Sarasota, Florida USA
A Good Taste of Central Italy
Dined in September 2015
It was the first day of September, and my girlfriends father was celebrating his birthday, so we drove down to Sarasota to the Mall at University Town Center, to eat lunch at his favorite restaurant in the area, one that I had never been to, but also after the experience, thoroughly enjoyed, Brio Tuscan Grill.
Scroll down to read the main review
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****
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Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
Main review:
It was a beautiful late summer early autumn afternoon for Central Florida, around the mid 80’s and our first time to Brio except for my girlfriends father who had been several times. The layout was very nice and clean, with large windows to allow the light to come in. There were at least 75 tables available in the large restaurant, and we were seated near the front by the bar. My girlfriend and I had some glasses of wine while her father stayed with ice tea and peach palmers since he did not drink alcohol.
The menu, strictly Italian by the name Tuscan, was not limited to Central Italy, but both south and northern dishes. The menu was broken down by appetizer s of course, side and main salad dishes such as Kale Caesar, Salmon, and Chicken Salads, Chef Specialities ranging from Crab Cakes, Lobster Ravioli, Mezza Chicken, Lasagna, and Braised Beef. Besides the normal pasta dishes, there were also bruschetta selections and lighter lower fat dishes and sandwiches. Upon request there was also a Gluten Free menu available. We bypassed the normal appetizer section and while looking at the menu we were presented with a nice bread selection (pictured above). We instead all shared the Kale Caesar Salad and a cup of the Lobster Bisque, both very tasty starters.
My girlfriend had the Ravioli di Bello dish which consisted of a portobello stuffed ravioli, sautéed crimini mushrooms, sliced grape tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, thyme, and a champagne brown butter sauce, however the brown butter was very light, and did not have the same consistency of a slowly reduced sauce, but the taste was still overall very good, and was finally topped with a sliced black olive garnish.
Finally I also enjoyed a dish from the light dishes section called the Presto Chicken Quinoa salad entree consisting of red bell peppers, grilled asparagus, chilled quinoa, cooked Farro grain, cucumber, chickpeas, minced tomatoes, crumbled Feta cheese, a chiffonade of arugula rocket lettuce, and a creamy herb dressing, which was all just absolutely delicious.
I was very impressed considering that Brio is a Chain like Carrabbas, Maggiano’s, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, or at the low and horrible end being Olive Garden. Of the chain Italian restaurants, Carrabbas had always been my favorite as I average going there about three times per year, but I must say that brio has worked its way to match Carrabbas and may yet even exceed it. As we left to walk in the mall to help burn off the very filling and rich meal, we noticed a grouping of several desserts that were offered, but of course did not partake as we could not fit another bite.
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5 stars
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is Extraordinary
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4 Stars
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is Outstanding
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3 Stars
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Exceeded Expectations
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2 Stars
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is Above the Average
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1 Star
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is an Average Dining Experience
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No Star Rating
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The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling
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Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
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3 of 5
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Ambiance:
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6 of 10
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Quality of the Food:
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7 of 10
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Plate Presentation:
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6 of 10
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Customer Service:
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6 of 10
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Wow Factor:
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6 of 10
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This Restaurant reminds me of:
Besides the chains mentioned above, the experience at Brio’s rated overall as a 3 out of 5, exceeding expectations of an Italian chain restaurant. I would compare the meal to a few other non-chain Italian restaurants that I have visited in the past such as Locale in the Yarra Valley, Australia, BiCE Restaurant, Dubai Marina in Dubai,Villagio Ristorante in London, and Aria in Sydney, Australia. The ambiance of the restaurant was the nicest of the chains I had been too, and as mentioned early being full of light which added to the overall decor as well. The Quality of the food was rated higher for the variety, though on a nutritional value most dishes were extremely high with fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and sugar, which kept the quality level at the mark of seven instead of being higher. The plate presentation was common to most restaurants, but the extra nice touch of spending the money to embroider the restaurant name onto the plate shows a little class, or at least to know if someone steals a plate, you know where it was stolen from. The customer service and the wow factor are both rated at six since as a chain, you can’t really get much higher, and the service is not as advanced as you would see in a true fine dining restaurant.
Other Sarasota favorites on Wine, Dine, and Play:
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Hank’s Seafood in Charleston, South Carolina
Wolfgang Puck in Orlando
Eagles Nest in Constantia, South Africa
Regatta on Avon in Christchurch, New Zealand
Food Prices
(excluding taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
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My food bill:
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Currency:
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Price chart:
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$85.35
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$$
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£56.78
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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££
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€80.59
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European Union (EUR)
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€€
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$114.15
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$$$
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$118.69
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$$$
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¥545
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥¥¥
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Cost of wines and other alcoholic beverages in $$ USD:
$20.00
Review basics:
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Wine selections by region:
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0 of 10
The restaurant was contacted and a request was mad to see the wine list however, they did not respond to the request, so no rating can be given as to how good their wine list is, or what they offer.
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Corkage fee’s:
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American Restaurant standard is $25.00 per bottle
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Restaurant style:
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Casual
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Reservations:
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Not Required, But Recommended
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Walk-ins:
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Accepted, but not guaranteed
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Dress code:
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Smart casual, Casual, or Conservative attire
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Child policy:
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The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette.
Hire a Babysitter.
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Cuisine style:
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Contemporary, Bistro, Modern, Italian, Organic, Mediterranean, European,& Vegetarian
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Music styles:
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Background instrumental
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Business parties, Hot spot, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Beautiful décor, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
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Gratuities:
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Industry standard is 18-20% added to parties of 6 or more
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Payments:
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Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
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Parking:
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Valet, and Public lot
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Transport options:
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Bus, taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant, and nonsmoking patio
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Patio:
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Yes
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Restaurant address:
190 University Town Center Drive
Sarasota, Florida
34243
Neighborhood:
Town Center
Cross streets:
Desoto Road and University Parkway
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 27.385002
Longetude: -82.450828
Contact Information:
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Maître d, Reservations:
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(941) 702-9102
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Restaurant Website:
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Email:
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Reserve Online:
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Social Media & Accolades:
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Hours:
Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)
Dinner:
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Monday
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11:00 am –10:00 pm
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Tuesday
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11:00 am –10:00 pm
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Wednesday
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11:00 am –10:00 pm
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Thursday
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11:00 am –10:00 pm
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Friday
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11:00 am –11:00 pm
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Saturday
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11:00 am –11:00 pm
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Sunday
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10:30 am –10:00 pm
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Proprietor / Manager:
Jason Weathers
Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE) in Puerto Rico 2015
Executive Chef
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
TTFN
