New Bradenton bistro serves dinner with Italian, Mediterranean and French influences
Joe and Lianne Rimer recently opened Pesto Bistro and Wine Bar, a cozy gourmet restaurant with seating for 45 inside or outside under umbrellas.
Pesto opened Sept. 8 at 8799 Cortez Road W., which most recently was home to Alice’s Ristorante Italiano.
Joe Rimer grew up in West Bradenton and is a 1982 graduate of Bayshore High School. He was trained as a chef at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and has worked as a chef in Miami, St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands and Memphis, Tenn. He was also executive chef at The Meadows in Sarasota.
Lianne is a native of Pennsylvania and has a background in finance. The couple met in St. Thomas.
They also own Ice Pro in Parrish, which produces creative ice sculptures for special events, businesses, theme parks and more.
Although highly successful, Ice Pro felt the economic slow down caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading the Rimers to get back into the restaurant business.
“As bad as the pandemic has been for restaurants and bars, the industry that got hit hardest is special events,” he said.
The majority of the staff at Pesto Bistro transferred over from Ice Pro.
Pesto has a well rounded menu with Italian, Mediterranean and French influences.
Great service, and fresh quality ingredients are top of mind at Pesto, Joe said.
“All of our draft beers are from one local microbrewery,” he said.
Lianne adds: “Our main focus was to provide quality food at an affordable price in a comfortable atmosphere. So you can come in and relax and not feel like you have to get all dressed up. You can pop in anytime, although reservations are recommended.”
A sampling of entrees includes:
▪ Gulf Coast Adriatic, chef’s fresh catch grilled or sauteed with kalamata olives and sun-dried pesto. Catch is also available sauteed with lemon butter, capers and pinot grigio. The catch at Pesto is locally caught, purchased in Cortez and filleted on premises, $26.
▪ Chicken marsala, marinated chicken breast sauteed with wild mushrooms and marsala wine and finished with demi-glace, $21.
▪ Steak Florentina, center-cut rib eye marinated in olive oil with fresh rosemary and lemon, herb rubbed, and pan seared with chimichurri and wild mushrooms, $30.
▪ Veal Cutlet Scaloppini, sauteed with capers, hearts of palm, and pancetta in a lemon butter sauce, $22.
The menu also includes starters and salads. The pasta section starts at $17 for Sicilian Linguini, tossed with meatballs and artichoke hearts in a roasted garlic red sauce.
Pesto Bistro offers a bar, and a wine room. Once the threat of the pandemic ends, Pesto will be able to close the back portion of the building to host special dinners, wedding rehearsals, corporate events, family reunions and other larger gatherings.
Pesto is open for dinner 5-9 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday, and also offers take-out service. In the next few weeks, the restaurant will probably expand its operation to seven days a week.
For more information, visit https://pestoflorida.com/ or call 941-201-4167.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 2:12 PM.
