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Arts & Central, Sarasota, FL

Arts & Central

4.7
4.7
470 Reviews
$30 and under
American

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 61 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Great for outdoor dining
  • Innovative
In the heart of the Rosemary District, come discover a dining experience that’s at the crossroads where laid-back vibes meet gourmet delights.

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Cocktail Bar, Mediterranean
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–11:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:00 am–12:00 am
  • Phone number
    (941) 306-2356
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive chef
    Erik Walker
  • Neighborhood
    Sarasota
  • Cross street
    Blvd of the Arts
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wine

Experiences

  • Sunday Brunch

    Multiple dates available
    Sunday Brunch Limited Brunch menu from 11:00am - 3:00pm
  • Valentine's Day Dinner

    Multiple dates available
    Enjoy a romantic evening at Arts & Central, with a thoughtfully prepared prix fixe menu. (Vegetarian options available). Desserts prepared by world-renowned Pastry Chef Stephanie Boswell. We look forward to serving you, The Arts & Central Team
  • Valentine's Day Dinner

    Multiple dates available
    Enjoy a romantic evening at Arts & Central. with a thoughtfully prepared prix fixe menu. (Vegetarian options available). Desserts prepared by world-renowned pastry chef, Stephanie Boswell. We look forward to serving you, The Arts & Central Team

What 470 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.6Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.3Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Sarasota / Bradenton

    American

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Arts & Central delights with its "creative and flavorful" menu, offering a vibrant atmosphere and exceptional service. Guests rave about the "beautifully designed" space and diverse menu options, making it a "neighborhood gem" in Sarasota. Live music enhances the dining experience, while standout dishes like the "swordfish" and "lamb sliders" leave patrons eager to return.

470 Reviews
  1. Scott

    VIP

    Tampa

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We went for the Valentine’s Day experience and it was great the food was tasty and the presentation was great made for a perfect night

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  2. Phil

    VIP

    Tampa

    36 reviews

    4.0

    36 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food looked amazing. Tuna appetizer excellent. Eggplant portion too small, overpowered by the noodles. Still good though. The salmon didn’t have much flavor and the corn with it was a bit too spicy. The short rib seemed to be good quality meat but way over salted. Veggies with it tasty but cold. Yorkshire pudding very good. Desserts looked incredible. Mango dessert excellent. Chocolate dessert pretty good. Wine … Pinot noir excellent. Bourbon cocktail excellent. Coffee great. For the price, food quality should be a bit better … with respect to flavor. Don’t over salt the meat!!! Some items very good though and again, excellent presentation. Also, service was great. To be fair, some of the food issues might relate to limited Valentines menu. Need to to go back & try the regular menu.

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  3. Peter

    Tampa

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    This is a great spot. They go out of their way to be a bit different, but the prices are still reasonable. One of the best spots in town.

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  4. Stephen

    VIP

    New York City

    92 reviews

    4.0

    92 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    The food at Arts and Central is outstanding. Everything was delicious. This should be a five star review, but A&C fell short in two areas. We went on Valentine’s Day. It was a prix fixe menu with two appetizer options, three entree options and two desserts. Our server started off being extremely solicitous, but he let us down twice. We had to request bread. We specifically asked that the entrees be served after we had time to complete our appetizers. That didn’t happen and this happened at our previous visit too. Next time I will order entree after appetizer has been eaten. I had the short ribs, which were excellent and served hot. Unfortunately, the vegetables were lukewarm and had apparently been sitting, waiting for the short ribs. Arts and Central is worth the visit. Just insist that the entrees do not arrive before you had a chance to finish your appetizer.

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  5. Kim

    VIP

    Maastricht

    12 reviews

    4.0

    12 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    It was a fixed menu. Food was good and service a little rushed. We were sat on the side outside so which lacks the great vibe one feels in the rest of the restaurant.

