I have been to Cafe Alfresco many times even before moving to Dunedin. The food is outstanding. The chef is highly trained and talented. The service is always good even on busy Saturday and Sunday mornings. I'll agree that the waitstaff is not fun or overly friendly but they provide timely and quality service and they know the menu well. The coffee is exceptionally good. I think I ordered the salmon salad the last time I went and it was a good 6+ ounce fillet of salmon on top of my salad. Can't beat that! The clientele is usually older in the morning (heavy on the perfume) but during brunch, lunch and dinner it clears out. read more

My daughter and I and her three children - 6,7 and 10 - ate here for lunch. I was shocked every time the waitress came to the table to ask if we were okay because all of my grandchildren kept emphatically exclaiming "Yes! This is the best food ever! Everything is excellent!" Wow. That has NEVER happened before. read more

I eat here a couple times a month and have never had any real complaints. The food has always been delicious (especially the mushroom burger and greek salad) and the service has ranged from fair to excellent. There is an older woman who works here who has been my server a few times and she is fantastic. The only time the service was less than satisfactory was on a night when they were quite busy (pasta night) and my boyfriend and I had to go out of our way a couple times to get our waiter's attention for refills & to get the bill. As far as the food goes, the penne pasta is the only thing on the menu I wouldn't recommend. It wasn't bad, I just didn't enjoy it very much when I ordered it. Their salads, appetizers and sandwiches are delicious though. They have a seared tuna salad and it's one of the tastiest things I've had in downtown Dunedin. The desserts are definitely one of the best things about this place. From the cheesecake to the lemon cake to the carrot cake, you really can't go wrong. Their key lime pie is beautiful and tastes fantastic. As a whole I am a huge fan of this place and will continue to eat here when I want a decent meal. Great atmosphere, great service, delicious food and a lovely location. read more

Cafe Alfresco - Key lime pie. Delicious. - New American Near Me - Dunedin, Florida

We are local and this is one of our favorite restaurants in Dunedin. The food is always delicious. My husband had the meatloaf, my daughter the chicken marsala, and I had a salmon salad. We have never had a bad meal here! read more

The food was good even though I expected a more "Floridian" menu. The menu seemed to cater to the "Northern" crowd. The waiter was quick to assume we were tourists and didn't want to give us the customary bread until we order....what's up with that!!! He did quickly warm up and our experience was fine. read more

Food taste was ok, nothing special, but not terrible. Portions were tiny. ordered an appetizer, a side salad, and an entre (Cajun meat loaf and garlic mash, was decent) and was still pretty hungry after. The meat loaf came out as a small thin slice. The service was OK, nothing to remember either I guess. Be careful when ordering a beer too, came out in a small 8-10 oz glass too. read more

We have eaten here before and enjoyed it, this time not so much. I got the fried grouper sandwich and while I have enjoyed fish sandwiches and grouper in particular before, this one had an objectionable fishy flavor that I couldn't get past. My wife sitting across the table commented on the smell. The staff graciously exchanged it and I got the Portobello sandwich which had the opposite problem, no flavor. The fries they serve are coated fries undoubtedly that come in a big bag frozen. While good, I would have preferred fresh cut fries. The restaurant was also noisy and difficult to hold a conversation in. In fairness, the service was good, my wife enjoyed her Capellini Pomodoro, the restaurant appeared very clean, and the views out the windows was good. read more

I can recommend Cafe Alfresco for anyone looking for a light bite or a larger meal. I went there with a friend who has eaten there several times.The restaurant is pretty on the inside and seemed clean. It was fairly busy at 8:00 pm on a Friday evening. I ordered the fried greek cheese appetizer and my friend had a shrimp salad. Both small meals arrived quickly and had good presentation. The food was good and seemed to be made at the restaurant. (People who have not worked in the business would be surprised how many items they order in a restaurant may have been purchased from a distributor either frozen or bagged. If the salad has that "bagged" smell, it was!) My friend has ordered the regular meals several times and while they would be a lot of food for me, he felt the food was very good and the right amount. If you are in downtown Dunedin, give this place a try! To check out the cleanliness ratings of your favorite FL restaurants, go here: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=1&SID=&brd=H&typ= read more

The food is great, the portions are large. Our waiter, Johnny, was amazing. Very attentive!

