cocktail is delicious and so are the oysters!
Not at all the place to go for cheap drinks, mid shelf liquor drinks were close to $ 10 per drink for mixed drinks!
The staff was very friendly and attentive. Overall a very good experience and I would go back.

I’m not sure about the hype here. I was not impressed, as many of my fellow reviewers seem to be. I arrived around the last hour of happy hour, which has awesome hours btw. It went till 9 pm on the Monday night that I went.
The service was prompt and courteous. No gripes there.
First, the good — My mom loved her miso salmon. It was cooked well and tasty. They were also cool about subbing a veggie for rice. My drink, the Sarita cocktail, was also on point. Fried green tomatoes were fine too.
The meh — my wings were soggy. I ate one and packed them for home bc I wanna try to improve them at home. I was also super disappointed by the frybread. Having had the real thing, as prepared by several different times with unique variations, I was disappointed that the quality. It was like the more expensive, less tasty version of Taco Bell’s chalupa. Frybread is supposed to be browned and sorta crunchy on the outside and doughy in the middle. Typically, it’s like this:
. The chicken atop the fry bread was well-​seasoned and tender, though.
Overall, it was an OK experience but I’m definitely not pleased with the cost versus the product.

Everything I had here did not disappoint. My flour-​less chocolate was the only thing I can say something negative about. It just wasn’t that good but everything else is fantastic. A little on the pricey side and I don’t recommend bringing children.

Let me say to begin, there is nothing terribly wrong with this place. It’s just, well odd. There were so many elements of Sarita A Restaurant that rubbed me the wrong way that it doesn’t make my We Are Definitely Going Back There list.
First, the name. Really? A restaurant? A little too cutesy for me.
Second, the menu. It’s divided into This, That, and The Other. Again, way too cutesy.
Third, the atmosphere. We literally sat at our table and laughed about what a bizarre mix of elements they had going on. While my verdict was that this place was like if Abercrombie and the Apple Store’s lovechild, my boyfriend felt like he was eating in a hair salon. Everything is black and white and they were playing techno dance music. I also couldn’t tell if I was under dressed or not. I felt like if I had worn a black turtleneck a la Steve Jobs I would have fit in better.
Fourth, our waiter. A little awkward. He definitely did not want to be there and seemed to have never witnessed an interaction between waiter and waitee before. It’s possible he was a robot or an alien.
Fifth, the price. Don’t get me wrong, the food was great! We started with the Navajo Fry Bread which was scrumptious. I had the crab cakes, double scrumptious. It’s a bit more than I like to pay, personally and given the above, not worth it IMO.
Deets: there are two main seating areas, one with the bar and high tops with low tables towards the front. There’s a step down into a larger seating area with low tops. A wheelchair should be able to handle it with some help. Looked like they have a patio out back.
Parking is in an adjacent lot and on the street. Metered parking in Lakewood is free after 6 and on weekends.

We were 45 minutes early for our reservations and treated with a warm hello and taken straight to a table. Server always had a friendly smile and was quick to suggest favorites, not that it helped because everything looked so great on the menu… My favorite problem to have. We got the flat bread and corn bread and both were amazing. I enjoyed the flat bread more, just because I love pesto. There were four of use and between us we had crab cakes, I didn’t try these but heard they were yummy. the Mac and cheese was decadent and purely sinful. I had the pork chop which was perfect, had a sweet glaze was crispy outside and juicy inside with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans, nothing was left on the plate. My husband had the short ribs which were eye closingly good. The drinks were perfect and for dessert had the brownie sandwich, a must have. I will be back!

If you want a modern, fresh yet comforting experience with amazing food, you’ve come to the right place. Perfect for a date night, happy hour, or friends get together, every dish at Sarita is prepared beautifully. The espresso crusted Bison strip and pork belly app are phenomenal. Their cocktails are also strong and tasty. Overall, this this place is worth a visit.

