Cafe Epicure

Had a very enjoyable meal at Epicure last night. There were 6 of us and we all enjoyed our meals. Started with the eggplant parm appetizer that was very well done, the only thing is I wish the serving size was bigger as it’s shared and I wanted more! The lasagna bolognese was perfectly creamy, meaty, and made with delicate pasta that just melts in your mouth; heavy but light if that makes sense. My fiancé had the duo pasta with spicy black linguine with shrimp and pappardelle with lamb ragu both very good. I preferred the black linguine as it had a better flavor with some spice but both were great choices! Other choices for the table were the scallop special, penne alla vodka with shrimp, Spaghetti with calamari, arugola and spicy tomato, Free range chicken breast rolled with pancetta and mozzarella… All were very good! We all left very satisfied. Tom was our waiter and his service was great, with an aluminum swan for my mother. My only complaint was the chianti wine, not my favorite. I highly suggest you try this resturant, pasta is amazing!

Was in town for the Aida opera and had dinner here before hand with some family. The food was excellent. We got the eggplant app which was on the smaller side but very good, super tender and flavorful. Our table had quite a few of the pasta dishes, lasagna, squid ink pasta and shrimp fra diavala, scallops, seafood pasta, and an Italian sausage wrapped in bacon dish. Prices were very reasonable as well.

OK, this has to be one of the most pretentious and stuck up restaurants I’ve been to since I moved to Florida. It’s right in downtown Sarasota and the owner (s) apparently think it’s situated in Beverly Hills. Décor is way over the top and even at that, not in the least bit impressive. I ordered pizza and it was decent, but not worth the above-​average price tag, not even close. Crust — good but overly soggy underneath aka too much grease aka below average cheese. Meat — below average. Service was abhorrent as well. I had to wait for even the simplest request when it wasn’t even that busy.
They also have an outdoor patio which is also nothing to write home about. Uncomfortable chairs and small tables. So come down to earth, Epicure. It’s Sarasota. Tourists and old people. Not movie stars and millionaires.

Underwhelming food, service was good, menu maybe overly large & too diverse, I prefer smaller menu & more attention to detail & quality
We have tried various salads & Pasta, certainly nothing terrible but nothing memorable either
Adequate parking in public lot, limited on street parking
Frankly I think many better choices in the close vicinity

UNBELIEVABLY BAD SERVICE. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Went in around 2:20 and ordered LARGE pizza for my four kids and a tiny pizza comes out which was not nearly enough so we ordered another one. We were told okay by the server– he would bring another pizza… 10 minutes later we got told that the pizza maker is GONE and the oven is off. The manager tries to convince my kids to eat pasta. They would not make another pizza for us!!! We got up and left without eating. THEY DESERVE EVERY BAD REVIEW AND I’M NEVER COMING BACK. **WORST WORST WORST WORST WORST WORST SERVICE EVER**. WHAT KIND OF AN ITALIAN PLACE IS THIS??? Ridiculous!!! DON’T EAT HERE. DON’T. Went to an Italian pizzeria nearby and when I told them what these people did, they could not believe it. Kids had a great and huge pizza at the other place.

Slow, rude service and overpriced below average food. The complimentary house bread tells you all you need to know about the quality of the food. I would not dine here again.

Slow start on service, appeared to be under staffed and crowed on a Sunday night. But the manager stepped in and seated us, prepped the table and saw we were handled.
Food was fresh and well prepared, pasta dishes, ravioli and pizza. Homemade break with fresh olive oil and crushed olives, yummy.
Too full for dessert

Good food, good drinks, trendy atmosphere.
We were looking for a nice place to start a Friday evening. We wanted to get some pasta in us before a night of drinking and this place fit the bill. It was pretty busy, but a comfortable level. Our waitress was clearly Italian so that was a nice touch. This is definitely a good place for drinking with girl friends or going on a nice date.
I got the penne pasta with burrata in tomato sauce. I love burrata so this was a no brainer for me. It is cooked al dente, which is my favorite way of preparing pasta. The portion sizes are great. They give you enough to be satisfied without overdoing it.
To drink I got the pampered moose, because when you see a drink called the pampered moose how can you not order it? Honestly, I don’t even know what was in it, but it was delicious. They have a fun cocktail menu so I would love to try other drinks. They are on the pricier side at $ 11 each, but well worth it.
They bring you bread with olive tapenade and olive oil. I liked the white bread, but I didn’t care for the wheat bread. The bread wasn’t good enough that I would eat it again though. Most of the time I try not to fill up on bread.
I think this place is a great start to a night (or it can be your night). It is walking distance from tons of great bars and it has good food. What more do you need?

