Rose & Ivy

A "must dine" oasis! I went for the first time in March 2025 on a visit to see some friends. When I returned to Sarasota in November 2025, I had only one requirement for my 10 day stay: "You MUST take me back to Rose and Ivy at least once!" Everything about the place is charming and wonderful! The owner Raffaele takes great personal pride in ensuring that everyone's experience is memorable. He stops by tables to chat with his customers and shows a true sense of care. The libations are exceptional....I highly recommend letting the "mixologists" have some freedom in creating something for you to drink. Let them know you preferred liquor and a little bit more (sweet, or smoky or spicy) and they will dazzle you as they have me on both visits. They do everything right with the food.....high quality "raw materials", incredible freshness, the presentations are exquisite, and the flavors satisfy even the most discerning palette. The mixings and pairings of seafood associated with the small plates produce a cornucopia of flavors without ever producing a "heavy feeling"......you can eat all night! Lord knows I sure tried :-) In the upstairs level they occasionally have live music (2-3 person performances) that take the ambience to a whole different level. Happiness and contentment were the overwhelming feelings I had on both of my visits as I was welcomed like a returning family member. It's a must stop destination!

We stopped at this place recently and were truly impressed. The building is beautiful and very stylish. The food was fresh and absolutely delicious. The waiter initially forgot one of our appetizers, but once it was noticed, it was kindly offered to us free of charge by the management. We truly appreciated the professionalism and care. We will definitely be coming back to this place. Lilianna and Tom

Okay, recommend for atmosphere. Food was good, atmosphere was the most fun with statues and plants. Service was just okay, on slower relaxed side, had to call over waiters on occasion. Overall just okay, I recommend but it is not a favorite, do not think I will go back.

So, overall a cool place, hip vibe, interesting food choices and food presentation. My photos tell the story. While the manager ( owner?) was present, I felt like our table was on the back burner by the server, who spent more time flirting with the 2 ladies nearby instead of our table of 7, which would have a large tip automatically included bc of our group size. For an upscale place, they might train their staff to earn their tips. I will, however, give this place another visit to see how things are going.

..... we sat down to a partially filled restaurant. It was my first time here. When they sat us, it was directly behind the host stand. I asked if there was somewhere we could sit. It was my anniversary and wanted a more romantic vibe that was trending on social media but the gentlemen stated they were booked. Walked around to see the social media hype and it was still partially filled outside which was beautiful and upstairs which was a better vibe. I get holding tables for reservations but first come first choice my man! Our meal was basic and not very well executed for the hype but the drinks were pretty and the music was reminiscent of San Francisco lo-fi. When we left same tables were still empty. Nooo do not recommend 😒

As a foodie, I am considering this review in the category of “fine dining” based on pricing, but i am not sure thats fair because foodie criteria [fresh, flavors, uniqueness and presentation] are lacking for the “fine dining” scale. Pricing is though. The atmosphere and service were absolutely delightful. If you can find a server any where nearly as good as Veronika? Hire her. So let’s start with the appetizer - the beef spring rolls. Uninspired is the kindest word i can use. I could also have said it tastes like every bland beef empanadas i ever had. The dipping sauce was clearly soy based and reduced to be more syrup like which showed an effort to make the beef spring rolls taste more than the terribly bland nothing that they are. So dip it and taste strong salty soy sauce? Or don’t dip it at all. Dilemma. I went with no dip. The bone in ribeye was OUTSTANDING and i mean on every scale. Nearly waygu marbling, cooked and seasoned absolutely perfectly and served nicely on a steak board. Compared to literally any high end steak house - it is right there with them on the top shelf of perfect. The garlic green beans and fully loaded potato were solid and not distractive to the main dish. The “School of Rock” sushi roll was a disappointment. The avocado was largely flavorless in the mix which surprised me the most. None of the flavors popped in the least. I pulled a piece of the salmon out of the roll and tasted it directly and… well, meh on flavor. For me it was my guess it’s the lower end of atlantic salmon. And the Espresso Martini? Literally the worst i ever had. Burned coffee beans? dunno??? Bitter and throughly “never again OMG” for me. Val

Not worth the hype nor the price! Made a reservation for 4. Wanted to take family out for a nice meal. Place is lovely, sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Was all downhill from there... Ordered drinks and the Toro nigiri. As soon as it came out, ordered a second one, which never came. About halfway through the meal the waiter asked if the other Toro came out. Pretty sure that was only the 2nd time (of three total) that we ever saw our waiter. They were out of broccolini. No big deal, it happens. I got the Kung Pao Shrimp, wife ordered two types of bao buns. Guests each ordered steaks, which were pretty good - credit where credit is due. But the KP shrimp was bad. Like, "I'm not even mad, I'm impressed" bad. The shrimp were not cooked with the dish, they were added on top so they hadn't picked up any of the KP flavor - what flavor there was anyway. I've had better Lean Cuisine out of a microwave. This may have actually been LC, actually. Wife's bao were equally boring/bland with very little filling. When checking on us (that second of three total visits by waiter), guest ordered a 2nd drink. It didn't come out until he had finished his steak and plates were being cleared. The service is extremely slow, and the food is unimpressive at best. I had such high hopes for this place, but won't be going back, unfortunately

Velvet-rope pricing with cafeteria choreography. Party of four with a reservation before a downtown Sarasota show. We arrived a few minutes late and were awkwardly “held” while the hostess seemed unsure where to put us, then seated us at a table literally in the front doorway. We requested upstairs (as intended) and were moved, but the service never found its footing after that. A drink order placed downstairs followed us upstairs, yet execution stayed sloppy: my Stella was dropped as a bottle with no glass offered. Food delivery was pure auction style, with a runner announcing dishes and reaching across guests instead of serving properly, and appetizers and entrees were dumped at the same time, leaving two people staring at both courses at once. The headline: a $42 halibut arrived severely overcooked, was sent back, and returned, better prepared but still overcooked. Silverware was removed with the plate and not replaced until we asked, which tells you everything about table awareness. Even the same “house specialty” cocktail came out completely different depending on which bar made it and the server openly acknowledged the inconsistency. A manager did apologize, but there was no meaningful service recovery, and then the handheld checkout suggested 20%, 25%, or 28%. That’s aspirational tipping for non-aspirational execution and why I have no problem with a "custom tip". Four guests, one unanimous decision: we won’t be back.

I came here with my sister for her birthday dinner Sunday night before the ballet and made a reservation in advance. When we arrived what I’m assuming was the manager greeted us and he was very nice and personable. The atmosphere was great and we were so excited to dine here for the first time. As soon as we were seated, our waitress very rudely informed us that we could only order sushi until 5 PM. That limitation itself was completely fine, but the way it was communicated felt unnecessarily aggressive. We then noticed other guests seated near us ordering from the regular menu, which added to the confusion. We arrived at 4:30 and the two sushi rolls we ordered came out at 5:07. We ordered two glasses of rosé and were served Veuve Clicquot rosé without it being clarified, resulting in having to pay $60 for two glasses of wine. After checking the menu, I saw that this rosé is listed in a completely separate section, not under the standard rosé options, making the lack of communication even more shocking. Overall, the experience felt very misleading and as if the waitress had some sort of animosity towards us for some reason.

I made a reservation for Valentine’s Day more than two weeks ahead of time. Mason called four days before Valentine’s Day and said the restaurant couldn’t take any more reservations for that day. I told him I already had a reservation, so I didn’t know what he meant by “more“ reservations. He said he understood that, he just couldn’t take our reservation. I told him he had already taken our reservation. He offered to book us for another day and give us a free appetizer. This is astonishingly rude, and I will never go back.