Vintage atmosphere. Good looking menu. Friendly, prompt service. Italian Sandwich pretty darn good. Not sure $14 for a sandwich and bag of chips is worth it compared to other good restaurants in that area... read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Italian Sandwich with Chips - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

The best of the best that Sarasota has to offer. Looks exactly how it did when I was a kid and I love that. Such a classic Sarasota stop for one of their incredible Italian sandwiches. The bread is perfect and everything is always delish. If you're in town this is a must. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Italian sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Best Italian sandwich EVER. Crusty fresh bread, just the right amount of peppers and perfectly balanced. Been coming with my family since the late 1960s & the Italian NEVER disappoints. Great daily soups too. WiFi non existent but with the circus character it's a gem and has been since the 1950s. read more

Went for a quick lunch and got the Italian sandwich to go. It was really good and would definitely go back. Friendly staff and has a nice atmosphere when you walk in. read more

Such a cool old school Italian deli. Feel like you step back in time. The decor is cool, cozy and dark inside, soft booths to sit in, and bar area to sit. Service was fast. And friendly. The chicken salad sandwich was homemade style, with not a ton a different things in it, bread was super soft but toast, so good! Ham and cheese on the onion roll was also good. Clam chowder was good as well. If we lived close by, this would be a weekly stop. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Inside bar - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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This business is located in the downtown area. We found street parking near the restaurant. There were several areas to sit inside of the business. We were greeted upon our arrival and our server was attentive. We decided to get the business lunch deal. This deal consisted of your choice of a sandwich, soup or chili, and a salad for around $11. I got the chili with my sandwich and salad. My meal tasted good and was worth the money. I did have some food leftover. I would come back if I was in the area again. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Chili - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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We'e been coming here once a week- usually on Saturday's for over 20 years. This place is so cool and we bring all our out of town visitors here as well. It's been untouched inside for over 60 years and it celebrates our Sarasota Circus history. Service is great. The sandwiches are like no other w/ the thinly shredded lettuce and Hubby loves the Jalepeno Dressing on his sandwich. He gets the Mayan. I LOVE their homemade Chili. (Available everyday) I also love their Turkey on a Cuban roll w/ Italian dressing. The homemade chocolate chip cookies are always great too but order early as they sell out frequently. MUST STOP! read more

Biting into one of these sandwiches transports you back to your childhood having a delicious homemade sandwich made by mom. It's been around since the 50's and it looks it in the best way. Prices are reasonable and the service is efficient. They have plenty of seating and a small bar you can sit at. Whenever I come to Sarasota I make it my business to stop here. The sandwiches, soups and chili are all all incredible and live rent free in my mind. read more

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I love the chicken salad, salad here. It is huge and delicious! Used to get it to go often for lunch when I worked downtown, yum!

Server was short and to the point. Not friendly but not exactly rude she did her job just felt like the bare minimum. Chicken noodle was 100% from a can, tasted just like it and the certain noodle/ chicken you could tell it was from a shelf was lukewarm not hot. Meatball sub: again, meatballs tasted like it was chef boyardee.. from a can.. doesn't come with chips, pickle, just pepperoncini. Italian: I'd give it a 4/10, meat tasted lower quality but the flavor as a whole was okay. read more

I've walked and driven by The Main Bar Sandwich Shop hundreds of times. Never really felt compelled to open the door. Yesterday, a friend of mine suggested that we meet there for lunch. Fair enough. Who doesn't enjoy a good sandwich? Being on Main St in downtown Sarasota parking isn't ideal. Park across the street in the free parking garage next to the movie theater. Your walk will be all of one minute. If you can't walk for a minute you shouldn't be going out for a sandwich. Just saying. The Shop is much larger than it appears. It's not wide, but it is very long. The Shop has a lot of interesting decor, vintage lights to old photos. I love that. The staff is efficient but not necessarily sending out that warm, friendly vibe . Very no fuss, no muss. I appreciated their approach. Everyone we came in contact with was polite. Polite and efficient is a huge win. especially in Sarasota where Hospitality goes to die. There menu is solid. Even a picky eater will find a sandwich of their liking. My friend had a BLT, "if a sandwich shop can't make a good blt they aren't much of a sandwich shop". I had their Italian sub. Neither sandwich came with a side. My friend had a bag of Lays potato chips. I took the waitress suggestion and had the homemade potato salad. FYI .. they don't have a fryer. No fries. The Lays were good. The ice cream scooper size helping of potato salad was, without a doubt, the worst potato salad I have ever had. Not sure what they did to it, but the flavor was unpleasant and it sat like a rock in my stomach; which was odd as it was soft. The BLT was "okay". The bacon was cooked fine. The bread was not toasted long enough. It lack that nice golden brown, crunchy that is paramount for a good BLT. Nothing wrong with Okay, but for a BLT and OKay just isn't a win for a Sandwich shop. The Italian was very tasty. The bread was fresh, the ingredients layered very well. Good mix of spice and savory. It was a good Sandwich. The serving size of both were fine. The freshly squeezed lemonade was delightful and refreshing. All in all, if you're leaving the movies and want a sandwich, with the walk across the street. If you like dark, nostalgic, sandwich shops with decent food, stop in. If you're searching for a top notch sandwich and overly friendly service, there are other Sarasota locations that will better fit your needs. Would I go back? No reason not, especially since I go to a lot of movies (alone). read more

