Sage Biscuit Café

It’s breakfast time, and good ol’ eggs and toast sound kind of blah. You want something a little different. So how about sage biscuits and sausage gravy, apple-cinnamon brioche French toast, or a veggie lover’s skillet?

If we’re making you hungry, then it’s time to head on over to Bradenton’s Sage Biscuit Café. Sage Biscuit, operated by Joe Mareta, Nicole Praessel, and Joe’s father, José Mareta, serve up breakfast and lunch at two locations—one in West Bradenton and the other in downtown Bradenton.

The idea behind Sage Biscuit started when Joe Mareta and Praessel were operating Iron Skillet, a restaurant that later closed. They got talking about the idea of Sage Biscuit, a name inspired by—you guessed it—biscuits with sage that never quite took off at their old restaurant. However, they knew the biscuits could become a hit. In late 2012, Sage Biscuit’s Bradenton location opened, followed by the downtown location in late 2016.

“We wanted a more contemporary idea on breakfast and lunch,” Mareta says. That means a menu full of options for vegetarians and vegans. The owners also pride themselves on tailoring dishes to those who are gluten-free or who have food allergies. “We can do anything with dietary restrictions so everyone can dine here,” he says.

Just about everything at Sage Biscuit is made in-house. By making most things in-house, they avoid the preservatives used in many other foods. The restaurant also sources locally for many items, including seafood from AP Bell in Cortez and produce sourced from local farms, as well local dairy and OJ. For items that aren’t sourced locally, Mareta and Praessel look for items that are higher-quality.

So what’s most popular on the menu at Sage Biscuit? “We ask ourselves that all the time,” says Mareta. Recently, customers are aiming for healthier meals, such as vegan bowls. However, corned beef hash, omelets, and Benedicts are always popular, especially with the weekend brunch crowd. Sandwiches are also a hit; some of the options at Sage Biscuit include a Portabella blue wrap (with Portabella mushrooms and Danish blue cheese), a fried green tomato BLT, and Chef Joe’s Killer Crab Cake.

“Sage Biscuit has a phenomenal breakfast,” says Judy Vobroucek of Bradenton, who raves about the restaurant’s hash browns. She recommends stopping in during the week if you can to avoid the weekend crowds.

You’ll also get a different experience if you visit the West Bradenton versus the downtown location, Mareta says. The West Bradenton Sage Biscuit sees more beach-goers and locals (it’s on Cortez Road, about 10 minutes from the beach), while the downtown location has more of a suit-and-tie crowd. On the weekends, both locales attract brunch lovers.

> Sage Biscuit Downtown: 1401 Manatee Ave W,
Bradenton, 941-405-4744
6656 Cortez Rd W, Bradenton, 941-792-3970