Best Bars

Your guide to the 31 best bars in Sarasota/Manatee. From tropical tiki huts to chic cocktail lounges, 31 great spots for your best night out. Plus: the bitter battle over Big Pass, best summer shows, new shopping finds and more.

In this issue:

Arts & Entertainment

Unscripted Fun

Florida Studio Theatre Gears up for Sarasota Improv Festival

The three-day festival runs July 14-16 and will feature 18 improv groups.

06/22/2016 By Kay Kipling

Rapper's Delight

Venice Musician Dick Hyman Has Serious Hip Hop Cred

Hyman's work has been sampled in songs by Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul and Kanye West, among others.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Best of Sarasota

Best Bars

The Best Bars in Sarasota/Manatee

Life gets brighter, easier and a lot more fun in a great bar. Life gets brighter, easier and a lot more fun in a great bar. Here’s your guide to the region’s 31 best.

06/22/2016 By Hannah Wallace, Susan Burns, Tim Dorsey, and Margo Rometo

Eat & Drink

Rolls That Rule

Six Great Local Lobster Rolls

Here are the town’s top lobster rolls.

07/02/2018 By Marsha Fottler

Best Bars

Cocktails at The Colony

Remembering a long-ago summer behind the late, great resort’s bar.

07/08/2016 By Susan Burns

Best Bars

The Best Bars in Sarasota and Manatee

Here are the toasts of our town.

06/22/2016 By Hannah Wallace

Best Bars

What's Your Drinking Personality?

Four great bars to hit depending on your, ahem, spirit animal.

06/22/2016 By Hannah Wallace Illustrations by Emma Gerig

Take the Cake

How a Dispute at a Gulf Gate Bakery Ended Up on National TV

James Plocharsky, owner of Jim's Small Batch Bakery, filed a small claims complaint and ended up on The People's Court.

06/22/2016 By Cooper Levey-Baker

French Impressions

Restaurant Review: '62 Bistrot

If you want authentic French comfort food and like the cozy atmosphere of a Parisian bistro, '62 Bistrot will delight.

06/22/2016 By Marsha Fottler

Best Bars

Crime Novelist Tim Dorsey on His Fictional Hero’s Favorite Florida Bars

We asked best-selling crime novelist Tim Dorsey where his hero, Serge A. Storms, would drink.

06/22/2016 By Tim Dorsey

Best Bars

6 Great Local Tiki Bars

For instant attitude adjustment, head to one of these iconic tropical hotspots.

06/22/2016 By Hannah Wallace

Best Bars

Our Favorite Local Bar Bites

Mini-masterpieces from some restaurant bars.

06/22/2016 By Hannah Wallace

Fashion & Shopping

Buys of Summer

8 Must-Buy Summer Essentials

Whether you enjoy relaxing traditions like sandcastles and barbecues or plan to plunge into splashy water adventures, here’s your go-to list of seasonal essentials.

06/22/2016 By Heather Dunhill

Home & Real Estate

Mod Squad

The Butterfield House Joins 3 Iconic Modernist Homes on North Siesta Key

Sarasota School of Architecture enthusiasts have one more reason to look to north Siesta Key’s Bayou Louise neigh-borhood as a hotbed of modern architecture.

09/24/2020 By Ilene Denton

News & City Life

The Sound and the Fury

Sand Storm

Should the Army Corps take sand from Big Pass to replenish shrinking Lido Key? Environmental reporter Tom Bayles wades into the sound and fury.

06/22/2016 By Tom Bayles

Only in Sarasota

Only in Sarasota: Bird Key Park

John Pirman illustrates Bird Key Park.

06/22/2016 Illustrations by John Pirman

Mr. Chatterbox

Finding the Fountain of Youth at Warm Mineral Springs

Legend says North Port's Warm Mineral Springs was the Fountain of Youth that Ponce de Leon was searching for.

06/22/2016 By Bob Plunket

Civil Discourse

Searching for Common Ground on Gun Laws

We asked State Rep. Greg Steube and Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight to sit down with editor Pam Daniel to discuss two proposed gun bills that failed during the recent legislative session but are expected to be filed again next year.

06/22/2016 By Pam Daniel