Chianti Ristorante Italiano

Chianti’s Ristorante Italiano offers a full bar and wine bar and a happy hour menu from 4-6 daily. Prepare to be impressed by our outstanding wine list and mouthwatering menu in a relaxed and warm ambiance. We love to entertain and host several special events throughout the year. From dinner and a show with Frank Sinatra singer, Rob Davies to wine dinners and live musicians, there’s always something going on at Chianti’s.

Our History...

Chianti’s is owned and operated by Eduardo Pizzuti. Eduardo emigrated to Buffalo, NY from Italy with his family as a young boy. Being from an Italian family, he grew up watching his mother make homemade pastas, delicious sauces and delectable meats. You could say his first love was Italian food. In 1967 he married his second love, Josie and soon after started a family. Eduardo earned a business degree from Briant and Stratton school of business and served his new country, in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war. After the war, he moved his family to San Francisco where he opened Vikings Giant Submarine, one of the first sub shops in northern California. The sub shop was a hit and he soon opened 8 more stores throughout California. In 1979 the desire to open an Authentic Italian restaurant led to the sale of the sub shops and the opening of “La Trattoria Pasta House” one of the first true pasta restaurants in California, making homemade pasta with the help of mamma Annita Pizzuti in the exhibition pasta room near the restaurant's front window. Throughout the years, Ed and Josie opened several successful Italian restaurants in California, including “Baci Caffe” in Mill Valley, which received numerous awards and rave reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal.

Fast forward to 2012, Ed & Josie decided to retire and move to Sarasota but soon discovered that retirement was not for them. After spending the summer of 2012 in their new home and visiting local restaurants, they saw a demand for their type of Italian cuisine and felt an obligation to provide it. They found the perfect location at 3900 Clark Road and got to work on renovating the facility and hiring local executive chef Al Massa who previously worked as executive chef of Michael’s on East and spent 10 years with Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans. Eduardo, Josie and Al combined their expertise and created a menu of delicious authentic Italian cuisine that has been the talk of the town ever since.