Cafe Barbosa

Cindy

Food was fabulous off their “2025 Savor Sarasota “ menus. So glad they do this. Had great appetizers, grouper and eggplant entrees, and out of this world desserts of cream brûlée donut and berry cheesecake. Manager was so nice, stopping at our table, and waitress, Jennie was wonderful! So cool to watch the artists creating their art on canvas right there amongst everyone.

chris mccue

This place is AMAZING! What an atmosphere!! We were very well taken care of by Josef next to the chefs table and just watching that production makes us want to go back and try it! We had two fabulously incredible dishes the Italian flavor just melted in your mouth. Really really good! And we bought a little piece of art to boot! The place is a must do experience.!

Valerie Miklavic

We happened upon this place when we were visiting another business nearby on Mother's day. The signage caught our eye and we just had to visit. Mark was our server and he was absolutely fantastic. All of the food was amazing and we loved looking at all of the beautiful artwork on the walls. After such a fabulous visit, we will definitely be back.

Elena Shcherbina

Great Italian food! Amazing and unique atmosphere! Our waiter was very professional :) We had a family dinner there. Ordered some pasta for our kids (12 and 1,9 years old) and pizza for us. I think food like that I only had in Italy. Tiramisu with a shot of espresso- your must-have! Too bad we could not stay for a life concert in the evening... Definitely will be back!

M. Keating

The Chef’s table hosted by Chef Joe was an amusing dining experience! The dishes were delicious and the service was excellent. The eclectic artwork by local artists added to a unique atmosphere.

Mitchell

If you want an authentic Italian restaurant experience this is an excellent choice. The service was fantastic and our server also happened to be Italian which was a nice touch. The food was amazing and you could tell that they really care about quality. I would definitely recommend dining at this establishment.

Sarah Lansky

Food was delicious, service was attentive, Chef Joe DiMaggio is an excellent host with the most. Definitely will become a regular hangout. Updated; we partook in Chef Joe's chefs tables experience and what an experience it was!!! Amazing dishes, watching Chef in action was awesome. And the wine pairings were spot on.

Cafe Barbosso is one of my husband and my FAVORITE spots in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. We discovered this restaurant about 5 years ago and now we got there for every wedding anniversary and many date nights. We have never had a bad experience here. The chef/owner will walk around and interact with his guests. Whether he knows you or not, he's able to make you feel welcome! He has a chef's table in the middle of the restaurant (which is a cool experience if you book it). We've been there many times when he has had extra, plated it and brought it over to an unexpecting guest. The staff will go above and beyond for their customers. The food is INCREDIBLE. Their brussel sprouts are to die for. So is their creme brulee donut. They have an off menu pizza with fig, orange marmalade....add prosciutto to it, you'll never be able to eat anything else again. They almost always have a "course" dinner menu. It's either three or four courses for a set price. My husband got the meatballs as an app, carbonara for dinner (his fav) and creme brulee donut for $40. It is a really great and yummy option! The walls are covered with beautiful and lively pieces of art that are painted live in the restaurant (that's one of my favorite parts about this place) I could go on and on, just trust me and try it!! *Extra tip, especially during season, call ahead for a reservation a few days before you want to go. This place gets packed and we have not been able to eat before because we forgot to make a reservation. They accept walk ins, but the wait will be insane. This place is really that popular. Also, I think it's Saturdays either year round or for parts of the year, but a local group of musicians get together and perform in the open lot next to the restaurant. You can sit on the patio and enjoy live music. Others bring lawn chairs and simply set up throughout the parking lot to listen. It's lovely!

The concept of art and food is wonderful. It was a great ambiance and experience. Pizza was great and versatile. Please change “focaccia” to “toasted baguette” on the menu for the mussels. That is far from focaccia.

So fun to go on a Tuesday night when artists are working on their paintings! Beautiful artwork and gracious artists. Our waiter was fun, engaging, and attentive. Our dinners were amazing and you should save room for dessert!

Absolutely loved everything about our visit. Dinner was outstanding. Very attentive service, not only from our server but from management and the artists who paint while you eat. They allowed my son to sit in their chair and encouraged him to make art which they hung on the wall when he gave them his drawing. A band was playing outside and it was overall great vibes. Will definitely be back!

If you are looking for a special restaurant where you instantly feel like family, Cafe Barbosso is the place! The staff functions as a well oiled machine from Deb and Joseph the managers to Ivana at the bar and all the servers, every need is met. The food and drinks are always good, there are too many dishes to name. I will update with pictures in the future.