Just ok-had the Muffuletta. Stingy on the olive salad for a 13.00 sandwich. Please go to Central Grocery in New Orleans to enjoy the best of this sandwich. read more

The main bar is your standard go to sandwich spot , and for those that grew up in Sarasota, they're probably biased as to why they'd think this is the best sandwich shop in the area. Everything was great however the prices don't match what they're selling. I'm sure it's because of something like the rent of the space. It's good lunch food and the interior is very nostalgic but people like these type of places for the prices, and the vibe of this place doesn't match what they're charging. Overpriced sandwiches. Don't get me wrong they're good but I can make a lot of these sandwiches at home for a quarter of the price. This place is for convenience. read more

Food: 10 outta 10 Order one of my favs... 1. Italian (classic) 2. The Aztec (roast beef)* 3. The Mayan (turkey breast)* *w/Jalapeño dressing;) Ask for them to cut your sandwich in half when ordering Service: Prompt/courteous 1. Call ahead/pick-up (ready within ~10 mins) 2. Be seated within mins of arriving 3. Pay at the register Ambiance: Bustling downtown atmosphere/loud read more

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One of the best sandwiches I've had in a LONG time. Will be back for SURE ! Was in town and needed to grab something fast to go so ordered through Yelp, but I'll just call and order next time. The bread had to have been made that morning. Will be back ! read more

Good egg salad sandwich packed with quality. Quick take out service. Very friendly employees. Stopped for lunch to go and tried the egg salad on pumpernickel bread. It was delightful! Took about 5 min and I was on my way. M I'll be back! read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Egg Salad - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Always delicious, old school, fairly priced, great service. Been eating here for over 20 years.

We enjoyed our sandwiches (the Mayan for me, and the New Orleans muffuletta for him). The "ambiance" is unique, like stepping back in time. I would not describe it as cozy by any means. We were a bit disappointed with table service & portions. $36 for two small sandwiches, two drinks, and two bags of potato chips. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - The Mayan (sans tomato) portions are very small for the price, and sandwiches are served a la carte - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Was welcomed by owner, he was so nice. Ordered hot grilled Italian and it was delicious with split pea soup! Yum!

This place was great! The service was outstanding and the food was delicious. We really enjoyed the atmosphere, it was like stepping back in time. read more

great service, great sandwiches and sandwich options, and the vibe of the entire place was fantastic! definitely going back

Legit sandwich shoppe! Had their hot Italian sandwich and tried their Wisconsin beer cheese soup and their spicy Thai chicken soup - all were delicious! Friendly and prompt service. The ambiance reminds me of a NY or NJ old school deli. Highly recommend. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Hidden Gem Sandwich shop in downtown Sarasota! - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

The food was great, got lucky for parking as im disabled. My wife parked a few spots down from the restaurant . Menu is huge and it was very hard to read so i would look up on phone. I had the " Cuban " wife had chicken dumplings soup and my son had the other 1/2 " Cuban ". read more

If you are looking for a Deli where many people regularly take their lunch hour downtown, this is for you. The food is fresh, and sandwiches are made in the front of the store at the end of the luncheon bar. Locals have been going there for decades. Order in, take out and delivery. read more

We love the food here. The Muffaletta is delicious. My coworker loves the Taj Mahal with the curry dressing. We were too hungry to take photos first. read more

In town to do a training for an office of a dozen, 6 Reubens and 6 Cubans later, they're looking forward to another lunch & learn! Staff was super friendly and knocked the order out in less than 15 minutes between the early and lunch rushes. I'll definitely be back and they'll be my go to for trainings in the area. I couldn't even get a picture they went through it so fast! read more

My husband chose this spot and it was a little underwhelming. The vibe is very 1960's which makes sense as it was established in 1958, and it seems to be a bit of an institution in Sarasota. If you are a meat eater, I think you'd fare better. As a vegetarian the options were few and far between. We got the dolmas and the "classy" and I was so sad. I hadn't tried dolmas before but my husband said these were too oily. I didn't like them, but that was a me thing. The sandwich was cheese, oil, tomatoes, onions, peppers all on pita bread. I was so sad because I really wanted this sandwich to be hot, but I don't think they do hot sandwiches. It was honestly overpriced for a few slices of cheese and tomatoes, but I think that's normal for Sarasota. The service was good- quick and precise. read more

