Neighborhood Eats: Your total guide to the dining scene in Venice
June 23rd, 2009 by Brian Ries in Food and Drink, News, Sarasota-Manatee
We freely admit that, when choosing a restaurant, Venice is not a top destination for CL staffers. Shark teeth? Sure. Less spoiled beaches than those around Sarasota? Definitely. Night out on the town? Hmmm…
But that doesn’t mean that the Venice dining scene can’t step up to the plate and take care of the locals. In fact, there are so many places to grab a nosh down south, we couldn’t fit them all in. But since we don’t make it down there often enough, we also can’t tell you nearly as much about these south county eateries as we’d like. Why don’t you comment below to let us know which Venice restaurants are your favorites, and why. Who knows, you may actually encourage us to take the scenic trip down Tamiami Trail, and visit for ourselves.
BECKHAM’S OSPREY GRILL 1272 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, 918-8900
BELLA LUNA CAFE 200 Miami Ave. W., Venice, 488-3089 or bellalunacafeofvenice.com
This coffee shop also serves a wide array of light fare, like simple salads, wraps, soups and quiche.
BOGEY’S 652 Venice Ave., Venice, 488-9156 or bogeys-venice.com
Bogey’s serves the usual lineup of bar food labeled with kitschy sports-themed names, alongside a decent array of flatscreens showing the latest games.
BRIANDI’S RESTAURANT 202 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, 488-9511
BUDDY’S PIZZA 822 Pinebrook Road, Venice, 484-6551
BUSHIDO SUSHI 125 W. Venice Ave., Venice, 485-1757 or bushidosushi.com
The usual selection of Japanese appetizers and simple entrées, along with a full lineup of sushi, sashimi and makimono.
CAFE 1660 1660 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, 966-1693 or cafe1660.net
Started by the folks at Cosimo’s in the bottom of the Osprey Inn, Cafe 1660 offers a typical hotel restaurant menu loaded with simple American fare.
CAFÉ VENICE 116 W Venice Ave., Venice, 484-1855 or cafeveniceontheisland.com
One of Venice’s few fine-dining joints, Cafe Venice features classic European and American dishes in a quaint and cozy setting.
CAPTAIN EDDIE’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 107 Colonia Lane E., Nokomis, 484-4623
Part fish market, part fish shack, Captain Eddie’s offers fine fresh seafood fried and broiled to order, with more to take home.
CASEY’S GRILL AND TAVERN 900 Venetia Bay Blvd., Venice, 486-0061
Casey’s has water views (over a man-made lake, but who cares), which compliments the Key West wooden archuitecture and Floridian-American cuisine.
CASSARIANO ITALIAN EATERY 305 W. Venice Ave, Venice, 485-0507 or cassariano.com
Owned by two northern Italian friends, Cassariano is an outpost of serious Italian cuisine in an unexpected place. Though they do cater a little to the average eater, more adventurous diners will find much to appreciate.
CROW’S NEST 1968 Tarpon Center Drive, Venice, 484-9551 or crowsnest-venice.com
A long-standing Venice landmark, the Crow’s Nest has been serving steaks and seafood to south Sarasota residents for decades. It’s attached to a marina, so it also makes a nice stop after a day of boating.
GOLD RUSH BBQ 661 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, 483-3137
HONOLUANA ISLAND GRILL 222 Airport Ave. E., Venice, 483-3553 or honoluana.com
Sure, you can boat in for dinner at the Crow’s Nest, but what do you do if you’re puttering around in your Cessna? Honoluana — located at the Venice airport — has your back, with vaguely Hawaiian seafood and steaks.
KINGFISH CAFE 625 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, 484-1840 or kingfishcafevenice.com
Classy breakfast and lunch joint with dishes cooked by CIA graduate Alan Laskowski.
KUMO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE AND SUSHI BAR 1740 E. Venice Ave., Venice, 488-5866
LEFT COAST SEAFOOD CO. 750 U.S. Highway 41 Bypass S., Venice, 485-5064 or leftcoastseafood.com
Left Coast easily has Venice’s largest array of seafood, from platter of fried shellfish to elegant preparations of fresh fish.
