10 best Sarasota area restaurants we wish made USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year list

Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·6 min read
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The USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2024 list, published today, features 47 restaurants that range from fine dining to supper clubs to seafood shacks.

USA TODAY Network food journalists from across the country pooled their expertise to select the restaurants, which include the places they know, love, and recommend.

Star Fish Company, located on North Sarasota Bay in the historic commercial fishing village of Cortez, made the list. However, there are many other restaurants worth celebrating across Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Presented in alphabetical order, here are 10 other spots that we wish were on the Restaurants of the Year list.

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Château 13

535 13th St. W., Bradenton; 941-226-0110; chateau-13.com

Château 13 stands out as one of Sarasota-Manatee's premier fine-dining destinations. Last year, it claimed 40th place on Yelp's list of the Top 100 Florida Restaurants, up a position from 2022. Situated in downtown Bradenton, just south of Manatee Avenue and the bustling crowds of Old Main Street, Château 13 serves upscale cuisine inspired by Western Europe. Its hip and romantic setting encompasses a main dining area, a wine and beer bar, and inviting sidewalk seating.

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Columbia Restaurant

Original Cuban Sandwich at Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota photographed July 30, 2023.
Original Cuban Sandwich at Columbia Restaurant on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota photographed July 30, 2023.

411 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota; 941-388-3987; columbiarestaurant.com

Open since 1959 and Sarasota's oldest full-service restaurant, Columbia is an integral part of the famous shopping and dining district St. Armands Circle. The restaurant's nationally acclaimed Cuban sandwich, as well as their Original "1905" Salad, are among the most essential dishes in Florida, while their tapas classics include the Ybor City Devil Crab Croquettes.

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Demi's Noodle House

Demi’s Noodle House in Palmetto specializes in Vietnamese cuisine including pho.
Demi’s Noodle House in Palmetto specializes in Vietnamese cuisine including pho.

1318 10th St. W., Palmetto; 941-301-1212; demisnoodlehouse.com

Located in the up-and-coming city of Palmetto, Demi's Noodle House serves delicious Vietnamese cuisine including Sarasota-Manatee's best pho. It's made from a family recipe that involves charring onions and ginger, followed by three hours of cooking the broth with a long list of wisely chosen ingredients. The beef broth is served with delicate rice noodles, scallion, cilantro, bean sprouts, and a lime wedge for squeezing. Freshly sliced jalapenos on the side add extra heat for those willing and able. Alternatively, you can ask your server for a level “two” or “three” on just about any bowl or entrée if you prefer it spicier.

Restaurant review: Demi’s Noodle House for pho, fried rice and more delicious Vietnamese cuisine

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill, on Longboat Key overlooking Sarasota Bay, photographed Sunday, July 9, 2023.
Dry Dock Waterfront Grill, on Longboat Key overlooking Sarasota Bay, photographed Sunday, July 9, 2023.

412 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key; 941-383-0102; drydockwaterfrontgrill.com

Overlooking Sarasota Bay and specializing in fresh seafood, Dry Dock Waterfront Grill rightfully earned numerous national honors in 2023, including a place on OpenTable's annual list of the 100 Most Popular Restaurants for Outdoor Dining. Additionally, Yelp ranked Dry Dock at No. 54 on its annual Top 100 Florida Restaurants, and it appeared on OpenTable's 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America published last year. I'm also a big fan of Dry Dock's sister restaurant, Dockside Waterfront Grill, located in Venice.

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Fork & Hen

Fork & Hen's menu includes Southern comfort staples such as fried chicken and mac-and-cheese.
Fork & Hen's menu includes Southern comfort staples such as fried chicken and mac-and-cheese.

2801 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-960-1212; forkandhenssrq.com

Tucked away in an unassuming spot just north of downtown Sarasota, near Ringling College, Fork & Hen serves Southern soul food that is both impressively creative and deeply satisfying. Opened in 2022 and ranked as the 22nd best restaurant in Florida the following year by Yelp, it's an essential destination, particularly for those craving an elevated serving of fried chicken.