Angela G

The concept of art and food is wonderful. It was a great ambiance and experience. Pizza was great and versatile. Please change “focaccia” to “toasted baguette” on the menu for the mussels. That is far from focaccia.

Kelly Lyons

Absolutely loved everything about our visit. Dinner was outstanding. Very attentive service, not only from our server but from management and the artists who paint while you eat. They allowed my son to sit in their chair and encouraged him to make art which they hung on the wall when he gave them his drawing. A band was playing outside and it was overall great vibes. Will definitely be back!

Michael Cappo

Great traditional Italian food. Beautiful paintings in progress as we ate. Helpful and friendly staff. If you haven't been to Cafe Barbosso, try it, you will like it.

Maya Moreau

Cafe Barbosso is one of my husband and my FAVORITE spots in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. We discovered this restaurant about 5 years ago and now we got there for every wedding anniversary and many date nights. We have never had a bad experience here. The chef/owner will walk around and interact with his guests. Whether he knows you or not, he's able to make you feel welcome! He has a chef's table in the middle of the restaurant (which is a cool experience if you book it). We've been there many times when he has had extra, plated it and brought it over to an unexpecting guest. The staff will go above and beyond for their customers. The food is INCREDIBLE. Their brussel sprouts are to die for. So is their creme brulee donut. They have an off menu pizza with fig, orange marmalade....add prosciutto to it, you'll never be able to eat anything else again. They almost always have a "course" dinner menu. It's either three or four courses for a set price. My husband got the meatballs as an app, carbonara for dinner (his fav) and creme brulee donut for $40. It is a really great and yummy option! The walls are covered with beautiful and lively pieces of art that are painted live in the restaurant (that's one of my favorite parts about this place) I could go on and on, just trust me and try it!! *Extra tip, especially during season, call ahead for a reservation a few days before you want to go. This place gets packed and we have not been able to eat before because we forgot to make a reservation. They accept walk ins, but the wait will be insane. This place is really that popular. Also, I think it's Saturdays either year round or for parts of the year, but a local group of musicians get together and perform in the open lot next to the restaurant. You can sit on the patio and enjoy live music. Others bring lawn chairs and simply set up throughout the parking lot to listen. It's lovely!

Kenna Wilkinson

Cafe Barbosso never disappoints, but this visit was extra special thanks to our incredible server, Jack. He went above and beyond from start to finish — friendly, attentive, and genuinely made our dining experience amazing. The food was absolutely delicious (10/10 across the board!), and the service was just as perfect. We’ll definitely be back because of how wonderful Jack was. Thank you, Jack, for making our night so great!

Sara Campbell

So fun to go on a Tuesday night when artists are working on their paintings! Beautiful artwork and gracious artists. Our waiter was fun, engaging, and attentive. Our dinners were amazing and you should save room for dessert!

Honestly this would have been a full Five stars- except the mosquitos . Make sure you call for a reservation (online is not an option) they are busy during dinner rush. The calamari was tender and full of flavor the veal parm was good - but the side dish of pasta was the shining star . The four Cheese ravioli was good and very filling. We got the meatballs and they were exceptional. They had a band and that was great, just really wish they had mosquito candles. We asked and they gave us a spray bottle of bug spray. We didn't want to smell like bug spray on date night. The drinks we okay, would need to try more on another visit.

Cherri unknown

Honestly this would have been a full Five stars- except the mosquitos . Make sure you call for a reservation (online is not an option) they are busy during dinner rush. The calamari was tender and full of flavor the veal parm was good - but the side dish of pasta was the shining star . The four Cheese ravioli was good and very filling. We got the meatballs and they were exceptional. They had a band and that was great, just really wish they had mosquito candles. We asked and they gave us a spray bottle of bug spray. We didn't want to smell like bug spray on date night. The drinks we okay, would need to try more on another visit.

