Father's Day and aren't we smart?! We celebrated the day before and avoided crowds and long wait times and took this opportunity to try out a restaurant we'd been reading good things about - Speaks Clam Bar.
Hubby just loves raw clams on the half shell, a throw back to his NYC upbringing and fond memories of his mom taking him to Louie's Clam Bar where they'd share about 3 dozen while talking about life. It doesn't get any better.
Speaks is located in Lakewood Ranch and I'm happy to report they are opening a second Speaks in St. Armand's Circle sometime this summer. The restaurant was packed and if that's any indication all signs point to another successful location in Sarasota. I very much liked the whole vibe of Speaks. It was decorated with original graffiti art, tin ceilings reminiscent of NYC, and the service was very good - many thanks to our wonderful waitress Courtney. The owner came by as well to introduce himself and he and my husband shared their Italian heritage and some recipe stories.
Hubby started with two dozen raw clams and I restrained myself and had only four so that he could indulge to his heart's content. He was quite satisfied. Then came a salad and for his main course he and my cousin chose Linguini Vongole (Fresh whole clams served over linguini and clam sauce). My cousin had Shrimp Scampi Linguine and declared it fabulous. And I had the Lobster Shrimp Lasagna which was deliciously stuffed with lobster and so filling I couldn't finish it.
We were gifted some sweets by the owner to have with our espressos and it was a perfect bite on which to end the evening. And yes, we will be back soon and often as I want to try some of the other dishes like the Maine Lobster Roll. Since they're so busy a reservation is recommended.
8764 E State Rd 70
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
http://speaksclambar.com/
941-232-7646