Wow! Great food and the staff was amazing. It was so good we went back a second time, which is unlike us. We like visiting other places. We were so impressed that we went back. Ann and Drew were knowledgeable and had great suggestions. Ann was very entertaining and joined in on joking around with us. Stop by if you are Dunedin, I don't think you will be disappointed read more

Great spot for breakfast! Was kinda upset they don't offer many ways cooking eggs, but there was plenty of other food offerings that it didn't matter. The staff is friendly and the bakery area looks mouth watering every time I pass by! read more

Had the pork dumplings there were very good. Cuban was decent. Hubs got the fried chicken he loved it. Cute place in quaint Dunedin. Def will be back. read more

Great food (pork egg rolls as good as any Asian restaurant I've been to, and I've been to hundreds), and the owner is extremely nice and hysterically funny. They claim to be the only restaurant in town with "healthy desserts," and the owner explains all of the health benefits of each dessert. Worth going just to hear the owner explain all the nutritional benefits of the desserts. Also my wife was very impressed that every single table has a purse hook on it. Very unique and a something every restaurant ought to have. We only stopped in for appetizers but will definitely go back for more. read more

Just a awesome place to go for dinner. We have never had a bad meal here. The chicken piccata and Marsala is the best.

Food was AMAZING!! Had the feta alfresco as an app, it was to die for. I'd never had fried feta cheese and may I say I can be picky to trying new things. But the way it melted in your mouth, ugh delish!! Also had the chicken parm which was served with a massive piece of fried chicken breast, which was also pretty good:) service was alright though, really didn't speak unless needed to and waited around for her for a short while, other than that overall great place and defiantly found my next birthday dinner spot! read more

My family and I went to celebrate my son's 22 birthday there and were met with a rude manager that kidnapped our cake with a lame excuse. We were a group of 16 having an overpriced brunch that was ruined for no explainable reason. They made no attempt to compensate us for the huge inconvenience. This brunch was a way to make it up to my son for having to have a funeral on his real birthday the day before, So I want to give my son a special day and celebrate his birthday for the first time in 4 years (off to college). The witch destroyed our event for no reason! DO EAT THERE!!!!! read more

not good for seafood. my salmon was way overdone and the tuna salad was a big disappointment as well!

Our favorite place in Dunedin. Everything is delicious. The staff is very efficient and friendly. Stays the same all year round serving the locals and the snow birds. Great chicken Parmesan, their fish is wonderful, they have a great variety of dishes, with curry or without, salads, white bean soup(my fav) And desserts are to die for. You will not go wrong eating here! read more

I live in Dunedin and this is my "go to" restaurant. Everyone I bring to Cafe Alfresco loves it; I have never had a meal that was not delicious. read more

The food here is absolutely amazing the specials are also on point! This place may have the most awesome Alfredo sauce I've ever had. I dream about it. The servers are always very nice and your drink will never be empty. Their manager also comes around to check in and does a great job. Tons of unique menu items and always a reasonable price. We generally get two entrees and and appetizer and a drink for under 40 bucks! I love this place read more

Authentic, good food. Service was super fast and friendly. Cost was fair. Ryen was my server and did a great job making sure my drinks were full and checked in regularly. I will definitely be back next time I'm in the area. read more

Delicious meal. Curry chicken was very good. Tasty dish and vegetables still crisp and not over cooked. Fish and chips very good. The fries are very good. We will definitely be back. read more

While visiting my sister we had 2 great meals at cafe Alfresco. Love this place. Try the blackened salmon over salad. The gumbo is great as well and they have Kendall Jackson wine by the glass!!! Yea!!! read more

Pretty decent and fresh food and the prices are definitely very reasonable, they have weekly specials and your typical bar, service is good they are never understaffed read more

Good menu selections. Easily accessible to bike trail, nice setting and occasional live music outside.