Started with a happy hour drink at the bar. Delightful though sweet. I had the misty which had prosecco and blood orange. The hostess had a lovely way about her and was quick to greet folks with a smile and willingness to help which is always the way you want to start and end a wonderful evening. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable. We shared the fry bread, the Sarita salad, crab cakes (I don’t like mine breaded and fried, but these were good anyway), and the scallop dinner special which was served with crab and watercress and quite excellent. We ended out meal with a cappuccino and fried banana split. A nice gentleman was on the floor keeping things in order and was also very engaging. An overall wonderful food and dining experience. I look forward to our next visit.

Happened to stop in randomly on a Saturday night. Very busy, staff was nice. A little pricey but the food was very good.
I had the lobster pizza! Excellent

We had a party of 14 on Saturday night. The experience was great. Easy seating, great apps, dinners were really good. Hats off to the chef.
I will tell everyone o can about Sarita and I will be back soon with my family.
Great job.

I LOVE it here! This place blew my taste buds away!
I came here with the Supper Club and I would say there were about 10 of us and the service was fantastic! They gave us 2 waiters for the entire time we were there. Also, the woman who works the front of the house (I’m assuming she is the co-​owner) was awesome! She came to our table every time we had a new course come out making sure everything was on point. One of the guests at my table ordered the Blue Cheese Molten Encrusted Beef Tenderloin and it came out way over-​cooked and he wasn’t going to complain but the Manager was over at our table right away when she noticed he did not seem happy and had them fire up a new one right away. That is excellent Management and Customer Service in my opinion!
The other fantastic part of my fantastic experience besides the amazing food was that they let us have happy hour at what I would call the «communal table» that sits next to the bar. Usually you only can have happy hour at the bar so I found this to be a wonderful gesture!
Now to the food… the awesome taste bud explosion! Our table mostly focused on trying all of the appetizers or what they call on their menu «this» and «that». We ordered 2 of the 3 navajo fry breads (this is a must order item), calamari, mussels, cast iron cornbread, pizettes and the special of the night for apps included a duck dish of some sort (I just remember it being to die for) a butternut squash pierogi (I think there were 4 orders of those at our table) and I saw a few salads and a few entrees. All the specials of the night we were there sounded so amazing! I have not been to a restaurant in a long time in which I wanted to order ALL the specials!
Shout out to Chef Romano for his incredible flavors and for making Sarita a neighborhood place that I want to keep coming back to and try everything on the menu!

Server was great but other than that we were just bummed about the food and drink. My Manhattan was watery and the one I sent back was replaced by what I could’ve swore was the same drink with a splash of whiskey added. The yellow fin tuna was so poorly described we were surprised that it was a salad and might as well been starkist out of a can. When the prosciutto and smoked mozzarella came out you could tell that it was grilled and the cheese had melted but then sat in the window for so long the mozzarella had hardened again, covered in the greasy sheen of half dead cheese. Half an hour after we were done with the apps our entrées showed up (we ordered apps and entrées at the same time). My $ 30 dollar medium rare steak was well done and my fingerling potatoes were reminiscent of a Wendy’s baked potato at closing time. You’d think at this point management would come try to save face but no luck.
This is not an exaggeration nor am I spiteful for them killing our date night. I just feel If you work hard for your money and you want a night out to be special (and worth it) I’d suggest going someplace else. I hope they iron out the kinks and prosper in the future.

There are only a few vegetarian options in the menu we we enjoyed them. They include the fry bread, the cornbread, the Beemster and date salad and the fusilli gratin. Overall however the menu is very scattered. The noise level is loud, at least in the front room.

When the chef is also the owner I’m usually impressed and Sarita is no different. I probably had the greatest steak I’ve ever eaten here and have been back twice since then. Never disappointed!

