The reviews were great, so he decided to try it out. It's an auspicious approach, with a very low-key, bland exterior in a strip mall. But it's not a fancy restaurant. We started with a barata appetizer. Just scrumptious. We went on and had the arugula salad, fish special with livornese sauce, , shrimp and scallop risotto, and a shrimp and scallop bulgur dish. Everything was delicious, but with unique flavors, not typical Italian run of the Mill seasoning. They really put an extra touch on the food. This place has just started 6 months ago, and they really do a special job with a food. Give them a try read more

Fiorella Italian Restaurant - Homemade tiramisu - Italian Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Wow! What a hidden gem in Sarasota. Excellent service from Daniel. Our food was excellent from the bread, main course and tiramisu for dessert. Definitely worth the drive to find this place. read more

We stopped at this restaurant on our way to Naples and I am so glad we did! The ambiance was calming and the service was great - our waiter, Julio, was attentive and accommodating - he offered to make a special pasta with butter sauce for my children. Between my husband and I and my in-laws, we ordered the Cesar and Marybeth salads as well as the baked meatball appetizer. The Cesar was great, but the Marybeth was the winner - it was a great combination of flavors. The meatballs were out of this world - very moist and flavorful with a wonderful tomato sauce. For entrees, we tried the eggplant parmigiana, pollo parmigiana, pollo limoncello, and veal traverso. The entrees were the perfect size and prepared well. For dessert, we had crème puffs, cream brûlée, and a cannoli. All were delicious, but the crème brûlée was the best I've ever had. The food was phenomenal, but the true star of the experience (I call it an experience as we were there for around 2 hours) was the staff - Julio and Angelo were beyond kind. They made my kids feel not only welcome, but special! They brought them a special drink and special dessert. They constantly came over and checked on them and made sure they were giggling and having fun! At one point, my 4 year old dropped a fork on floor and I asked her to be careful and to keep her voice down - Angelo quickly came over and assured us it was okay and that we need to "let the kids be kids". It's clear he truly adores children and treats all patrons as they are family. If you want a special experience where your family will feel like they are visiting the home of a dear relative (who is also a great chef!) for dinner, this is it! read more

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I was so looking forward to a really good Italian restaurant this evening. Based on the 5 star reviews, albeit only 16, I thought I would be in for a treat. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. My wife and I called ahead and were told they have plenty of seating available. Yes, they did. On a Friday evening at 7:15 the restaurant was completely empty. Not 1 single table was occupied. Not a good sign, but still went in to give them the benefit of the doubt. In anticipation of an excellent meal, I brought a high end bottle of wine. Note, their corkage fee was $25! Ouch. The waitress, who was very pleasant, brought a basket of bread to the table. It was just ordinary, if not a little old. We shared the egg plant appetizer (mediocre at best) and a lousy Caesar salad. The romaine was not at all crisp. The dressing was not a true Caesar as there were no anchovies. Virtually no flavor. For the main course, my wife ordered the special fish (Bronzino) and requested a livornase sauce. They were accommodating and the dish was acceptable to my wife. I had the 8 hour Bolognese over rigatoni. It tasted a little burnt. Guessing it cooked way longer than 8 hours, which would have been okay had the sauce simply simmered. All in all, not impressed and won't be back. read more

All Around! Tomas our waiter was exceptional! The food was delicious and reasonably priced. You MUST have dinner here read more

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Excellent food, real Italian. We did a large take out order and they gifted a bottle of white wine. We will be back

This is one of the best restaurants in Sarasota. The service is friendly, knowledgeable and professional. The food is well presented. the flavors are well balanced. The food is delicious! very nice wine list, with nice "by the glass" choices. The ambiance is modern decor, but warm and welcoming. Highly recommend the octopus, the rigatoni bolognese and the grouper. read more

New Italian hidden gem. Delicious food and service. I hope I can get in once you all discover this place. Too good not to share.

