El Greco Café- A Downtown Sarasota Dining Institution

Located in the heart of downtown Sarasota, the has been serving Mediterranean cuisine in the Sarasota community for over 40 years. Truly a Sarasota landmark, El Greco offers a simple yet workable décor, outdoor seating and a dining room with large window views to the outside sidewalk activities.

When a restaurant has been around for such a long period of time, it is easy to overlook; instead opting for one of the newer dining venues. Recently we revisited El Greco and were pleasantly surprised to see the focus on value has not changed. With a robust menu offering meat, seafood, pizza, soup and salads, El Greco is preparing both traditional and contemporary Mediterranean cuisine. There truly is something for everyone which makes family dining at El Greco a natural choice. For our meals we had the following:

• Famous Greek Salad:  Fresh lettuce garnished with tomatoes, cucumbers, pepperoncinis, olives, beets, green peppers, onions, and feta cheese.  $7.95 
  Cold crisp and fresh…one of the best in town!

• Lamb Souvlaki Salad:  Char grilled lamb skewers with a Greek salad, dressing and grilled flat bread.  $9.95
  Lamb was very flavorful, salad was fresh, and bread was delicious. Can easily be a meal for a light eater.
• El Greco Platter: Chicken souvlaki skewers, spanakopita, stuffed olives, tzadziki, garnished with tomatoes, cucumber, beets and grilled pita. $9.95
  A great sampling of appetizers perfect for 2 people to share.
• Pasticcio:  Layered macaroni pasta with seasoned ground beef with a light béchamel sauce. Served with a choice of soup or junior Greek salad $14.50 
  Nicely seasoned and presented, flavorful and filling
• Seafood Platter:  Fresh mahi-mahi, ocean scallop skewer, fresh gulf shrimp skewer, char grilled and served with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Served with choice of soup or junior Greek Salad $19.95 Good size portion, seafood sweet and tasty.

In addition to the above, El Greco Café offers a limited selection of beer, wine and soft drinks to accompany your meal. Do not care to dine out? El Greco offers a take-out menu, which based upon the number of people picking up, is extremely popular. We found the service to be adequate.

El Greco Mediterranean Café is not fancy, overpriced, or ostentatious but rather it is the perfect spot for a simple, flavorful, family meal. With an emphasis on providing good food at reasonable prices in a simple manner, it stands to reason why this Sarasota landmark has been serving our community for over 40 years.

El Greco Mediterranean Café
1592 Main Street
Sarasota FL 34236
941-365-2234

www.elgrecocafe.com