Soo good! Pizza is made by the same man every single day! Pasta is excellent. Wish there was a place in Tampa like this. Bar is very nice, appealing.

This place did not disappoint, from the minute my boyfriend and I walked in the door we were greeted immediately and sat, we decided to sit inside but outside is also available. Soon after our waitress whose name was Mirna, came over to get us drinks and she provided excellent service throughout our entire stay. The food was also amazing we ordered some prosciutto and mozzarella to start and each of us ordered a chicken dish as our entrée. I cannot say enough good things about this place, definitely give them a try! You won’t be disappointed!

Phenomenal service, food, and drinks. One of my favorite bars in Sarasota. The bartender Chris is very kind, and treats me like family. Great, unique drinks, and a very wide variety of liquors.

While my family and I were on vacation in Sarasota, we stopped by Café Epicure. While the restaurant was empty, this did not affect the quality of the food or service. The pastas were perfectly cooked and noticeably fresh. The sauces in the pasta dishes complemented each perfectly. In addition the flavors on the margarita pizza were perfectly balanced making for an absolutely delicious pizza. All in all, a great experience at Café Epicure.

My partner and I tried out Café Epicure while were driving around downtown Sarasota. Overall, this place seemed pretty authentic, with actual Italians working at an Italian restaurant — go figure!
We wanted a late lunch, so we opted for two of their sandwiches. I had the speck and brie, which was filling and came with an adequate portion of meat for what I paid.
I would’ve gotten the pizza, but the I was in that sweet spot between breakfast and lunch where they don’t sell pizzas — can’t really blame them, since the place was rather empty when we went here.
Overall, the service is pretty friendly and Café Epicure is a fine place for a quick sandwich and beer.

One of my favorite restaurants. Very consistent good and they take the time to make their regulars feel special. One of my favorite Italian restaurants and I’ve been to Italy twice. Very authentic cuisine! I love the trendy vibe, the bar is great. I usually schedule my work meetings here and dot on the couches outside all day. Great people watching, they are open all day, and best of all I’ve been hundreds of times and never had a bad experience. My favorite is the pizzas, lasagna, and 4 cheese rigatoni (hold the spinach!). Burratta and st. Danielle prosciutto is also delish!

This place has gone downhill. A basket of stale bread was brought to our table. Pizza was doughy and flacid. Drinks are stupid expensive. Extremely slow service: 15 minutes for our drink orders, over 30 minutes for food even though the restaurant was mostly empty. Too bad, it used to be really good.

The worst service. The place was empty and we had to ask for water four times. The portions were small. The ONLY good thing was the pizza. The bartender was a douche to my friend when her drink was awful and when she went to change it out he said «Maybe it’s just bad for you» like what is that? The manager was nice but didn’t comp us anything. Never again.

Outside of my house they have the best Bolognese Lasagna in town ;-)
My boyfriend orders the Jessica Pizza religiously.

Monday night visit. Not busy at all yet service very slow.
Ordered a calzone. I received a flat piece of dough that was raw. Sent it back the mgr was argueing with the waitress because of my return. Was told they would make another but all I got was the same mess except now it was burned. Marinara on my GF dish was bland like watered down Ragu. Don’t waste your money. Waitress was apologetic and nice but everything else was a big let down, never again.

Hands down, the best meal we’ve had in Sarasota.
A+ across the board: service, atmosphere, salad, entrée, dessert… exquisite. Just perfect.

Such a cute little café; I had been once before many years ago and when the craving for some good Italian food hit while in Sarasota I hoped Epicure would be as good as I remembered, which luckily, it was.
We arrived around 6:30 on a Saturday night and had no problem getting a table, we opted to sit outside.
Our waiter was friendly and wished us happy holidays when he came over to see what we wanted to drink.
For an app we got the salami/​mozzarella stuffed artichokes which were good, but not out of this world.
For entrees we shared a prosciutto pizza and rigatoni carbonara. Nom nom nom.
Coming from NY and close to New Haven CT we have high expectations for pizza. Epicure didn’t disappoint, it was thin and crispy with just the right amount of sauce, cheese, and prosciutto.
The rigatoni carbonara was to die for — so creamy and rich, the portion size was perfect.
We saved room for gelato on the way out which was very good — the coconut was especially delicious with the little coconut flakes in it.
All in all a nice dinner for two for less than $ 60 with tax/​tip. Hard to beat.