Brine Seafood & Raw Bar - Sarasota (FL)

5 /5 Katie Gallanis: First and foremost, this was one of the best dining and food experiences I’ve had, especially for the price point (my dad paid lol). We had the pleasure of having Justin as our server and he was extremely knowledgeable about all of the appetizers, entrées and cocktails - he gave us great recommendations. We started off the meal with raw oysters, the Thai muscles, and an order of focaccia. Let me just say the focaccia was to die for. The muscles had a ton of flavor, and I highly suggest east coast oysters anywhere you go, but the ones we had here were phenomenal. My sister and I split the red snapper entrée along with a side of grits and everything was cooked to perfection. Our dad had his own snapper order all to himself and he said it was the perfect serving size. Justin recommended the crab cakes to our mom (right up her alley) - if you’re a fan of crab cakes showcasing seasoning, crab, and doesn’t leave room for bread filling, this is the place for you. I don’t know how they were able to keep the crab in a cake formation, but there was no bread whatsoever. The broccolini had a charred flavor and the mashed potatoes were so yummy. Two of the owners are brothers, one front-of-house and one the head chef. You can tell they care about the quality and experience they bring to the table. Highly recommend the coconut espresso martini. We have a restaurant in our hometown that is known for their version, and Brine’s takes the cake. Speaking of cake, the desserts were also top tier. I don’t usually leave reviews, but my whiskey sours were so good and the food and service matched, so I thought I’d pass along my thoughts. Brine is an all-time top 3 restaurant in my books.

5 /5 CC: Cant say enough great things about this restaurant. Great atmosphere, the outside dining is nice, and the food was phenomenal. All the seafood is perfectly cooked with nice flavor combinations that arent over powering. Lastly, the service was spot on. This is a great option for a date night or special occasion.

5 /5 Real Estate Kate: My friends took me to Brine for my birthday! We ordered a variety of food. Everything we tried was absolutely delicious! The owners are fantastic people. I would highly recommend if you are in the mood for seafood. My favorite was the Oyster Rockefellers!

5 /5 Vanessa: This was a staple, go to restaurant. Then I got distracted…. But we went back, but again the allusive crudo was not available and we were told it’s a weekend item. Nonetheless, the scallop ceviche was incredible. Focaccia bread and olive oil was decent. Lobster pot pie was really good. Stay tuned for more…

1 /5 Austin GROSS: I am a born and bread Marylander and when I stumbled upon the Brine for take out I noticed “Maryland” style crab cakes and then found out the owner was from Townsend so being from Maryland and living in Sarasota now for four-months, I was excited to feel a little taste from home. I ordered the 1-crab cake entree with chard broccolini and garlic mashed potatoes. I also asked if I could order a sweet tea while I waited and the server obliged. I waited quite a while and I went up to ask for my tea and the server said we don’t have sweet tea but we have simple syrup and I agreed and asked to put a lot of the syrup in the tea so he came back with my tea and said he could put in only what the bartender allowed him too because the simple syrup was made in house well it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know anyone can make it with sugar and water. Then he handed me my meal and he brought me a sandwich with chips and I explained that wasn’t my order so the owner Mike took it back to make it right so I had to wait longer for my meal. When I got home and took the cover off my meal, I was totally shocked on just how small the crab cake was when you put it on a roll. Then became more frustrating that this meal cost me $34 for what really was appetizer size flavorless crab cakes. I didn’t taste any Old Bay but what I did taste was some other spice that made the crab cake very spicy and difficult to eat. The same spice was also in the paste like mash potatoes. The potatoes had the look of potatoes that had set in water way too long and they were like eating paste. This was my first and last time frequenting this establishment. Maryland would be so disappointed for having its name on such an item..