Wonderful food, service and atmosphere! But be prepared to take home food. The portions are huge, fortunately they do offer lighter portions on some items. Our group had the lasagna and the chicken piccata... Yummy, and we all had leftovers for the next day's lunch. The enclosed 'porch' was pleasant, an indoor/outdoor feel to it since it's glassed in, right on the Pinellas Trail. They also offer al fresco dining on a covered porch. Definitely going to be back. read more

Decided to give this place a try on a Monday afternoon since Kelly's was closed due to a staff meeting. As soon as I looked at the menu it seems a little confusing is either Italian or American? Must definitely a miss of flavor in every entree we ordered. I had the sword fish with vegetables which I believe was a day special and food had no salt or taste of any kind and lemon sauce was kind of bland. Vegetables were so bland that I did not finished them. My friend ordered their fried chicken and it was more like a breaded chicken breast and no crunchy at all. My other friend ordered their crab cakes and she estated they were bland too. We definetely ate here because we were starving but is not a place to crave for. Service was ok but he was definetely trying to sell us more drinks and desserts but all we wanted was to leave and drink somewhere else. Advice: Please add any type of seasoning to your dishes please! read more

Try the blueberry pie! It is the best I have ever had. Great atmosphere and delicious food!

The buttermilk chicken sandwich is on my my favorites!! And don't get me started on their BLUEBERRY PIE!!

Went to have lunch after recommend by friend. Was greeted by host who refused to sit our party of 3 at a 5 top. I got there around 1:30 pm- not the lunch rush. All these 5 tops were empty and the restaurant was only 1/4 full. I explained that we wanted a table by window. Was given a table in the middle of restaurant with HEAVY foot traffic- great if you like servers and customers walking back n forth. We ended up walking out and explained to host why. NO ALTERNATIVES GIVEN BY HOST. Ended up going to Kellys on Main- excellent. read more

I'm not usually a review writer but my experience has prompted me to write this. My husband and I are residents of Dunedin and regularly dine at the restaurants downtown, one of which being Cafe Alfresco. On this evening, we weren't feeling very hungry, just wanting to get our favorite appetizer at Cafe Alfresco (the fried feta cheese) and a cocktail. Arriving to the restaurant we were greeted by the "bouncer" (host) who we told we just wanted to sit at the bar and his reply was that there wasn't room and "look over there, there's Kelly's". I did not appreciate the way he treated us like we were college students on spring break. If we had wanted to just drink at Kelly's at the bar, that's where we would have gone. Sadly, due to this man, Cafe Alfresco has lost our business. If he had simply suggested a table, we would have stayed and dined. But, he told us to go elsewhere. Therefore we will not be returning. read more

I have been dining at this restaurant for 10 years and now that I live in St. Petersburg I don't come to Al Fresco as often. Through the years the place has grown and gone through changes. However, tonight I'm disappointed by how management has packed the tables to a point where the chairs do not have room for anyone to pass through. Also I noticed they have a table for two partially blocking the Emergency Exit door. The food is still good but the close quarters makes the experience a bit uncomfortable. read more

