This was our first experience at Amore and we truly enjoyed our evening--the food, the service, the atmosphere and the music by pianist Eddie Tobin. My husband and I shared and enjoyed our first Portuguese specialty (Cataplana Alantejana) which consisted of marinated pork tenderloin with clams, potato and red pepper broth. We also enjoyed a delicious dessert, a cake with lemoncello, and a bottle of Albarino wine. But though the restaurant was full and there was music, it was not noisy like so many restaurants and there was a charm that only happens in a family owned and operated restaurant. Kudos to the owners and staff who meet every request with a smile.Parking: It's a shopping center and at night there is plenty of parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cataplana Alantejana
Albert Biglan
Liana and Tito Vittorino run a very good Portuguese restaurant with an Italian menu available. We ate there last night. We had fresh little clams In their shells as an appetizer and shared them. My Sister had Seafood paella, which was outstanding. Could not finish the fresh seafood, scallops, shrimp, and lobster.I enjoyed a pork dish, mixed with fresh clams. The presentation was in a copper pot, served piping hot over a cork trivet. We had a great Montepuccino, red wine, and a homemade Portuguese custard dessert With a decaf espresso.Liana came to our table several times. I complimented her on a well run Restaurant. We sat a table, overseeing the cooking of our meals.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hoopspoint
Great little piano bar, wonderful attention on the table...Service great... Portuguese mussel appetizer was truly excellent, and Pork and clam main course is a brilliant broth!!! pasta dishes were excellent!!!
simmo6464
Excellent food and service. Gem of a restaurant. We will be going back soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mario Almeida
Great Food!! I nice atmosphere.
Teresa Rosicki Pamatat
Great authentic food, great vibe, great owners, and great music. So glad I found this hidden gem off the beaten path. Can't wait to return. :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ruth I Benoit
As always, great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
lissanne49
We had heard good things about Amore and we were pleased with our choice. Both menus offered delicious entrees and the available wines were tasty on the palate. Vincent, our server, allowed us plenty of time to chat and chew.
kims
Food was so-so for price. Service below par. Lobster a bit rubbery. Pork dish excessively oily. We were rushed at end. Even though hostess/waitress said we had 2 hours from time we sat down, she commented that she needed the table after 1 hour 15 minutes just after my companion told her about the lobster- he had complimented the sauce though. I thought her behavior was discourteous.
Brock
It was my first visit to Amore. It was Valentine's Day and I picked the restaurant due to the interesting menu of Italian and Portuguese, along with the name which I felt was apropos given the holiday. The restaurant is a little bit in a sketchy neighborhood and in a plaza. However, it was decorated very nicely inside with a glass view into the kitchen and with live music on this occasion. The music was nice even if the singer was not Carnegie Hall level. We ordered our food and watched the chefs in the kitchen do their thing. Our appetizer calamari came out promptly and were very tasty. The uniformity of the size of the rings, tells me that it was likely purchased that way and cooked rather than the squid being prepared in house. There was also not enough marinara supplied for the number of rings. It was a generous portion of calamari. The salad that was on the plate I would say was more garnish than salad. Our sangria was tasty but without fruit in it. The rim was garnished with an orange slice. Our server was extremely slow and distracted. We had to remind him about the bread, but it was swerved warm and was delicious. It was an extremely long, slow period before our entrees arrived. The kitchen did not appear too backed up. The restaurant was pretty full, but only about a dozen tickets behind the line. 4 chefs. Our paella like dishes were hot and delicious and brimming with seafood. The prices, while not cheap, at least provided a healthy portion of seafood. I had the Arroz de Mariscos and my date had the Cataplana de Marisco. They were both amazing and delicious! Really mouth-watering. We were fairly full at this point after finishing entrees, but would have at least considered dessert, but our absentee waiter was missing long enough, that I did not want to spend another hour waiting for him to go through the process. My only complaint was the slow service. I would go back again, but try a different waiter next time.
Without hesitation, this is the best Italian restaurant in Sarasota. Live music and a great atmosphere paired with some of the best pastas I've had in this region. Amore offers a much broader menu of Portuguese and Italian dishes. Absolutely my favorite.
PeggyO
Absolutely one of my favorite evenings this season. Food outstanding. Entertainment 5 ⭐️. Easy to talk with my out of town company when they were not engrossed in Eddie Tobin on piano!
Wonderful restaurant. Our second time there. We had the Italian food this time. Every we are was delicious. Service was excellent and they had a singer playing the keyboards. Was a great evening. Will be back again
Jill
Four of us felt like the forgotten table. We arrived at 6:30 and did not leave until after 9. We ordered drinks and then salads and dinner shortly after we arrived. The salads arrived around 20 minutes later. Dinner did not arrive until after 8 pm. Three of us ordered the veal Marsala which was tough even though it was apparent that an attempt had been made to tenderize it. We did not have desert. In the meantime, we noticed that two tables near us had turned twice. Not sure if the problem was in the front of the house or the kitchen. My friends stated that they would not go back.
TomA
Great food and wonderful attentive service. We shared their large seafood dish and it was both tasty and generous in terms of quantity. We plan to go back, as this was our first visit. Many items on their menu we still wish to try.
