Mildly poor. Food is average and we had a fiasco for 2 people on Xmas Eve due to being located in a party room.
Baci's is one of those restaurants that after you've been, you will always remember as an eatery you will want to return to when you want to be treated like your special. The dishes are superbly prepared and presented, the service is professional beyond any of our experiences in Sarasota. Our server (Robin) is a mature, soft spoken, non-pretentious lady who made us feel warmly welcome and unrushed for our special occasion dinner out. The hostess (whose name i missed - super lady) made it a real team effort. We had the sea bass and shrimp scampi main dishes which were easily 5 star cuisine. We were made to feel like royalty as we finished our exquisite Pinot Grigio so slowly as to allow dinner to settle long enough to risk one of the deserts. We shared the tiramisu and left totally satiated. The bread and breadsticks before the meal were a distant memory, but one that will not be forgotten. Yes they were that good. I won't say this is Sarasota's best kept secret, but seriously, if you want class service, GREAT eats, and warm ambiance, this is the place. But don't tell anyone. We' ll have to reserve weeks in advance.
Review Source:We went there last night and it was just ok.  The service was excellent.  Our waiter, Richard and his son, Brandon, made what could have been an average night into a warm and memorable night.  Richard had our drink order taken and bread on the table in minutes.  Good start.  Also, our appetizers were out rather quickly.  The Fritto Misto, calamari/zucchini/mozzarella (3) were light and very good.  Salads were also very good as was the pasta Fagioli.  Entrees were average.  2 in our party had Chicken Parmigiano which was good but no pasta with it which was disappointing...and just a dollop of sauce. Its served w/ green beans and 2 small wedges of potato.  Flounder Francese was also good but not great....I've had much better.  One  got the special of Veal 3 ways 2 pieces were embarrassingly teeny.  He said he'd not get it Again. Another had the Grouper Francese which he said was ok but not memorable. Desserts of a couple of Raspberry Tartufo were enjoyed.
All in all the evening was enjoyable but we're not rushing back. Â And when we do we'll request Riichard, for certain!
BTW.....no place to wait....NO bar area...just people wedged together in the entry and the hostess was quite confused.
Contessa
A family favorite over the years. Â Have dined there repeatedly and happily, enjoying an excellent variety of pasta dishes, veal, poultry, Â seafood, salads, sides and fine desserts. Â Their sauces, red and white, are authentic and well done. Â Service is attentive and very professional. Â And I really appreciate their tiramisu....almost like an after-dinner drink.
They also do a fine job catering and providing private receptions/dinners upstairs for weddings, reunions, funerals and similar events. Â Several choices of fine entrees with table service undiminished despite volume.
This was certainly an interesting dining experience. Â I had eaten lunch here years ago and remembered that I enjoyed the meal so I suggested this place when I was on a day trip to Sarasota. Â The place was packed for dinner but we didn't have to wait long at all to get seated. Â The first thing I noticed immediately when I walked into the dining room was that every single diner was at least 25 years older than me. Â The other thing that I noticed was that I was quite underdressed compared to the rest of the patrons. Â Oh well, hi everyone!
I ordered the chicken parmesan and it was really delicious. Â The portion size was absolutely enormous. Â Two people could have easily shared that amount of food and left with full bellies. Â I have to say that I was surprised that I didn't get a salad with my dinner. Â If I'm paying 20 bucks for an entree you can at least throw some salad in a bowl for me!
While I enjoyed my meal I think I will stick to having lunches here. Â It's cheaper and the atmosphere is much less formal.
Do not be fooled by the outside of the outstanding restaurant. Inside it is beautifully decorated, full of atmosphere, has impeccable service and serves outstanding food. It is a little gem, which serves the bread fresh, and warm. Calamari was great, and we generally can gauge how good a restaurant will be on that one appetizer. I had red snapper, with the signature spinach and pesto risotto. Â I read about the risotto in Fodor's, and it is not to be missed. Â My husband had the lasagne, and he was equally impressed. Spot on.
Review Source:Food was a solid four. I had the fetuccini Alfredo with chicken and dad had Groupe Francese. The cream sauce in the pasta was creamy and flavorful, but the chicken seemed out of place-- it was grilled and smoky and would have been better on a sandwich. Dad enjoyed his grouper Francese.
Our server was friendly, but we only saw her once-- when we ordered. After we ordered, we waited a solid hour for our food. This lost this restaurant a star. Good food, but I'm not sure I'll be back.
This place is definitely popular with the 65+ crowd, and I understand why -- good, slow food. If you're enjoying wine with friends while waiting an hour on your dinner, the wait is no big deal; if you're young and hungry, however, this may not be the place for you.