So excited to try Sarita and found it improved upon one of my favorite former restaurants. But this is not the former restaurant so I won’t mention it again except to say if you liked it, you’ll love this.
The décor is updated in a cute but classy tabletop theme. Fork and spoon chandelier and saucers on the wall as art. Crisp and clean lines, über modern but warm and inviting. All the class but without being pretentious.
Food was amazingly good. My favorite was a mole pork pizette. The pork was super tender and flavorful. I had not one, not two, but three cocktails. (Rough week, maybe?) I had the Sarita, a lime and pear concoction, a Momo Margarita, which was a refreshing twist on the tequila drink, and… I don’t remember my third. Which means they were really good. ;)
Excited to see the evolution of Clevelands newest eatery.

I see a lot of five star reviews here. I must say I was very happy with my «special» of pasta with shrimp and peppers. But my friend ‘s dinner was not warm when brought out. She had the chicken roulade and said that in spite of being cool, it tasted delicious. We ordered the mussels appetizer with the cast iron corn bread. Forgive me for being gross but the meat inside the shells was no bigger than a booger! We couldn’t pick up the corn bread because it was raw inside. We told the waitress and she took it back — but she left it on our bill!
I want to give Sarita another try, though. I liked the service and the menu. Perhaps the staff will read this and pickup on the loose ends. Hey, they just opened and maybe not everyone is on the same page yet.

When Players on Madison closed its doors in October 2015, we were excited, but skeptical about what would take over the space. We had visited Players countless times over the years and we were hopeful that Chef Anthony Romano’s new restaurant would provide us with a dining experience that would keep us coming back for more. We decided to visit Sarita on a Friday night. Immediately when you walk in the doors, you notice the beautiful transformation. The new bar and community table are fantastic. The chandelier of cooking utensils and bowl artwork are a playful, yet classy design. The décor in general is a great improvement; providing a more modern and open, but still warm ambiance. The old bar was always so awkward and a poor use of space.
The menu is a nice combination of old and new. Versions of our favorite nightly specials from Players, such as the Grouper and Sea Bass, can now be found on Sarita’s menu. Chef Romano has also put his own spin on classics with simple ingredients that taste great! The prices are fair and allow us to enjoy a three course meal with drinks without breaking the bank.
We arrived just as they were opening and started at the newly renovated bar with a Manhattan and Cherokee Fry Bread. The Manhattan is a staple that we have enjoyed at this bar many times, so we were not disappointed. The Fry Bread is a new item and was a crispy, flaky and light dough topped with chicken, black beans, salsa and crème fraiche. They were fairly priced at $ 6 apiece for happy hour. Next we moved to a table where we enjoyed a beet salad ($ 10). While we would have preferred a little more goat cheese, the beets were delicate and delicious. For our entrees, we enjoyed the horseradish encrusted grouper with mashed potatoes ($ 29) as well as the blue cheese encrusted beef tenderloin with fingerling potatoes, prosciutto-​wrapped asparagus and tomato-​bacon-​onion marmalade ($ 29). Both entrees were cooked to perfection and portioned appropriately. There was an incredibly large amount of marmalade with my steak, which was unnecessary considering how delicious the steak tasted. It simply melted in my mouth. Dinner wasn’t complete without trying dessert! Along with two espresso martinis ($ 9) we were captivated by the deep fried banana split ($ 6). The combination of fried bananas, coconut ice cream, pineapple, caramel, and macadamia nuts sounded too good to be true! It was both decadent and light; a delicious ending to a new, romantic and memorable dining experience.
Overall, we were very pleased with our dinner at Sarita. The service was on point and the food was enjoyable. Congratulations to the entire Sarita team! We are excited to return again and again and again.

Wow, what an amazing transformation. Sarita is now opened! I live in the neighborhood and the aromas are delightful!!! I can smell the garlic and onions! Ah, greatness abounds.
The makeover is superb! Sleek and stylish with black and silver. Has an open bar that was put in that adds some ambience to the environment!

A worthy, modern successor to Players. More open space, many of the same excellent floor and kitchen staff, but still grounded and reasonable in the most West Side sense — no outrageous prices, no too-​out-​there cuisine experimentation, neither too noisy nor too dead. One week since opening, and the dominant odor here is success.