The best thing about Tampa is its fresh seafood and authentic Cuban cuisine. There has recently been a surge of innovative and exciting eateries in Tampa’s food scene. As a result of Tampa’s abundance of fresh ingredients, these new restaurants are pushing the culinary envelope in creating dishes infused with a fresh Florida flavor. We’ve compiled a list of the best Tampa offers, highlighting new and established restaurants.
Visitors can’t miss a traditional Tampa experience.
1. Café Gala
Cafe Gala is located inside the Salvador Dali museum, an architectural wonder by Yann Weymouth of HOK. Tapas and small plates are specialties, along with salads, sandwiches, gazpacho, and Caldo Gallego soups. The Café or Avant Garden patio can be accessed without a museum ticket for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are three types of beverages available at the Cafe: coffee, Spanish beer, and Cava Rosado, which is the signature Spanish rosé champagne. Café Gala is named after Dal’s wife and muse.
2. Birch & Vine
This acclaimed restaurant is located inside The Birchwood Hotel. Chef Jason Cline at Birch & Vine uses local, organic ingredients to ensure that every meal is fresh and on-trend. Guests at Birch & Vine can enjoy an excellent meal while enjoying a beautiful sunset over Tampa Bay from indoor and outdoor seating. The Canopy rooftop bar offers unobstructed water views alongside light bites and drinks. Try the hydroponic butter lettuce stack, followed by a crispy pork belly.
3. Edison Food + Drink Lab
The Edison Food + Drink Lab is a popular concept created by Chef Jeannie Pierola, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist. This restaurant is unlike anything else in Tampa. From its dishes to its decor, a theme of industrial science dominates every aspect. There is a rotating menu of “engineered” food “experiments,” such as jalapeno Cracker Jacks, fried oysters, and bacon to-boys. You will be surprised by the combinations of flavors on this menu. As for the decor, the interior features polished concrete floors, and corrugated metal fencing disguises the entrance. On the tables, colorful, graphic word art breaks up the industrial look.
Edison is recommended for Best Restaurants because: It is owned by Jeannie Pierola, a well-known Tampa chef who creates inventive and delicious dishes.
4. Ulele
The Ulele restaurant is located on Tampa’s Riverwalk’s northern end. Fresh and local ingredients are combined in unique flavor combinations inspired by the indigenous people of Florida.
While the menu is changed seasonally, past examples include the following:
- A deconstructed seafood pot pie.
- Yellowfin Tuna crusted with pumpkin seeds.
- Alligator hush puppies.
Delicious dishes are complemented by a selection of hand-crafted signature cocktails and house-brewed beers. The dining area of this rustic, industrial-chic restaurant is open, airy, and housed in a renovated city waterworks building. Outside dining options include patios, beer gardens, and rooftop lounges.
Recommended for Best Restaurants because: In a beautifully restored historic building, Ulele offers diners a unique menu inspired by the indigenous peoples of Tampa.
5. Bern’s Steak House
Tampa’s Bern’s Steak House is a well-known restaurant. The family-owned steakhouse has been serving top-quality food and impeccable service since 1956. Charcoal-grilled, aged steaks are a favorite among guests, with weight and thickness ordered according to preference. Bring your appetite because each includes a salad, baked potato, onion soup, garlic toast, onion rings, and organic vegetables. Bern’s farm grows many of the restaurant’s vegetables. Vegetarian options are available, along with steak, chicken, and seafood. With more than 7000 vintages, the wine list is the world’s largest. Desserts, drinks, and dancing await you in the Harry Waugh room after dinner. Reservations and a jacket are required.
Recommended for Best Restaurants Because Known for its perfectly world-class wine list, aged steaks, and decadent desserts, Bern’s Steak House in Tampa’s SoHo neighborhood is legendary.
Bern’s restaurant and wine cellar welcome you. You can take a tour of the restaurant by asking your server.
6. Oak & Ola
TAMPA HEIGHTS
Oak and Ola is a stand-alone restaurant in the beautifully renovated, historic Armatureworks. The restaurant features the cuisine of James Beard Award-Winning Chef Anne Kearney. She has created a traditional and modern menu, evocative of a European bistro, with carefully curated seasonal dishes. Featuring a beautiful balance of flavors, each one is carefully prepared with attention to every detail. Aside from the impressive pedigree, the food here is delicious and accessible, from the perfectly salted Pommes Frites (french fries) to the moist and flaky Gulf fish topped with toasted almonds served with haricot verts. While complimenting the European-inspired cuisine, the decor also fits in with the historic building’s industrial, rustic vibe. The restaurant overlooks the Hillsborough River with a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that can be opened in good weather.
Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Anne Kearney, Oak & Ola’s award-winning chef, has catapulted the restaurant to the top of Tampa’s culinary scene.
Cocktails on the menu feature creative combinations and artful presentations, each named after a famous woman. Take a look at them all and see if you can identify them!
7. Mise En Place
HYDE PARK
There is an intimate, well-appointed restaurant across from the University of Tampa called Mise en Place. New American cuisine is a signature of this bistro, which pioneered the chef-driven restaurant model. Almost every dish on the menu is something you’ve never tried before, such as sous vide venison loin or mustard pecan-crusted rack of lamb. Chef Marty Blitz’s dishes reflect his love of food and the region. As well as cheese and charcuterie, Mise en Place offers a decadent dessert menu that includes creations such as molten chocolate beignets.
Recommended for Best Restaurants because Locals consider Mise en Place one of Tampa’s best restaurants for its consistently excellent and creative food.