Been coming to Sarasota for five years and finally tried Cafe Baci. This restaurant is extremely committed to the consumer experience. From the  Owner to the waiter to the bus staff it is 100% devoted to your attention. The food was spectacular. The service the best I have seen in Sarasota. It took me an Entertainment coupon to get there, it certainly won't to get back.
Review Source:I have lived in Sarasota all my life and never went to Cafe Baci until now. What was I waiting for?! Every part of the meal was delicious. MY husband and I tried small salads which were excellent. My husband's had marinated pears in it and he said it was the best salad he ever had. I had one of their specials which was a pasta carbonara. It was tasty and not too heavy as many cream sauces can be. My husband had the lasagna which was heavy on the meat but very good. He would have liked more sauce on it.
Cafe Baci was an excellent meal and I would recommend for a date night. If you are watching your budget it can get pricey as salads and wine are priced high.
This place rocks! World class dining experience! Great family dining venue. Better than any Italian food I have had back home (San Francisco ). We had the Pan seared Red Snapper, Chicken Parmesan, Linguine Fruitti Del Mare. The service was attentive, very friendly and knowledgable and not over bearing. Our waitress was Suzanne and she was an excellent guide on our culinary journey that was 'Cafe Baci'.
Almost forgot the wine! The owner Roberto, hand picks the wines. We had a delicious Pinot noir, 'Argyle'.
Also of note was the calamari and spaghetti puttanesca and tarimasu.
Anyways, this place was great for me and my family. Highly recommended for amazingly authentic italian food in a zesty family setting. Can't wait to come back here next time I visit family here.
There is nothing about the appearance of this place that gives any indication of the food quality. It does not inspire confidence...until you take your first bite. Virtually everything that our party of four ordered was delicious - the antipasto plate, the salads, the mushroom soup, all fresh and flavorful. Our entrees included Veal Fiorentina, a wonderful breaded cutlet in a succulent white sauce, Grouper francaise with shrimp, the swordfish special and a frutte de mare, all of which were excellent. Dessert, which was completely unnecessary, was a very good creme brûlée accompanied by sambuca and coffee. Our check, which included a bottle of wine, came to $155.00. Service was attentive, friendly and unobtrusive.
Review Source:From the street, Cafe Baci looks like it's from 1960. The sign as well as the outside of the restaurant is dated and falling apart, and does nothing at all to represent the excellence that happens inside.
We were welcomed very warmly by the hostess and quickly led to our table. We saw right away that the clientele of this establishment is pretty much the over 65 crowd, and we felt slightly out of place and underdressed. The hostess assured us that people come in wearing just-off-the-beach clothes sometimes and that we were totally fine. Our waiter came over with menus and ice water and went over the specials, all of which sounded great. Shortly later, he brought over a basket of foccacia, delicious garlicy/parmesan breadsticks and some herbed olive oil. You see from my picture that we had all dived into those before I remembered to take a photo, and the basket is already partially empty.
This restaurant came very highly recommended by my friend and duo partner Mike (please visit <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikesolomusic.com&s=b966fbae199e26cd8109eb354d6f05eb5b403e585590b37f5cd74a6563c18bef" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://mikesolomusic.com</a> and <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcareyyaruss.com&s=06843402095ff83ee95c2891b98b82c7eaae563d5f6529035ca999bbb1b06576" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://careyyaruss.com</a> com for more info ) and one of the things he mentioned to me was how accommodating they are to their patron's requests. Knowing that, I asked if it would be possibly to add some grilled shrimp to the cappellini primavera, to which the waiter happily agreed.
When my entree came out, I was very excited for my first taste. It was loaded with huge, gorgeous, grilled shrimp, tons of fresh vegetables and homemade cappellini with a creamy, tomato sauce. It was seriously delicious, rich and indulgent. I was totally happy with it, even though I was expecting a nice, light pasta dinner and it was definitely on the heavy side. The portion was extremely generous and I happily shared it with Gabriel and my mom and step-father, who all agree that it was super tasty.
For dessert, we decided to order one tiramisu for everyone to share. When it arrived with an old looking strawberry on top, we assumed it must have been made much earlier and was just sitting in the fridge waiting for someone to order it. It was covered in a 2 inch thick layer of whipped cream on top and the espresso soaked cake was kind of overwhelmed by that. The flavor was good and if there had been less whipped cream I think we all would have really enjoyed it, but as it were, I pretty much was the only one who ended up eating it.
Overall, I was very impressed with Cafe Baci and would definitely go back. I would love to see some younger people in there, but unless they update the outside and make it look a big livelier and hipper, I doubt anyone under 40 will be going in anytime soon. With nearly full tables, it seems like their business isn't suffering because of that, and maybe that's really the crowd that they are aiming to attract. With it's rustic, Italian interior, it has a classic feel that's sure to please an older (and wealthier) clientele. The food is really top quality and I'd certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a hearty meal. Enjoy!