This was our first experience at Amore and we truly enjoyed our evening--the food, the service, the atmosphere and the music by pianist Eddie Tobin. My husband and I shared and enjoyed our first Portuguese specialty (Cataplana Alantejana) which consisted of marinated pork tenderloin with clams, potato and red pepper broth. We also enjoyed a delicious dessert, a cake with lemoncello, and a bottle of Albarino wine. But though the restaurant was full and there was music, it was not noisy like so many restaurants and there was a charm that only happens in a family owned and operated restaurant. Kudos to the owners and staff who meet every request with a smile.Parking: It's a shopping center and at night there is plenty of parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Cataplana Alantejana
Liana and Tito Vittorino run a very good Portuguese restaurant with an Italian menu available. We ate there last night. We had fresh little clams In their shells as an appetizer and shared them. My Sister had Seafood paella, which was outstanding. Could not finish the fresh seafood, scallops, shrimp, and lobster.I enjoyed a pork dish, mixed with fresh clams. The presentation was in a copper pot, served piping hot over a cork trivet. We had a great Montepuccino, red wine, and a homemade Portuguese custard dessert With a decaf espresso.Liana came to our table several times. I complimented her on a well run Restaurant. We sat a table, overseeing the cooking of our meals.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great little piano bar, wonderful attention on the table...Service great... Portuguese mussel appetizer was truly excellent, and Pork and clam main course is a brilliant broth!!! pasta dishes were excellent!!!
Excellent food and service. Gem of a restaurant. We will be going back soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great Food!! I nice atmosphere.
Great authentic food, great vibe, great owners, and great music. So glad I found this hidden gem off the beaten path. Can't wait to return. :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
As always, great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had heard good things about Amore and we were pleased with our choice. Both menus offered delicious entrees and the available wines were tasty on the palate. Vincent, our server, allowed us plenty of time to chat and chew.
Food was so-so for price. Service below par. Lobster a bit rubbery. Pork dish excessively oily. We were rushed at end. Even though hostess/waitress said we had 2 hours from time we sat down, she commented that she needed the table after 1 hour 15 minutes just after my companion told her about the lobster- he had complimented the sauce though. I thought her behavior was discourteous.
It was my first visit to Amore. It was Valentine's Day and I picked the restaurant due to the interesting menu of Italian and Portuguese, along with the name which I felt was apropos given the holiday. The restaurant is a little bit in a sketchy neighborhood and in a plaza. However, it was decorated very nicely inside with a glass view into the kitchen and with live music on this occasion. The music was nice even if the singer was not Carnegie Hall level. We ordered our food and watched the chefs in the kitchen do their thing. Our appetizer calamari came out promptly and were very tasty. The uniformity of the size of the rings, tells me that it was likely purchased that way and cooked rather than the squid being prepared in house. There was also not enough marinara supplied for the number of rings. It was a generous portion of calamari. The salad that was on the plate I would say was more garnish than salad. Our sangria was tasty but without fruit in it. The rim was garnished with an orange slice. Our server was extremely slow and distracted. We had to remind him about the bread, but it was swerved warm and was delicious. It was an extremely long, slow period before our entrees arrived. The kitchen did not appear too backed up. The restaurant was pretty full, but only about a dozen tickets behind the line. 4 chefs. Our paella like dishes were hot and delicious and brimming with seafood. The prices, while not cheap, at least provided a healthy portion of seafood. I had the Arroz de Mariscos and my date had the Cataplana de Marisco. They were both amazing and delicious! Really mouth-watering. We were fairly full at this point after finishing entrees, but would have at least considered dessert, but our absentee waiter was missing long enough, that I did not want to spend another hour waiting for him to go through the process. My only complaint was the slow service. I would go back again, but try a different waiter next time.
Restaurantji Recommends
Without hesitation, this is the best Italian restaurant in Sarasota. Live music and a great atmosphere paired with some of the best pastas I've had in this region. Amore offers a much broader menu of Portuguese and Italian dishes. Absolutely my favorite.
Absolutely one of my favorite evenings this season. Food outstanding. Entertainment 5 ⭐️. Easy to talk with my out of town company when they were not engrossed in Eddie Tobin on piano!
Wonderful restaurant. Our second time there. We had the Italian food this time. Every we are was delicious. Service was excellent and they had a singer playing the keyboards. Was a great evening. Will be back again
Four of us felt like the forgotten table. We arrived at 6:30 and did not leave until after 9. We ordered drinks and then salads and dinner shortly after we arrived. The salads arrived around 20 minutes later. Dinner did not arrive until after 8 pm. Three of us ordered the veal Marsala which was tough even though it was apparent that an attempt had been made to tenderize it. We did not have desert. In the meantime, we noticed that two tables near us had turned twice. Not sure if the problem was in the front of the house or the kitchen. My friends stated that they would not go back.
Great food and wonderful attentive service. We shared their large seafood dish and it was both tasty and generous in terms of quantity. We plan to go back, as this was our first visit. Many items on their menu we still wish to try.