Reviewing Restaurants from the Sarasota Food Scene - Spring 2026 Edition

In this two-part spring edition of my restaurant review series, I have an eclectic mix of offerings for you! They include reviews of three new restaurants, an ice cream shop, a bourbon distillery/restaurant, an upscale bistro, an old school waterside fish house, a Latin bistro in a strip mall, a chain restaurant with over 670 restaurants nationwide, and a revisit and update of a small family-owned Italian restaurant. How’s that for variety? Let’s get started!!

enRich Bistro

  enRich Bistro, dry-aged Waygu NY strip, and bacon and blue salad

We have always heard great things about enRich Bistro but never got around to visiting it because it’s a bit of a hoof and closer to the beach than Lakewood Ranch. But we finally tried this highly regarded restaurant in Bradenton to celebrate Laurie’s birthday last December. It’s located in a non-descript and unassuming strip mall. The interior is nice, but feels a bit dated with carpeting and old-school seating and tables. The menu has a nice mix of small plates to start, along with a butcher’s corner consisting of various cuts of steak, along with other entrees like pork ribeye, fried chicken breast, and crab cakes. To be honest, everything was good, but nothing was great. The plating was a bit sloppy, and the seasoning was mild to non-existent on most of our dishes. For the price, we expected more. That said, they did have a nice wines-by-the-glass list, along with a well-curated and well-priced reserve wine list. Bottom line – this restaurant didn’t live up to the hype.

Overall Rating: Good; Food: Good; Ambiance: Good; Service: Good; Cost: Expensive; Value: Average

The Urban Stillhouse

Urban Stillhouse with Matt and Cathy, roast Peking duck, and diver scallops

Our good friends Matt and Cathy introduced Laurie and I to this fantastic distillery/restaurant in St. Pete’s. From the outside, it looks a bit like a warehouse, but inside, it’s a beautiful restaurant and working distillery for Horse Soldier, who specialize in excellent craft bourbons. The restaurant is elegantly rustic, with high beamed ceilings, a huge fireplace, a tasting room, and another bar as well. The food is definitely upscale, with an eclectic menu that includes swordfish, Peking duck, Colorado lamb chops, bison, and beef cheeks to name a few. The food is beautifully presented and cooked to perfection. They also have a great cocktails menu that includes a tasting flight of three of their Horse Soldier bourbons, and a very nice wine-by-the-glass list that includes options like Silver Oak Cabernet and Patz and Hall Chardonnay. The service is outstanding as well, with knowledgable servers who have clearly been educated on the history of both the distillery and restaurant. This place isn’t cheap (entrees range from $38 to $89), but all the ones we tried were well-worth the price! Definitely worth a visit!

Overall Rating: Excellent: Food: Excellent; Ambiance: Superb; Service: Excellent; Cost: Expensive/Very Expensive; Value: Good

Outback Steakhouse

Outback Steakhouse, the bloomin’ onion, and the Outback burger

Laurie and I rarely frequent traditional large-scale chain restaurants – why go there when you have so many fantastic local restaurants to visit? Don’t get me wrong – we enjoy many of the small-chain restaurants like Cooper’s Hawk or 131 Main, but those still have the independent vibe and provide an upscale dining experience. So, it was a recent Sunday that Laurie and I found ourselves visitng the new Outback Steakhouse in Lakewood Ranch to enjoy a Bloomin’ Onion to celebrate our friend Theresa’s birthday! The last time I was at an Outback was when Laurie and I had just started dating over 30 years ago. The ambiance was typical for a chain restaurant – generic and forgettable. The Bloomin’ Onion was greasy but as tasty as I had remembered it. The rest of the food? Average at best – my burger was underseasoned and my fries lukewarm. The place had an institutional feel to it, from the dining room to the food to the service. There are so many other great places to go for top notch food – we probably won’t be back, unless we have a hankering for a Bloomin’ Onion again!

Overall Rating: Average: Food: Average; Ambiance: Average; Service: Average; Cost: Moderate; Value: Good

Carved Crafted Sandwiches

Carved sandwich shop, ordering counter and dining room, the rueben sandwich with onion rings

Carved Craft Sandwiches is a new casual sandwich shop at Waterside in Lakewood Ranch. You order at the counter, and they have somewhat limited seating inside to enjoy your meal (although most folks probably take their sandwiches to the pavilion or other waterside seating to enjoy their meals outside!). The menu here has plenty of great options, including a Cuban, Philly cheesesteak, reuben, chicken cutlet, and French onion dip sandwich. They also have a large selection of cold sandwiches as well. The sandwiches are huge, and everything is fresh and made to order. Also, they have some of the best onion rings I’ve ever tasted! The service is outstanding, and the owner has come out each time we have visited to talk with us and make sure we were happy with our meals. They also recently started serving breakfast with a very limited selection of sandwiches that they plan to expand in the future. Each time we have been here the place has been empty – the owner says they do almost all their business at lunch, with very few patrons for dinner. I don’t know why that is (yes, there are many other food options at Waterside, but none with food like this), but I kind of worry this place isn’t going to make it unless they get higher volume. So, give it a try – you won’t be disappointed!!

Overall Rating: Excellent; Food: Excellent; Ambiance: Good; Service: Superb; Cost: Moderate; Value: Good

Jenni’s Ice Cream

Jenni’s Ice Cream, menu board

I can’t tell you how many times Laurie and I have driven past Jenni’s at UTC and mentioned that we absolutely HAVE to try their ice cream someday! Well, that day finally arrived after a dinner at the recently opened Zoto restaurant which is right next to this ice cream shop (and which I will review in next week’s blog!). This is a traditional ice cream shop – order at the counter, with a long list of usual and unusual options. Examples include Earl Grey Creme Brulee, Gooey Butter Cake, Powdered Jelly Donut, and Caramel Pecan Sticky Bun ice cream to name a few. The ice cream was very good (but Kilwin’s is much better!), while the cones were a bit disappointing as they were a bit stale – absolutely not acceptable at an ice cream shop, where that’s all that they do! Will definitely try again, but next ice cream stop is Kilwin’s!

Overall rating: Good; Food: Good; Ambiance: Average; Service: Good; Cost: Cheap; Value: Good

Next week I have five more restaurants “on deck” for review – until then, try the two standouts Carved or Urban Stillhouse and let me know what you think!