Element Modern Steakhouse

The Main Street Steakhouse

Element opened at 1413 Main Street as a locally owned steakhouse with a wider remit than the name suggested — steak, yes, but Gulf-fresh seafood and house-made pasta in equal measure. Chef Scott Morlock ran the kitchen for owner Michelle Schlingmann, and the working principle was that almost everything came together in-house: hand-cut steaks, sauces, and desserts all made on the premises rather than bought in. In a downtown stretch heavy with national steakhouse chains, that independence was the point of difference.

The room split the difference between power dining and genuine pleasure. Hand-cut steaks anchored the menu, but the kitchen sourced local produce and Gulf seafood with the same seriousness, and the pasta program gave the place a range that a straight steakhouse never has. The pricing — roughly $55 to $95 per person — landed below the Capital Grille and Hyde Park rooms a few blocks away, which is why Element built a reputation as Sarasota’s best-value serious dinner.

Best For Team Dinners

Element was a natural team-dinner room: a menu broad enough to satisfy a steak orderer, a pasta orderer and a fish orderer at the same table, a Main Street address easy to reach, and a price point that kept a group dinner reasonable. The independence showed in the service, which ran warmer and less scripted than the chains nearby.