La Mucca Ballerina - Sarasota

Unbelievable night in La Mucca Ballerina Downtown SRQ opposite the old white church. Fried pizza, mussels and pasta, chicken marsala, fresh spaghetti marinera and alfogato (sp? Wonderful family owned. Sisters were super friendly and it felt very authentic!!! Live music also a great note. RECOMMENDATIONS!

Wow! Best pasta i have ever eaten at a restaurant! We try to dine at a local Italian restaurant every trip we take. So this was probably our 50th Italian restaurant and this was the best of all 50! Thanks for the service and best carbonara and chicken marsala!

My wife and I are in the Bradenton/Sarasota area for a few weeks during this visit. We hosted two sisters and a brother in law, and decided to take them to La Mucca. This was our fourth visit, and we have yet to be disappointed. PLEASE prepare yourself for an Italian/Rome like experience very well paced (not hurried evening. It is as much an event as it is a dinner/experience. The family is exceptionally friendly and welcoming, we feel as if we have known them for years. Our server (Julia, the oldest sibling was very attentive to our requests and engaged easily with us during conversation. Note, she and my oldest sister were teaming up on me (the youngest : . No drinks ordered this night, so on to the food. The bread is wonderful; though I have never met bread I did not like. The rosemary focaccia is also tasty. We ordered calamari (lightly fried and the jalapenos/hot peppers mixed in gave most bites a nice touch of heat. Our other appetizer is our favorite appetizer the pizza burratina. The burrata cheese is so creamy, placed with the arugula and the balsamic glaze sets off the flavors. The chicken Parm my wife and I ordered was excellent, the sauce not too salty and the rigatoni side was al dente and perfect. The portion size was enough to take some home for lunch the next day. My brother in law loved his Bolognese, and the cacio e pepe ordered and shared by my two sisters was enjoyed thoroughly. Finally, the desserts of organic pumpkin pie and Tiramisu showed us we really did have room for some more food. I LOVE pumpkin pie, but in this case, I think it was a tie as to the best dessert. The conversation after dinner with Julia, and her father stopping over to see how the evening was going, only added to the family feel we sensed all night.

Always out must visit when we go to Sarasota. In unassuming storefront on Main St but amazing authentic food. Never been disappointed. Shared several dishes tonight. Veal, Caico e pepe and lasagna which is something I can never not get. It is so good Don?t miss it!

I?m from Venezuela and I grew up surrounded with Italian food, to the point I could wake up at 2 AM and go cook some pasta with it?s sauce from scratch. Since I moved to this country I?ve been struggling to find good Italian spots where I can go sit down and feel like home. Mucca Ballerina has been the most amazing recommendation my friends could?ve given me so far. Pasta is home made, breads are fresh. They do their oils with pesto, which makes it perfect for the quality of the bread. I tried the lasagna from my friend and I tasted the pasta?s flavor, the sauce, the meat and the spices. Everything had their own delicious taste and it was just wonderful. Pizza sizes are perfect. My carbonara wasn?t what I was expecting, since in my country we do the white sauce instead of the eggnog sauce, and we also use a different pasta, but to be something authentic from the Roman chef I simply loved it. I?ll love to try it again with a different pasta and extra ingredients. Vegetables. Drinks. Their water it?s good, even though I don?t like that type of water too much. I loved the way they serve Coca-Cola. And I?m definitely trying the wine next time. About customer service: they were very busy at the time we got there. We got a perfect seat. But food, drinks and check were a little delayed. This wasn?t happening to just us. They only had 2 servers and almost every table was full. What I loved about this fact, and the reason why I couldn?t even be upset about it, is because the chef and owner came out to help his boys. He talked to every table asking how they were feeling and how everything was. Maybe what could be better? I?m not sure. He seems like a very good man, and it made all of us feel like this place is more than just a restaurant. Going back next day off. Next time there will be wine and I hope to meet the owner too so I can congratulate him.