The picture is what a $28 lunch looks like from Main Bar Sandwich Shop. I got the Muffuletta, and it tastes just like it looks... Bread is dry, stale, and low quality. Toppings are not fresh. Meat was OK (I am searching here). Condiments that I paid extra for were not on sandwich. 3/4 of the whole pickle I paid for was all I received, and to top it off, the pickles had been previously frozen and then thawed (or terribly mishandled) causing a slimy disintegrating inedible mess. The best part of this experience was that Uber Eats arrived early, so I didn't have to wait to find out how bad this place was. And neither did the office full of people who told me how good the place was. Not only am I disappointed, but they are embarrassed they recommended this establishment. Grossly overpriced and just plain gross. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - Muffuletta and a whole pickle (sort of...) - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

This has been a go to for us when downtown for lunch for years. Recently, we visited for a late lunch...it was seat yourself...so the two of us preferring a larger booth than those for two and sat down at the first one available which was toward the back. The Manager came by and firmly said to us..."I don't know how you ended up back here? I only have one server for the entire restaurant." I replied with our reasoning and was again told, in an aggravated tone, 'I only have one server and this makes it hard on her' as he walked off. Geez!!! What a welcome...getting scolded!!! We were stunned and let it go, and then proceeded to enjoy our lunch with our friendly, prompt server... while between us questioning how a Manager with such a lack of understanding the importance of hospitality could successfully run a downtown dining institution. I have to wonder if this is why he was down to one server!! Oh, and a suggestion: If you prefer customers not sit in a specific area when told to seat yourself, a 'Section Closed' sign would be much more appropriate than verballly insulting your customers when they sit outside your preferred zone. We will be hesitant to return for a long while as well as stop recommending The Main Bar to friends for the forseeable future. read more

Great ingredients and fresh bread. Side note- Order your sandwich with light sauce or you will be drinking your meal.

NOT TODAY anyway. Been going to Main Bar since I was a kid - the 70's. Today I paid $$ for a sandwich that had stale bread and the second layer of meat on the MB Special didn't exist. Take out service decent. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - The missing second layer on the MB special: the two little triangles on the left. - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Had lunch here for the first time today. Don't know how I'd missed it. Great sandwich selection, professional service. I'm gluten free, so ordered a wrap without the wrap. The owner came over to let me know that they had GF wraps , a new addition, so not on the menu. Most GF bread is pretty bad, but these were really good. I wish I could comment on more of the food, but can say that both of our sandwiches were delicious and the coleslaw and potato salad were tasty. I'm definitely going back and will try the soup, which looked delicious. read more

Downtown Sarasota's finest lunch spot! Cool vibe inside with both bar and booth seating and lots of historical photos of the Barnum and Bailey's Circus, black and white photographs cover the walls. Hands down best Italian sandwich around. They've been serving them for 50 years! Most deli subs are 50% dough. The bread on these are thinner than standard submarine rolls and make all the difference. Heated outside perfectly. Is that a grinder anyway? Secret maybe the diced pepperoncini... check them out, they go through trays and trays of these daily. I've been going since 1998 and never had a dud. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - The bar... - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Booths and area need a remodel for sure, but the food is still top notch. I always get the original Italian peppers on the side add mayo, and the potato salad- SO GOOD. The staff is super friendly and helpful. Can get very busy during lunch rush- worth the wait. read more

Great sandwich shop in Downtown Sarasota. I usually get the business lunch with a Turkey Sandwich, Salad, and Chili. The ladies that work the bar area are very sweet. read more

I've been going to the Main bar since I was a baby....born in Sarasota in 1959. Always a favorite lunch spot, it never changes & that is a good thing. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - An excellent turkey club, the cole slaw is weak, no flavor. - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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I ordered a pick up order and it was ready I'm the time they told us so that is always a plus! The place was packed at noon and that is also another great sign. I'm sorry I have no pics to post because we ate it so fast! It was delicious- the bread was amazing and there was just the right amount of meat/toppings. We had the Aztec & it was my favorite! The jalepeno Mayo was awesome! We had a prairie and the onion roll was perfect. We will come back again! Must try this place if you love great sandwiches! read more

Found this on Yelp on way from airport to beach with family. Everyone loved their meal, and the service was excellent and friendly. For 2 days my husband and I craved more of their potato salad and HAD to go back to get more today. Brought kids home their sandwiches. Michelle made us feel welcome there, and Shannon, the owners' daughter told us about their nearby bakery that also serves breakfast and lunch! Thanks, Yelp, for helping us find a new favorite place instead of a tired old chain restaurant. read more

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Awesome little sandwich spot. On our list anytime we visit. Food is excellent and the staff is extremely friendly and attentive. Many said they had been working there for a really long time - which is a great sign! read more

A Sarasota institution For lunch today I decided to have their Famous Italian sandwich. It was tasty and not all oily and vinegary like Italian sandwiches are often made. The bread was toasted, I liked that. The sandwich was kind of small, I wished it were larger. They do offer a double stuffed Italian that may have been a better choice for me. The restaurant has been serving up food for decades. It is a long, narrow place, with old framed b&w photos of mostly circus performers along a wall. Pretty cool. My service was fine, it only took a few minutes to get my food and my server checked back with me three different times. Finding a parking space along Main St can sometimes be a challenge. read more

The Main Bar Sandwich Shop - The Famous Italian - Sandwiches Near Me - Sarasota, Florida