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Indigenous

239 S. Links Ave., Sarasota; 941-706-4740, indigenoussarasota.com

Steve Phelps, a two-time semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef: South award in 2014 and 2015, opened Indigenous in downtown Sarasota's Towles Court in 2011. The restaurant remains one of the top spots in the region, celebrated for brilliantly crafted seasonal American cuisine with a focus on sustainable seafood. Just ask Bobby Flay — the celebrity chef dined at Indigenous in June. In addition to Indigenous, Phelps recently launched PigFish, serving sustainable seafood such as their excellent PigFish sandwich at the new taproom of Sarasota brewery Calusa.

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Maison Blanche

Maison Blanche is at 2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key.
Maison Blanche is at 2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key.

2605 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key; 941-383-8088; themaisonblanche.com

If you or a loved one adore fabulous French cuisine, there's probably no better restaurant to visit in the state than Maison Blanche. Chef and owner José Martinez earned a Michelin star for his La Maison Blanche restaurant in Paris before relocating to Sarasota. He opened Maison Blanche on Longboat Key and was named a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef South in 2010. In December, Martinez announced that he would lead the culinary team behind Le Mans Kitchen, a restaurant opening inside the Sarasota Ford dealership.

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Meliora

Gnocchi at Meliora in Sarasota. Photographed Jan. 17, 2023.
Gnocchi at Meliora in Sarasota. Photographed Jan. 17, 2023.

1920 Hillview St., Sarasota; 941-444-7692; meliorarestaurant.com

The best new Sarasota restaurant to open in 2022, Meliora is where Chef Drew Adams puts his deft spin on New American cuisine. Must-try dishes include the thinly sliced raw scallop bathed tableside in its warm, briny juices, accented with chives and basil. Another standout is the gnocchi with parmesan cream and brown butter. Meliora placed at No. 87 on Yelp's Top 100 Florida Restaurants rankings, which is great, but it should have ranked higher and earned Adams a James Beard nomination.

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Tide Tables

Tide Tables restaurant, tiki bar and marina is in Cortez on the Intracoastal Waterway overlooking Anna Maria Island. This photo was taken Oct. 9, 2023.
Tide Tables restaurant, tiki bar and marina is in Cortez on the Intracoastal Waterway overlooking Anna Maria Island. This photo was taken Oct. 9, 2023.

12507 Cortez Road, Cortez; 941-567-6206; tidetablescortez.com

For those who appreciate fresh grouper, perhaps no one in Florida consistently does a better job of this than Tide Tables, which celebrates its 10th anniversary Feb. 24 and is owned by three beloved locals: Bobby and Gwen Woodson and Karen Bell (who also owns nearby Star Fish Company). At Tide Tables, they cut their fish right on the restaurant's dock on the Intracoastal Waterway, overlooking Anna Maria Island, and use it for delicious dishes such as their recent Thai chili grouper bites and blackened grouper sandwich. In addition to any and all grouper dishes you see on the menu or specials board, also be sure to consider an order of Tide Tables' famous fish tacos featuring blackened fillets of mahi-mahi and a show-stopping sesame ginger sauce.

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Tikka Indian Cuisine

Yelp named Venice's Tikka Indian Cuisine the second best restaurant in the state in its recent Top 100 Florida Restaurants 2023 list.
Yelp named Venice's Tikka Indian Cuisine the second best restaurant in the state in its recent Top 100 Florida Restaurants 2023 list.

525A U.S. 41 Bypass N., Venice; 941-303-5073; tikkaindian.com

If you're in Venice, this restaurant should be on your very short list of places to visit for lunch or dinner. Serving authentic Indian cuisine, Tikka placed second on Yelp's Top 100 Florida Restaurants 2023 list, earning praise for its "sleek, modern presentations of authentic North and South Indian dishes — from clay-oven-baked meats to biryani rice blends."

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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 10 Sarasota restaurants we wish made USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year