There was a time when the only fine dining in Sarasota came out of the kitchen at 431 St. Armands Circle. In many ways, the decades-long heyday of Café L’Europe typified the upscale, European promise of St. Armands Circle as envisioned by John and Mable Ringling. But the natural tides of the region’s development have seen St. Armands Circle’s commerce become increasingly less defined by luxury and a little more focused on casual. It’s in this newer iteration of the district where Café on St. Armands, newly dressed in a modern bohemian-inflected interior, hopes to find its place. Housed in the old Café L’Europe space, the new concept focuses on affordable Mediterranean tapas inspired by the cuisines of Greece, Italy, Spain, France, North Africa and the Middle East. Complementing the shift in cuisine and price point are a coffee bar—Soleil, which opens at 8am—and a breakfast menu—which starts at 10am—that both hope to satisfy the bustling all-day foot traffic of snowbirds, vacationers and, yes, locals.
MEANWHILE, THE RIVIERA CHICKEN PASTA HITS A LIGHTER, MORE COMPLEX NOTE THAN THE AVERAGE CREAMY PASTA DISH.
Soleil serves up specialty coffee drinks, housemade pastries and a few morning cocktails with an emphasis on grab-and-go. The hiss and steam of the espresso machine take the stage where the old Café L’Europe’s bar used to make a different kind of merry. That the Circle’s lone chain coffee house may never reopen in the wake of last summer’s three hurricanes bodes well for this new coffee concept, whose coffee and pastries are decidedly more inspired and local-centric. The lemon-blueberry goat cheese muffin is rich and creamy with a nice, crumbly bite. A blood orange olive oil cake is citrusy and eats almost as easily as a pudding, though it’s dense enough that it could be split with a lucky sidekick.
From the breakfast menu, the Apollo pita puts a twist on the more well-known breakfast burrito. Scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, bacon jam and pickled red onions get a light drizzle of hot honey before feeling the warm embrace of a toasted pita. It makes for quite a hearty breakfast, all the more thanks to the side of thick cut and perfectly browned patatas bravas. A three-piece eggs benedict flight, also from the breakfast menu, gets a dash of the upscale with its lobster version, while the mushroom and traditional round out a rich tableau best enjoyed by a small group. From the all-day tapas menu, the roasted winter vegetables are as filling and savory as a meat entree despite being a fully vegetarian dish. Diced sweet potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts do much of the heavy lifting, while the goat cheese and pomegranate honey glaze form a nice duo that adds a bit of tang and sweetness. While the dirty martini salad won’t give you a buzz, its green olives and “dirty” Caesar dressing will certainly evoke the preferred beverage of James Bond. The salad’s most remarkable feature, however, is the kale, which has had the bitterness and bite squeezed out of it by hand.
A riviera chicken pasta is comfort in a bowl. It checks all the boxes of a good pasta—filling, savory, accessible. The chicken is perfectly pan-seared with a bit of a crispy bite that gives way to a tender center. Oven-dried tomatoes, capers, basil and white wine cream sauce all evoke the European coastline of the Mediterranean, bolstered further by the perfectly al dente campanelle pasta. It’s a good, trustworthy meal, the kind you get when you’re not sure what else to get.
Though perhaps the same can be said of the kefta feature, at least for diners who don’t mind a bit of lamb. Each meatball is a blend of beef and lamb, wonderfully spiced and exceedingly juicy throughout. They come served atop a delicious saffron rice and garnished with pickled red onion, microgreens and a tzatziki drizzle. In the center of the plate, beneath the pickled onion, is a spicy feta that brings a bit of kick. If any sides of patatas bravas have made their way to the table, save some spicy feta for dipping. Better yet, order a side of spicy feta and pita bread to help absorb some of the lasting effects of the new cocktail menu. The cucumber smash is bright, while the espresso martini will brighten. Like the cucumber smash, a lemon lavender tequila spritz would do well as a daytime cocktail after a stroll on Lido Beach. The latter, it should be said, is Instagram-worthy.
As St. Armands Circle continues to pull itself out of the shock and awe of last year’s uncharacteristically busy hurricane season, the reimagining of the historic space at 431 signals renewal—emphasis on new. And while there’s undoubtedly respect for the Circle’s history, for the legacy of Café L’Europe and the Circle’s evocation of the good life, there’s an even deeper respect for the moment.