What a strange experience. We have been contemplating going because we live nearby. We didn't have reservations but luckily, there was a table outside for us to dine at. It's very busy, so reservations are recommended. This place was a bit pricey. And with that said, they didn't have enough menus to go around. We had to take turns using the menu. As did other tables. Some tables had parties of 5-6 and were allowed 1 menu. The chairs outside were awkward, made of aluminum. It was hard to get in and out of your table and the chairs were imbalanced. If you leaned to far forward, you'd tipped forward. We had bread and some unusual dipping sauce. The dip combined marinara, olive oil and balsamic. Too busy and too many flavors that didn't blend well. A simple pesto dip would have been more satisfying. It took forever to order, and equally just as long to get our food. We never did get more than one glass of water. We ordered lobster ravioli and shared it. Oh, and they charge you $5 extra to share food. Which is always a deal breaker for us. Meals these days are big and heavy and we like to share to keep from over eating. But whatever. 40 minutes later after ordering, we each received a plate with 3 ravioli in a sauce with pieces of overcooked shrimp. Or at least we think it was shrimp. We asked if it was pieces of lobster or shrimp. The waiter had no idea. The dish was supposed to have a "scent" of lemon, but we could neither taste it or smell any traces of lemon. Something like lobster ravioli would have been nicely complimented with a touch of lemon zest or juice, or both. All on all, the dish was ok. Not worth $37. The waiter assured us we get more for sharing but 3 ravioli each the size of a silver dollar was not what we expected as more. We also had a side Caesar salad. For $10, it was small. It was ok. The dressing was not so good. As we ate our meal, a couple who appeared to be on a internet date sat down at our table. Awkward! We had to wait for a table or make reservations, but these people just helped themselves to our table. Although the table was made for six and they sat down on the end, it was not pleasant listening to the couple cussing. An hour later after arriving, we decided to try dessert. That was the best part of the night. We ordered a chocolate peanut butter tort cake that was delicious. The atmosphere was noisy. Of course, a live orchestra style band was playing, the sound level was quite loud. But the music was pleasant. The waiter was too busy and didn't really make time for our table. We still have him a generous tip though. Would I ever go back? No. It is over hyped and over priced. The food was mediocre and didn't really shout delicious. But it was good. There are far better Italian style restaurants downtown Sarasota that would knock your socks off for the same price. Barbosso fell short of a true Italian cuisine experience.

There are some amazing things about this place but wow there was a lot flying away from the management team here. We were immediately greeted with a number of menu items being 86d and clams oreganato that was actually Oscar instead. They were kind and took it off the heck but our server definitely had frantic energy. The floor manager was diligently zooming everywhere. I will say that sitting outside kind of leaves a lot to be desired atmospherically considering the interior is so art forward. My food was a dish that was supposed to be baked and it didn’t get any color at all. The sauce was split and you couldn’t taste the nutmeg. The shrimp cook was the best I’ve seen in a long time though whoever did that is super talented. Would def try again and order different. Happy hour deals were solid.

Lance Ziegler

What a strange experience. We have been contemplating going because we live nearby. We didn't have reservations but luckily, there was a table outside for us to dine at. It's very busy, so reservations are recommended. This place was a bit pricey. And with that said, they didn't have enough menus to go around. We had to take turns using the menu. As did other tables. Some tables had parties of 5-6 and were allowed 1 menu. The chairs outside were awkward, made of aluminum. It was hard to get in and out of your table and the chairs were imbalanced. If you leaned to far forward, you'd tipped forward. We had bread and some unusual dipping sauce. The dip combined marinara, olive oil and balsamic. Too busy and too many flavors that didn't blend well. A simple pesto dip would have been more satisfying. It took forever to order, and equally just as long to get our food. We never did get more than one glass of water. We ordered lobster ravioli and shared it. Oh, and they charge you $5 extra to share food. Which is always a deal breaker for us. Meals these days are big and heavy and we like to share to keep from over eating. But whatever. 40 minutes later after ordering, we each received a plate with 3 ravioli in a sauce with pieces of overcooked shrimp. Or at least we think it was shrimp. We asked if it was pieces of lobster or shrimp. The waiter had no idea. The dish was supposed to have a "scent" of lemon, but we could neither taste it or smell any traces of lemon. Something like lobster ravioli would have been nicely complimented with a touch of lemon zest or juice, or both. All on all, the dish was ok. Not worth $37. The waiter assured us we get more for sharing but 3 ravioli each the size of a silver dollar was not what we expected as more. We also had a side Caesar salad. For $10, it was small. It was ok. The dressing was not so good. As we ate our meal, a couple who appeared to be on a internet date sat down at our table. Awkward! We had to wait for a table or make reservations, but these people just helped themselves to our table. Although the table was made for six and they sat down on the end, it was not pleasant listening to the couple cussing. An hour later after arriving, we decided to try dessert. That was the best part of the night. We ordered a chocolate peanut butter tort cake that was delicious. The atmosphere was noisy. Of course, a live orchestra style band was playing, the sound level was quite loud. But the music was pleasant. The waiter was too busy and didn't really make time for our table. We still have him a generous tip though. Would I ever go back? No. It is over hyped and over priced. The food was mediocre and didn't really shout delicious. But it was good. There are far better Italian style restaurants downtown Sarasota that would knock your socks off for the same price. Barbosso fell short of a true Italian cuisine experience.