We have been coming to this restaurant for 12 years. We have virtually raised our son there. Until recently the service has always been wonderful and the food delicious. It was always a place with a guaranteed smile and hello. Recently they gave the restaurant quite a facelift, took many loved items off the menu and upped the prices. Their wonderful chef was fired and it just hasn't been quite the same. We still go, just not as often as we did. We have eaten there every Mother's Day since I have been a mother. That makes nine years in a row. This Mother's Day was no exception and we put our names on the wait list to be seated and we were told it would be a 30 minute wait. We were a party of five and when our name was called we were led to a table outside. The woman who we came to find out is the new manager that lead us to the table did not take it well when we said we wanted to sit inside. I had my 79-year-old father-in-law and my 87-year-old mother in law with us and it is not good for them to sit outside on a sunny Florida day. Instead of her treating us with grace and telling us she would get us the next five top that became available she gave my husband major attitude and told us our name would have to go back on the list and we would have to wait another 30 minutes. Happy Mother's Day to us! What a way to treat us after 12 years of faithful support. My husband became clearly upset and he is not a lot of fun when he is upset. So, she acquiesced and said she would get us into the next five top available and we went outside to wait. Shortly thereafter I saw two 5 tops become available. We were standing by the windows and we are familiar with the layout. I also stood out there for 15 minutes while those two tables were left ignored. The other tables were turning over fairly quickly so people were getting seated before us while the two 5 top tables that we were waiting for just sat there. Finally some waiters got around to cleaning them and our name was called again (keep in mind we had now been waiting for 50 minutes) and the manager was there and said "oh I think they left". She scowled when she saw us come to the front of the line and said no we were still here. Then the waiter who we have had several times proceeded to treat us like strangers and we watched him attend to every other table except for ours. We were left without drink refills and it was uncomfortable. It is a hard pill to swallow to be treated like that at a place we consider ourselves regulars at. One of the waiters even calls my son "Mr. French toast" as he knows that is all my son orders. But now the restaurant has been tainted and I'm not sure we will go back. The high prices, the poor treatment and a grumpy manager who does not seem to possess people skills has all but killed our love for this place. Bah humbug. read more

This place is always busy which was a good sign and I finally got around to getting here -the big push was I was reading about all the tampa bay awards this place has received so I had to make sure I tried it. Glad I did..VERY good! Went for the cod fish fry on a Friday night. Short wait, no big deal-fish was excellent, coleslaw was fresh made (sure tasted like it anyways) it didn't have that icky over refrigerated taste you get at most places..very fresh and creamy-loved it! Fries that came with it also good! I almost never order dessert but I I thought what the heck..the chocolate layered cake is TO DIE FOR! Gary our awesome server never missed a beat..super friendly guy, attentive-we never waited long for anything -definitely go back and try some other stuff..highly recommend! Seems like a well run business. read more

I have never experienced a group of wait staff that looked so miserable and rude in all my life. Talk about feeling unwelcome...let's just say our waiter never greeted me with hello, a smile...my name is...they all looked at me as if in disgust as I walked in to the restaurant with my two children today. Maybe they saw work and not a huge bill....was that the problem??? Yes the food was great no complaints there, but when you have wait staff that present a stand off attitude and are certainly not friendly you may as well have stayed at home. I certainly will not be returning to this establishment.... read more

We enjoyed it very much. Afternoon drinks and a break from the heat. The food was good.

The food was delicious and visually appealing. Great service. Tasty desserts. Everyone in our party wants to go back. Too bad we don't live there. read more

Been here 3 times in last month. Very pleased in general. Hubby always goes for the fried chicken breast and mashed potatoes. Delish chicken- not greasy and tender- though last visit was a tad dry. I've had Thai salmon sesame crusted salmon - large portion and fresh and tasty. Nice side salads. Good blue cheese dressing. Overall a relaxing, unpretentious place with good food. Haven't had their Italian dishes but they look awesome - and come in 2 portion sizes. read more

Fantastic discovery in Dunedin. Okay so we didn't know it was the art festival in Dunedin. We had to wait for 45 minutes for a table at lunch but it was well worth the wait. Outstanding salmon, wonderful appetizers & great dessert. read more

Dinner was delicious and our waitress, Wendy, was awesome. The shrimp scampi was plentiful with large shrimp and my husband loved the buttermilk chicken. We will definitely be back. Ps pot stickers were yummy too. read more