As a NYC transplant to Sarasota, finding great Italian food has been elusive. However, as of recent there have been several new restaurants Fiorella being a standout for amazing cuisine. The pistachio crusted lamb chops were over the top delicious and well prepared, the muscles and their accompanying marinara sauce was amazing (they also offer muscles in garlic and white wine which I will soon try) The fried burrata, I assume inspired by Mozzarella en Carrozza reminded me of when my grandma used to make it only much creamier with the burrata and I loved it. The service was attentive and friendly, and the environment was perfectly fine, not overdone but consistent with a small Italian eatery - slightly larger than cozy but thankfully not cavernous. I can't wait to enjoy my next meal and explore more of the menu. read more

This is a hidden gem. The chef and owner is from Abruzzo, Italy east of Rome. We shared a basic salad with artichokes and the dressing was very tasty and not overdressed. I don't normally like Octopus but the chef's wife (who was our waitress that night) said this dish was her favorite, so I said ok. The Octopus was grilled with some seasoning and surrounded by some type of beans and sauce and came out as two legs. It was fantastic. For an entree we shared the cheese ravioli which was home made folded over into two triangles. The sauce and the entire dish was great. We will be back. read more

Dropped in on a quiet Tuesday evening. Our waiter and the chef (who we met later on) were so nice and welcoming. I sincerely wish I could remember our waiter's name (maybe Daniel?), because we had really perfect top-notch service! He described and recommended a few dishes when asked, was attentive and thoughtful, with perfect timing at serving the courses and never once rushing us through our meal. My sister and I enjoyed a lovely wine, we shared mussels which were very good, with bread that was excellent, and Bolognese pasta which was absolutely to-die-for!!! Loved it! We will be back. Very highly recommend! read more

Fiorella's is an excellent restaurant. The owner/chef greeted us when we arrived and invited us to a table. We started with a delicious eggplant (melanzana) appetizer. I had gluten free penne pasta and my husband had freshly made in-house spaghetti which he said was excellent. We both had the bolognese sauce which was great. We had a side dish of melt in your mouth grilled vegetables. We each enjoyed a glass of Montepulciano, which was a perfect accompaniment. Service was friendly and prompt and we enjoyed talking to our waiter. We highly recommend Fiorella's. As another reviewer said, it is a gem. read more

Food was fabulous! Service friendly and fast. The shrimp and truffle risotto is delicious.

Great evening-- very freshly prepared and delicious food served well. We highly recommend this gem of a chef owned place. And if Koji serves you, you will have a lovely evening. read more

Appetizer and main course were terrific. Classy menu. Service was quick. Don't waste your time waiting to go somewhere else, go here and have a wonderful meal. read more

Excellent food, presentation and service. This is a new restaurant and they should be headed for great things. It's small inside but lovely. White table clothes, large wine selection mostly by the bottle. Our waiter was fantastic. Besides being an accommodating waiter he also hooked up our WiFi for us. He owner chef is from Italy. My husband is very fussy when it comes to bolognese, but he loved theirs. Spinach salad was fantastic. I know it's only a salad but the dressing was wonderful. As was the eggplant. I highly recommend it. read more

Meal was delicious, well prepared and served by excellent waitstaff. I would have given it 5 stars but wasn't wild about the tiramisu. It was fresh but too bland! read more

i was there on Saturday, there was no one in the parking lot (clue #1), but we gave the. a try. the waitress was very niece, first night on the job, we asked for a bottle of wine and had our meal, which it was mediocre, cold and lucked taste, my lamb was tuff , the other plates bad as well, as we were leaving, the owner Francesco Giovannucci, made a very inappropriate, rude comment as to what to do to women after a few glasses of wine. he is a rude pig, woman are to be respected, not a sex object, PIG read more

We have been to Fiorella's 4 times since the first of the year. I believe they opened in August of 2022. We chose to try it in the first place because it was open on Sundays and the menu looked very appealing. The chef and servers are great. The pasta (house made) dishes are especially good. There is typically a starter, pasta and entrée special each night. The bruschetta starter is unique, not your typical style, and awesome we get it every time we go. The chef is willing to accommodate a diners personal wants and needs. The portions are a perfect size, not too big and not too small. We haven't tried every dish on the menu yet but those that we've had were excellent. It's a small intimate type of restaurant. Make your reservations early for the weekends because they fill up fast. We took friends with us the last 3 times we went there and they all thoroughly enjoyed it. This is fast becoming our new favorite Italian restaurant! read more