The LIST – April 2025
April’s most popular restaurants are coming your way!
We’re Springing into April! 😁 Here we are. It’s mid-spring, with summer just around that corner up ahead. Restaurant lines are just a bit more tolerable, and traffic… Well, that might not ever fade. 🚗
📆 Something to Celebrate!
April is National Pecan Month! – Get out there and have a slice of Pecan Pie! 🥧
🥪 April 12 – National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! (Southside Deli & Food + Beer)
🥚 April 14 – National Eggs Benedict Day (Village Cafe & Toasted Mango)
🐰 April 20 – EASTER SUNDAY/Brunch Day! (Michael’s On East & Duval’s)
🥩 April 27 – National Prime Rib Day (Connors & Alpine Steakhouse)
🍪 April 30 – National Oatmeal Cookie Day (Flo’s Bakery)
✅ Some Other Things Happening in April. It’s Easter AND Passover.
Morton’s Gourmet Market can help with a delicious, catered Passover meal. (It’s tomorrow, 4/12, so you may need to call now!).
There are a ton of Easter brunches around town. GROVE Restaurant out in Lakewood Ranch has a good one. This year, the Summer House Steak and Seafood gets into the brunching game. That will make this Easter a pretty special one! Don’t forget the ones we mentioned above.
🥲 Sorry. We haven’t added any new spots to the dineSarasota.com database this past month. We’re still at 394 Sarasota area restaurants! We’ll be adding some new ones soon. 📝 If you know of a new place that’s not already on our site, EMAIL US, and we’ll get right on it!
All right! Top 10 time. Let’s take a quick look at who sits on top of this month’s edition of The LIST!…
🏆 HERE’S THE TOP 10 FOR APRIL 2025
It’s obvious that lots of you were looking for some St. Patrick’s Day fun. You put Shebeen right on top! 🍀
Darrell’s down in Venice makes it for the first time. (We’ve got a little piece on them coming up that you won’t want to miss. Especially if you love dessert!)
And, on a sad note, Thailand Restaurant has closed. They finally made our Top 10 just as they shut their doors. Looks like a bunch of folks were looking for that last great Thai meal at this Gulf Gate staple. They will be missed for sure. 😢
🗒️ HERE’S THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE TOP 25 FOR APRIL 2025!
Thanks for reading. Of course, like always, we’ve got a few loose ends for you below! ⬇️
~ LH
⚡ Quick Bites!
🚚 On the Move… Congrats to the good folks at Fork & Hen (1990 Main St. | 941- 960-1212). They’ve got a brand-new place to call home! Alphonso and Mark are now serving their southern soul food and crazy good fried chicken at the former MADE location. This new downtown address should be fantastic for them. Good luck in your new digs!
🍹 Last Call for Alcohol. Your window is closing quickly if you want to be part of Sarasota’s largest cocktail party. There are still a few tickets left for this weekend’s (4/13) Set the Bar Cocktail Competition. Come out and sample specialty cocktail creations from dozens of the area’s best restaurants. Maybe I’ll run into you at Ed Smith Stadium this Sunday! – TICKETS HERE!
🎹 Tickling the Ivories. If you love a little live soundtrack with your dinner, we’ve got some options here in town. Enjoy delicious Portuguese or Italian cuisine with a touch of entertainment at Amore Restaurant (180 N. Lime Ave. | 941- 383-1111). They’re bringing it to you WED-SUN. 📝 Way back when, (2023) we wrote a Make it at Home piece about their Pica-Pau de Vaca – READ THAT HERE!
📈 Survey Says… Thanks to all of you who took the time out of your very busy day to fill out our Reader Survey. Boy, did we get a lot of you helping out! Now we’ve got some of the results.
You guys LOVE to dine out! I think we already knew that, or you probably wouldn’t be reading this, but…
WOW! Almost 55% of you dine out five or more times each month. That’s a whole lotta reservations being made. Keep it up! More results AND dining book winners soon!
📔 What We’re Reading. Who doesn’t cheat a little bit at dinnertime every now and again? Maybe breakfast for dinner?? (Yes, you’ve done it!) Or maybe a bowl of popcorn?? Now all of you non-traditional dinner types have an “operating manual.” Georgia Freedman has just published (4/8) her latest cookbook, Snacking Dinners. There are 50+ “low-lift, high-reward” dinners for you to experiment with.
• Deconstructed Guacamole
• Kimichi Melt
• Jammy Eggs
• Pimento Cheese & Tomato Finger Sandwiches
• Mix & Match Potato Bites
• Caviar Sandwich
• Tuna & Plum Poke Bowl
+ A pantry guide, snacking tools, and more.
If you want to take your “dinnerish” skills up a few notches, this cookbook will help you get that done! AND – we’ve got one to give away to one of our lucky readers. We’ll pick one from all the entries we receive. Good luck! – HERE’S THE ENTRY FORM!
⭐ If you’d like to purchase a copy of Georgia’s new cookbook, you can do that HERE!
🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD INFO🗓️
Here is some local food information that we think you might find interesting. We’ve provided you with a link to more info.
📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2025 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖
😋 MICHAEL’S ON EAST – MONTHLY EPICUREAN MENU – GREECE🌍
🧑🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO 🌾
EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS
EVERY THURSDAY – Englewood Farmer’s Market (Oct-May) – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS
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