Restaurants near Island House Beach Resort 36

Cafe Gabbiano is our go-to restaurant on Siesta Key. Tucked away in the corner of a shopping area, we’re always greeted by friendly staff who always seat us at our before our reserved time. Our waitstaff has always been friendly, attentive and a pleasure to speak with. They have a large selection of wine, and the bartenders serve excellent mixed drinks. The selections of appetizers, to salads, entrees, to deserts provides an experience for even picking eaters (like our kids). We’ve tried many of their selections and while we have our favorites, we’ve never experienced a bad meal. My favorite, bruschetta for an appetizer, truffle ravioli for the main course and a chocolate martini for the closer.

The atmosphere is noisy but fun! Food is very good….just ordered something that was a bit too high in sodium for me. Service was good except we had to ask for water twice and it didn’t arrive until we were halfway finished with our entrees. To be fair, it was very busy. Also I ordered a drink that was described as using fresh fruit juice but it tasted more like simple syrup

Good food at this local establishment that has been on siesta key for years. Service was great. The menu has not changed in several years and is due for a change in our opinion – they used to have the best roast duck anywhere, it was a big seller and yet they took it off the menu when they revised it 2 or 3 years ago; they need to bring the duck back and a few other dishes That were taken off the menu. The mushroom pizza is gone and was also terrific. Still a great local restaurant

Had issues with one of our meals, but staff went overboard to fix it and then comped it on top of that. Other meal was excellent with no issues. Restaurant was nicely decorated with great ambiance, with decent noise level. Our booth helped mute some of the sound level, so that made it nice. Our server Tiffany was well trained and extremely accommodating and sweet. Kudos to her professionalism. Other staff were just as great. Overall, a well run operation with fabulous food and an above-average staff. That almost always makes for a great experience, which this was. We highly recommend Conner’s.

Based on reviews and having to book more than a week in advance, we accepted an early reservation and are so glad we did. I consider La Violetta to be in the top three restaurants in Sarasota after dining there just this one time. Exceptional dishes for us were the ravioli osso buco and the sardine appetizer. Our server Frederico was exceptional. We'll be back.