My family and I have been coming to Cafe Baci for many years. Â THe food is supberb and the kitchen is always willing to make my Dad and Uncle their favorite which is not on the menu, Veal Francese. Â We went a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my Dads 78th birthday, and our server Lorraine was great. Â We come down every February from CT and Cafe Baci, is always a must on the to do list!
Review Source:Great italian food, awesome service. My wife and I were happy to find a genuine italian restaurant in a town packed with so many "chain" restaurants and fast food places. Our waitress, a veteran of 7 years at Baci was knowledgeable and cordial. The owner was very attentive and always made an effort to help with the service. A must go to restaurant if you are near Sarasota.
Review Source:This place didn't live up to my expectations. I ordered the lasagna, I mean how do you go wrong with that dish at an Italian restaurant? Well to start their meat "sauce" isn't sauce at all. It was just all ground hamburger with very little to no favoring. This dish was more like a mashed up hamburger with lasagna noodles instead of a bun. I have never sent a dish back because I didn't like it, but this place set a new low for me. If I had wanted a hamburger I would have gone to a hamburger joint. Maybe its just me but when I go out for Italian I expect it to be messy, cheesy & covered in tomato sauce... I didn't get any of this at this place. I've had better lasagna from the fast food Italian restaurant called Fazoli's!
I won't be going back. My thought is that if they managed to mess up a classic then I don't even want to know what the rest of the menu is like. Only up side was that the staff was friendly!
Based on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FOpentable.com&s=e2215de09505b8fbf3a047b68af38708cbc8b52c843ab34faaecc46b3704d557" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Opentable.com</a> reviews we decided to give this place a chance and I'm glad we did. The service was friendly and attentive without being over bearing. The owner helped my husband pick a fantastic bottle of wine and was consistently seen through the evening helping out his wait staff (leading by example!). My husband, wanting something simple, stated that to the waitress who offered non-menu items for him to chose from, and his basic spaghetti and meatballs stole the show, although my shrimp scampi was delishish as well. A fine evening indeed with full bellies and happy hearts. I hope you will dine here!
Review Source:Excellent food at very reasonable prices. Â Service is professional, friendly and efficient, making it a very pleasurable experience. Â I have eaten at Cafe Baci numerous times and have always had a wonderful meal., Â We have attended numerous events that Cafe Baci has catered and they have always provided exceptional food. Â Highly recommend!
Review Source:My first visit was on Mothers day, so I chalked up the over cooked chicken to it being a holiday. Rest of my table of 6 seemed to enjoy their food. We where back recently so I tried the veal Parmesan. Once again dry and way overcooked. Same group of people who seemed ok with their food, saying it was ok but not great. I give up and won't be back. Too bad because the staff is nice and the service was very good.
Review Source:I had absolutely the worst experience here. Â
12 people.
We arrived at 5:30 and left at 10. Â Everything went wrong. Â Restaurant hell. Â The service was horrendous- the food was slow (almost two hours before for the main course). They dropped our salads. The manager didnt even try to help the overworked waiter. Â
We couldn't get water refilled. Â Coffee came without saucers (and no refills). Â The table was not properly set. Â They offered nothing- not even biscotti to make up for the horrendous treatment.
Then the bills were mixed up. Â
Â
I don't know what happened to this restaurant. Â It used to have good service.
We'll never go back again.
I went to Cafe Baci with my parents and grandmother on a Sunday night and found it to be a nice place once you get inside. The outside sort of looks like an old motel, complete with sign with removable block letters. It is also home to a Rotary club meeting which I'm not sure if that is an endorsement or what, but I'm just putting it out there.
I premise all this by saying that the presentation was very fancy (ooo square plates, stacked food!). The chopped salad was pretty great even though I'm not overly fond of olives, and the vinaigrette was fairly robust and tangy. The arugula and pear salad got high marks as did the soup du jour (9 bean). The mushroom ravioli was awesome, and the grilled salmon with spinach risotto was phenomenal. My dad got some sort of seafood linguine that was buttery and delicious ( I ate a lot of the vegetables) and the chicken parmigiana looked pretty typical. I'm not a big wine drinker but we all enjoyed the chilled house pinot grigio (fruity, not very dry). And we all enjoyed a very light sponge cake with pears for dessert.
Overall it was a very nice meal, and three of us took food home to eat for lunch the next day, it was a bit pricey ($14 and up for entrees) but there is an option to get a salad, pick from a list of entrees and get some ice cream or sorbet for $18.99.
I liked it, but get someone else to pay for it!
In general, I was not overly impressed with the food in the Sarasota area, where I was recently vacationing, but Cafe Baci stood out. Â It is good, traditional, but light Italian-- very fresh and tasty, in a comfortable, sophisticated atmostphere that is in start contrast to the pink and green neon on the outside. Their wine list is impressive as well.
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