John M

There are some amazing things about this place but wow there was a lot flying away from the management team here. We were immediately greeted with a number of menu items being 86d and clams oreganato that was actually Oscar instead. They were kind and took it off the heck but our server definitely had frantic energy. The floor manager was diligently zooming everywhere. I will say that sitting outside kind of leaves a lot to be desired atmospherically considering the interior is so art forward. My food was a dish that was supposed to be baked and it didn’t get any color at all. The sauce was split and you couldn’t taste the nutmeg. The shrimp cook was the best I’ve seen in a long time though whoever did that is super talented. Would def try again and order different. Happy hour deals were solid.

We’ve dined here since March 2019. My last visit prior to this one was just over a year ago. There’s no comparison…the food has changed quality & flavor. The “management” checked on the tables on either side of our booth but skipped us (maybe because we weren’t eating the food). As my dining partner said “It’s the end of an era”. Thanks for the memories…it was once a wonderful experience. Photos below are Grandmas’s Pie, circa 2022 with slices missing (bc we ate them then finished the pie) then 2026, no slices missing (we each had 1 then took it home & threw it away). Not the same 😣 Ps: the service was outstanding. This is no reflection on our server, who was personable and authentic.

T M

We’ve dined here since March 2019. My last visit prior to this one was just over a year ago. There’s no comparison…the food has changed quality & flavor. The “management” checked on the tables on either side of our booth but skipped us (maybe because we weren’t eating the food). As my dining partner said “It’s the end of an era”. Thanks for the memories…it was once a wonderful experience. Photos below are Grandmas’s Pie, circa 2022 with slices missing (bc we ate them then finished the pie) then 2026, no slices missing (we each had 1 then took it home & threw it away). Not the same 😣 Ps: the service was outstanding. This is no reflection on our server, who was personable and authentic.

The calamari smelled really bad. Sent it back. Ran out of valentine specials . Wanted to replace lobster with shrimp. My husband & i ordered the 10 layer eggplant. Mine came out fine but my husband's piece was half the size of mine. Pretty sad looking. We told waiter & he did not offer a new piece. Very disappointed. Won't go back.

Terri Maurice

Unfortunately our experience at Cafe Barbosso was not good. My husband and I went a few weeks ago with another couple. From the start the service was rough. Our server was triple sat with a huge party being one of the 3 tables. Knowing it was busy, we lowered our expectations. That did not help. It took a while to receive our beverages and to take our order. Started with calamari, which was a disappointment as it came out raw. Very slimy and chewy. We asked one of the many staff members walking around to send someone over and no one came. We finally had a busser take our plate and finally our server came over where we could explain what happened. Food came out - 3 out of 4 meals were good. Veal Parm was great. The Chicken Francese was not chicken francese, the batter of the chicken was not authentic and was more breading than chicken, not to mention the pasta portion they gave was so small that you had to lift the chicken up to find it. Not worth the $32.00 price tag. Dessert was also a miss - the Creme Brule donut would have been great if you didn't pour all of this sauce on the donut where the crisp of the donut (purpose of the creme brule shell) was nonexistent. Service continued to lack - waters empty, took forever to get our check and then even longer to pay. Our server was so overwhelmed and it seemed like a one man show, though when you looked around the restaurant, there were plenty of "manager-type" individuals walking around, talking to customers...just not us. Lots of other workers walking around looking busy, but were not. We live right down the street and was hopeful to have found a new spot, but due to the quality of food vs. price and the fact that zero management seemed to care that we were there and having a rough experience was a disappointment.

I made a chef’s table reservation for 4 ppl on 2/4 for the night of 2/6. Then, 5 hours later the host called me and said they could not accommodate our party. And, they could not get us in on the following Saturday night either. Very poor organization and lack of problem resolution for this place. Will not try again. They used to have a better reputation and customer service…..not sure why they have declined. Disappointing, but many other options in srq👍

Tina Sandilla

If you’re looking for a local pizzeria, you may like this place. I was eager to have real Italian cuisine and unfortunately, this is not the place to experience Italian food. I gave the atmosphere 2 stars for the lovely art work. One and done for me.