Handmade mozzarella, sandwiches & Italian comfort food prepared at this cozy deli. Based on 636 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.7 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Curbside pickup ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
1668 Main St, Sarasota, FL 34236
Phone: (941) 366-7600
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Saturday | 4:30–10 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
4:30–9 PM
Hours might differ
|
| Tuesday | 4:30–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 4:30–9 PM |
| Thursday | 4:30–9 PM |
| Friday | 4:30–10 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
Photo Gallery
Order and Reservations
Reservations: lamuccaballerina.comopentable.com
Reviews
Matt Duvall
This is a hidden a gem east main street. The owner has two restaurants Sarasota and Rome! Everything is made in house sourced from local farms. Our favorite appetizer is the pan fried pizza with prosciutto, amazing !
Mary Heaton
I have mixed emotions on this place. First time we ate here was on March 17th. It was a table of 3 and it was one of the best Italian meals I’ve had in this country. My husband had the Bolognese, my friend Lasagna and I had a chicken dish. Service was charmingly slow but worth the wait. Owner Mario came out and introduced himself and we had a great chat with him. I went as far as referring several friends to this place. I went back on March 29th with my daughter and son in law. We had a reservation for a table of 5 at 4.45pm. When we arrived the restaurant was empty. It was a cold evening and we asked to be seated inside the response was that we would have to be out in 30 minutes due to their other reservations. I understand and had no issues eating outside till we realized that when we left at 6.45 there were still 3 available tables inside that had not been seated. I ordered the special with short ribs it was okay, my husband ordered the same Bolognese sauce it was great my daughter had Carbonara and it was really over salted and below par we were unable to eat it. My son in law who builds restaurant for a major Italian restaurant group in the Chicago area had pizza that was okay. Overall the service was slow non attentive and really list its charm. I apologized to my guests several times for the food and service it was disappointing at best. Personally I will not be returning. I feel they have a good clientele that specialized attention this is not transferred to all clients.
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Randy Privette
Service was so bad and so crazy slow. Better have some time on your hands and bring a bag of chips with you. Over an hour and she forgot our appetizer. Service was soooo bad. Drinks ran dry and no one seemed to care. She forgot our appetizer. Food was good once we got it. Don’t have time to come back. Owner was walking around chatting people up while our glasses were empty and stomachs were growling. Overall experience was bad for me. Drinks were empty for 30 minutes. And then to top it off – we waited even longer for our check to come. I love local places but this joint is a no go for me. ☹️☹️ I posted empty plates and drinks.
釣りがお仕事。
Best Italian restaurant ever.
Maddie Miller
Amazing experience!! Felt like I was back in Italy. Super authentic, homemade bread, and lovely ambiance. My go to spot every time in Sarasota.
Pete Couture
If you didn’t remember where you walked in from, you’d swear you were transported to Rome. I found the food, service and family owned atmosphere to be exactly what I missed here in the states.
Paula A. Rincón Mavares
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.
Sarah Ashley
So delish
Tom Smith
Sara, owners daughter, was friendly and helpful. Food tasted good. Tall older blonde server was EXTREMELY rude when asked about the status of our calamari order. It had been over 20 minutes for an appetizer order and she became confrontational on why I would ask about the order status. Another table received their entree order in this time and were seated after us. She was totally out of line and confrontational and put a damper on the entire evening. All she needed to say was apologize and let me check on your order. We will not be back for this very reason.
Brett James
We had tickets for an 8:00 movie so we needed a casual restaurant for an early pre show dinner. Our decision, La Mucca Ballerina. For simply made Italian food, it’s hard to beat this place. We started with the Antipasto all’Italiana, which after polishing off I could have been happy just stopping there. For entrees, I ordered the Cacio e Pepe and my wife, the pasta alla vongole. A few weeks back I read a fairly negative review from some guy complaining that he too had pasta vongole at La Mucca Ballerina, but that they used red instead of white wine in the sauce and he just didn’t appreciate that. Well, they do use red wine in the sauce and I have to say that it was the best pasta vongole I’ve ever had. The trick I think to any good seafood pasta is that you have to build a seafood stock and incorporate that into the pasta sauce. Without it, you just get some seafood mixed with the sauce but the sauce doesn’t obtain that taste of the sea which is critical to a good seafood pasta.
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