LAZY GREEK CAFÉ 530 U.S. Highway 41 Bypass S., Venice, 375-1268 or lazygreek.com
Deceptive name, since these folks work hard to bring serious Greek food — including a big selections of Hellenic seafood dishes — to the people of Venice.
LUCKY DOG DINER 602 S. Tamiami Tail, Venice, 483-4840
Being stuffed into a prefab metal trailer only adds to Lucky Dog’s diner credibility. Enjoy hot dogs, short-order eggs and other tasty diner treats.
MI PUEBLO 530 U.S. Highway 41 Bypass S., Venice, 486-0005 or mipueblomexican.com
Sarasota’s own Mexican mini-empire serves up the same homogenized fare down south that they do at their two northern locations.
NTINO’S PIZZA RESTAURANT 660 Tamiami Trail S., Venice, 485-4474
OPHELIA’S PASTA HOUSE 1097 Tamiami Trail N., Nokomis, 485-6818 or opheliaspastahouse.net
Not to be confused with Siesta Key’s Ophelia’s, this southern spot serves simple and hearty pasta dishes along with a vast array of Italian-inspired meat and fish preparations.
PELICAN ALLEY 1009 Albee Road W., Venice, 485-1893 or pelicanalley.com
This old-timey waterfront spot features New England-style decor and a big menu of New England and Florida seafood dishes.
PELICAN POINT GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB RESTAURANT 499 Derbyshire Drive, Venice, 496-9463 or pelicanpointeclub.com
ROBBIE’S REEF 775 U.S. Highway 41 Bypass S., Venice, 485-9196
SALT WATER CAFÉ 1071 Tamiami Trail N., Venice, 488-3775 or saltwatercafe.com
If you ever watch local access TV, you’ve probably seen Saltwater’s Chef Rolf (the name is trademarked) cooking up his “New Florida” cuisine. The reality in the restaurant is more an attempt to hit every possible desire of the diners utilizing and gigantic menu.
SHARKY’S ON THE PIER 1600 Harbor Drive S., Venice, 488-1456 or shrakysonthepier.com
The food is secondary to the spectacular view across the Gulf, with an easy jaunt down to the beach our out onto the pier. That’s worth a trip, no matter what you eat or drink.
SNOOK HAVEN RESTAURANT 5000 Venice Ave., Venice, 485-7221 or snookhavenretreat.com
Perhaps the most truly Florida experience south of Linger Lodge, Snook Haven is part fish camp, part attraction, part restaurant, part outiftter. Spend the day canoeing, then head into the restaurant for some alligator and catfish.
THAI SPICE 531 U.S. Highway 41 Bypass S., 485-3891
TJ CARNEY’S 231 W Venice Ave., Venice, 480-9244
VALENTI’S RESTAURANT 1200 E. Venice Ave., Venice, 484-1888
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWe freely admit that, when choosing a restaurant, Venice is not a top destination for CL staffers. Shark teeth? Sure. Less spoiled beaches than those around Sarasota? Definitely. Night out on the town? Hmmm…But that doesn’t mean that the Venice dining scene can’t step up to the plate and take care of the locals. In fact, there are so many places to grab a nosh down south, we couldn’t fit them all in. But since we don’t make it down there often enough, we also can’t tell you nearly as much about [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
[...] — Neighborhood eats: Your total guide to dining in Venice. [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 11:28 am
[...] to Venice denizens asking for info about their favorite local restaurants, to help fill out our Venice Dining Guide. I don’t make it down south nearly as often as I should, so a little reader input could go a [...]
July 8th, 2009 at 10:00 am
[...] Venice, we don’t venture out to Anna Maria and Holmes beach nearly as often as we should. Unlike [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Ok foodies, I need back-up on this one, a review of Venice Restaurants and no mentioning of Thai Bistro? This is nothing short of shocking. I’ve traveled all through
Asia and spent some time in Bangkok…I love Thai food! Thai Bistro is very authentic and is, by far, the best Thai restaurant in the Bradenton/Sarasota/Venice area. It’s not just me…I never heard of the place until I asked a gentleman from Thailand where he goes for Thai food in Sarasota…he stated “you need to drive down to Venice and go to Thai Bistro!”
October 7th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Agree, Thai Bistro is pretty good. Better than most Sarasota Thai restaurants