Sarasota restaurant's pie named best in Florida by Yelp
We recently reported on one of the best waterfront restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton making Yelp’s list of the Top 100 U.S. Seafood Spots for 2024. Now, another one of the top seafood restaurants in the region has been recognized nationally, but this time for its delicious dessert.
To celebrate Pi Day, which is March 14, the crowd-sourced review website Yelp published "50 states, 50 pies you need to try." The Florida winner is a Sarasota restaurant most famous for offering Gulf of Mexico seafood favorites such as stone crab.
However, Fresh Catch Fish Market and Grill, at 7119 S. Tamiami Trail, does serve a single pie, and it's wildly popular.
10 best waterfront restaurant I love to recommend in Sarasota and Bradenton
Top 10 restaurants I recommend when asked 'Where should I eat in Sarasota and Bradenton?'
Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news and reviews plus info on things to do every Friday
Fresh Catch Fish Market and Grill in Sarasota serves the best pie in Florida, according to Yelp
Fresh Catch is a family-owned and operated business that opened in 2017 and quickly established itself as one of Sarasota's best seafood destinations. A casual sit-down restaurant and market, it's also one of the region's top purveyors of stone crab, with owner Bob Provost proudly offering a full array of the prized claws each year as soon as the season begins in mid-October.
In addition to stone crab, mahi-mahi smoked fish spread, fresh catch fish sandwiches and other seafood items, Fresh Catch serves Key lime pie. In fact, it was the first thing served at the restaurant before it officially opened.
12 best restaurants for Florida stone crab and fresh Gulf seafood in Sarasota and Manatee
Fresh Catch gave away slices of pie when they first opened in 2017
"We were waiting for our permitting and people were already coming to our place before the opening," Provost said during a recent phone interview. "So we just gave everyone a piece of pie and thanked them."
Seven years later, the Provost family is making Key lime pies daily
"We sell a lot of it," Provost said, "10 pies a day."
Customers can enjoy it by the slice ($6.50) or pie ($20). The Provost family uses a recipe Bob said he developed with his wife "on a rainy Sunday."
"Most Key lime pie is tangy, ours is very easy," Provost said. "You look forward to the next bite instead of fighting to eat it.”
Best restaurants for pizza in Sarasota and Bradenton? Here are my favorites
Columbia Restaurant voted Florida's best Cuban sandwich by Southern Living readers
Perhaps the only food more quintessentially Floridian than Key lime pie is the Cuban sandwich. Earlier this month, Southern Living lifestyle magazine published its eighth annual South’s Best awards, which included their pick for the best Cuban sandwich in the Sunshine State.
Southern Living readers voted for Columbia Restaurant, which has its original location in Tampa (opened in 1905) as well as others in Florida, including the one in Sarasota, opened in 1959. In addition to three Tampa locations and the one in Sarasota, Columbia has restaurants in St. Augustine, Clearwater, and near Orlando.
Sarasota restaurant voted Florida's best Cuban sandwich by Southern Living readers
If you go
Fresh Catch Fish Market and Grill is at 7119 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information, call 941-413-7133 or visit freshcatchfishmarketandgrill.com.
For information on all seven Columbia Restaurant locations throughout Florida, visit columbiarestaurant.com/locations.
Who lives here? Most famous celebrities with homes in Sarasota and Bradenton area
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: Sarasota's Fresh Catch Fish Market named Florida's best pie by Yelp
