Reef Cakes

Just over a year ago Mike Martin was a traveling salesman with a taste for fresh fish from Walt’s Fish Market and a wife with a request: “If you’re going to bring home fish every night, can we have some fun with it?” Mike and his wife, Phoebe, talked about how to prepare the fish other than their go-to moves of pan searing or baking and they came up with the idea of making fish cakes. While they were having fun making different cakes and testing side dishes and sauces in various styles and combinations, the concept struck Mike as a great idea for a restaurant.

Mike had been toying with the idea of opening his own restaurant and he noticed that people really resonated with the idea of personalizing their dining experience. These days, more and more restaurants are catering to dietary restrictions, but the only truly customizable options seemed to be limited to fast-casual concepts and there certainly isn’t fresh, high-quality seafood to be had in those places. Mike wanted a casual atmosphere for his restaurant, but he also wanted superior ingredients, a scratch kitchen, and excellent service.

Thanks to Mike’s vision, Reef Cakes has quickly carved a niche in an area that is fast becoming one of Sarasota’s premier epicurean destinations: the neighborhood of Southside Village. Reef Cakes offers dishes that are fully customizable, made to order, and above all else, fresh. Mike orders produce and fish every day. “We order fresh, and we order small amounts. It’s like a BBQ joint—when we run out, we run out.” Reef Cakes also has its own hot sauce, which is bottled on site, together with plenty of fun rotating merch like T-shirts, floating keychains, koozies, and hand sanitizers.

Mike’s current favorite dish is also my favorite dish, and it happens to be the first dish that he and Phoebe came up with in their home test kitchen. The “Jam ‘n Salmon” combo consists of salmon cakes, Asian red cabbage slaw and arugula, grilled pineapple, sesame noodles, and an orange ginger dipping sauce.

Mike and his head chef, Donnivin Barillas, are rolling out a new menu based on their own observations from their first year and on feedback from their many regulars. “People want more recommendations, and they want more suggested pairings from the chef.” Mike is grateful to his repeat guests. He tells me that he’s recognizing guests from last season who are coming back a year later. One couple flew in from Chicago, dropped their bags at home, and headed straight to Reef Cakes. With unique dishes like the Island Charcuterie Board, the Spicy Grouper Queso Dip, and the Reef Cakes Slider Quatro, you’re bound to find your own reason to repeatedly return to Reef Cakes.

> Reef Cakes: 1812 S Osprey Ave, Sarasota; 941-444-7968; reefcakes.com