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  6. OpenTable Diner

    VIP

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    We did our Valentine dinner there and had chosen off the website menu what we wanted and no where on the website did it state that Valentine's Day dinner was a limited option $75 fixed price menu that offered just 2 appetizer options, 3 entrees and 2 desserts. I very seldom share bad restaurant reviews as I usually vote with my pocketbook and just don't go back but the special nature of Valentine's dinner and my husband rushing back from a business trip to join me made the missteps here memorable. Before I start we should say our waiter was excellent and the cocktails - and desserts - were superb. My husband is a pescaterian which is why we looked closely at the website menu options before making a reservation where I repeat there was no mention of a limited Valentine's day menu . I later went back and googled it and did notice a Facebook post on a special bday menu not linked to from the website plus I don't do Facebook The fixed price menu restricted our entree options down to a salmon or roasted cauliflower option both of which and lacked seasoning and interesting flavors. The portion size and choice of the menu options appeared to be the restaurant intentionally offering cheaper options not worth 75 dollar per person Note we are foodies and this assessment is pretty grounded We tried both available appetizers - salmon with bacon sauce which we asked be taken off the plate and eggplant - they were "okay" but not terrific and not nearly as appetizing as the starter offerings on the regular menu. On the entrees - literally the "curry spiced" cauliflower was tasteless and the roots of the cauliflower were pretty tough to chew. The salmon entree was pretty tiny in a bland cream sauce - literally again nothing special. The desserts were delicious as mentioned earlier but for the $ 200 dinner we really could have had something special at Sage or Kojo in downtown Sarasota.I apologize for being so brutally honest but Arts & Central was really a disappointment

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  7. Dan

    Naples

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    atmosphere and service was very good. unfortunately the food was uninspiring, lacking in seasoning and flavor. pre set menu for valentines day dinner was exceptionally overpriced for the experience and food quality. Desert was very very good

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  8. OpenTable Diner

    Montreal

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Souper de la St-Valentin. Au delà de nos attentes. WoW

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  9. Lois

    VIP

    Tampa

    39 reviews

    4.0

    39 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5
    Our reservation was for 3:30 on Valentines Day. We sat at the chef’s counter and had a wonderful time watching the chefs prepare the food. I ordered the tuna poke, lamb sliders, and the 611 salad. My husband ordered the smash burger. They’re a little pricey but the portions are very large. Everything was tasty and attractively presented although the lamb was a little heavy on the tzatziki sauce. Unfortunately, our server was not very good. Since we were sitting at the counter, we could see our food sitting under the heat lamps for quite some time. For the entrees, we weren’t too angry since we had our drinks to enjoy while we waited. During the meal, our water glasses were not refilled and our server never came to check on us. When we appeared to be finished, he dropped off the check and ran. BUT, we wanted dessert. My husband had to wave him down to tell him this. I ordered the smores and he ordered the crème brûlée. Again, we saw the chef prepare them and then the sat under the heat lamps for more than 15 minutes (I timed it). Needless to say, they were only lukewarm and not as good as they would have been if they were served hot. My husband then had to get up and find the server when we were ready for our check!The server’s excuse was that he was busy getting ready for the evening’s Valentines Day rush. We can’t drive at night, so a late lunch/early dinner allows us to celebrate at a nice restaurant. We were so disappointed to have a special day tainted by bad service. There really is no excuse for bad service at any time of the day. I’m sorry I didn’t complain to the manager before we left, but I didn’t want to add more unpleasantness to what should have been a perfect meal. The manager should be able to figure out who our server was, since we were the only ones sitting at the counter at 3:30 on Valentines Day. What a shame that bad service spoiled an otherwise lovely dinner.

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  10. Bethamy

    VIP

    Jacksonville

    13 reviews

    5.0

    13 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Excellent restaurant despite high noise level (prefer outside dining option). Scallop dish is outstanding. Lamb sliders are delicious. Fries are wonderful. And the service is friendly and attentive. Not our first visit and we will be back.

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FAQs

Arts & Central is rated 4.7 stars by 470 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 61 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Arts & Central

611 Central Ave, Sarasota, FL 34236

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Blvd of the Arts
  • Neighborhood
    Sarasota
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00 am–11:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:00 am–12:00 am
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Cocktail Bar, Mediterranean
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Erik Walker
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Wine
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  • Terms of Use
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