This is the perfect and best spot for a romantic date due to the intimate ambiance.
8. On Swann
On Swann is a wildly popular restaurant in Tampa’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Chef Chris Ponte leads the restaurant’s contemporary American cuisine, incorporating locally sourced and grown ingredients. This farm emphasizes heirloom varieties, organic agriculture, and sustainable farming methods. There is an impressive and creative assortment of craft cocktails on the bar menu and a carefully curated wine and beer list. While the hard surfaces can be a bit noisy, the quirky combination of vintage and industrial decor creates a comfortable and casual atmosphere.
Recommended for Best Restaurants: The popular eatery On Swann delivers top-notch service and American cuisine in Tampa’s hip Hyde Park neighborhood.
Skye’s expert tip: Plan; this is a bustling restaurant that doesn’t take reservations for parties under 6.
9. Cena
In Tampa’s trendy Seminole Heights neighborhood, The Rooster & the Till has become one of the city’s most popular restaurants. This exclusive eatery offers farm-to-table fare, superior service, and smaller portions, showcasing the city’s chef-driven creativity. Multiple awards are being won for the beautifully plated, delicious, and innovative cuisine that is prepared using only fresh and local ingredients. Sit at the bar and watch the chefs create their masterpieces.
Recommended for Best Restaurants Because of Tampa’s Channelside district, Cena offers expertly prepared rustic Italian cuisine in a sleek, modern setting.
No one should leave here without trying their take on a classic tiramisu, which is anything but an afterthought.
10. Rooster & The Till
In Tampa’s trendy Seminole Heights neighborhood, The Rooster & the Till has become one of the city’s most popular restaurants. This exclusive eatery offers farm-to-table fare, superior service, and smaller portions, showcasing the city’s chef-driven creativity. Multiple awards are being won for the beautifully plated, delicious, and innovative cuisine that is prepared using only fresh and local ingredients. Sit at the bar and watch the chefs create their masterpieces.
Recommended for Best Restaurants: It has been named the best restaurant in Tampa Bay multiple times, Rooster & the Till, which is located in trendy Seminole Heights.
Dedicated foodies will enjoy the tasting menu with a roster of expanding palette dishes guaranteed to delight.
11. Columbia Restaurant
Columbia is more than just a restaurant. Tampa Bay’s most authentic Spanish/Cuban cuisine has been served here since 1905. Among the menu items are a variety of traditional beef, pork, and seafood dishes made the same way for generations. Ybor City is Tampa’s historic district, so the flagship restaurant is still in Ybor City. Featuring hand-painted tiles, ornate antique furniture, and rich fabrics, the building is a beautiful Spanish revival with Moorish influences. With the addition of 15 dining rooms over the years, the restaurant now seats over 1,700 patrons on one city block. Every evening except Sunday, the Columbia hosts flamenco shows. A night at the Columbia is never forgotten.
Recommended for Best Restaurants because Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City serves authentic Cuban and Spanish dishes and is Florida’s oldest restaurant.
If you’re visiting on Sundays, ask to be seated in the main dining room to enjoy their Flamenco show, which runs twice nightly, except for Mondays.
12. Oystercatchers
The first thing you gonna notice as you enter Oystercatchers is the fantastic view. Located at the edge of Tampa Bay, this seafood restaurant is surrounded by lush, tropical landscaping. The views and the expertly prepared food are enhanced by the bright, simple, modern decor. Among the menu’s highlights are locally sourced fish that is wood-grilled, blackened, or sautéed. The dishes are inventive and fresh and collected with conservation in mind. You will have to pay for the food and the view, but the experience cannot be beaten. Oystercatchers, part of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, has established itself as one of Tampa’s great restaurants.
Recommended for Best Restaurants Because: Tampa Bay is the backdrop for Oystercatchers’ stunning vistas and expertly prepared seafood.
Guests can enjoy a variety of freshly prepared dishes and beautiful views at Skye’s Sunday brunch. It is recommended that you make reservations.
FAQ – 12 Best Restaurants In Tampa
What are the most popular restaurants in Tampa?
Below are the top 5 restaurants in Tampa and the most popular restaurants in Tampa.
- Café Gala
- Birch & Vine
- Edison Food + Drink Lab
- Ulele
- Bern’s Steak House
What food is Tampa best known for?
But, perhaps most foundational is Tampa’s bread. Tampa Bay is home to La Segunda Bakery, the world’s largest producer of Cuban bread, with 18,000 loaves of crispy yet tender bread daily.
What is Tampa Bay famous food?
Cuban bread – But, perhaps most foundational is Tampa’s bread. Tampa Bay is home to La Segunda Bakery, the world’s largest producer of Cuban bread, with 18,000 loaves of crispy yet tender bread daily.
What is the most popular food in Tampa?
Below mentioned are the most popular food in Tampa
- Classic Cuban Sandwich.
- Southern-Style BBQ.
- Deviled Crab.
- Empanadas.
- Italian Dishes.
What seafood is Tampa known for?
Those who love seafood will appreciate Tampa’s prime location on the Gulf of Mexico and the abundance of seafood treasures available at local restaurants. Fresh and local fish specialties include grouper and mahi-mahi, among other varieties.
Does Tampa have a good food scene?
There’s much to love about Tampa Bay’s food scene. Its strong Latin American influence is rampant in its food, especially its Cuban heritage from when cigar manufacturer Vicente Martinez-Ybor paved the way for historic Ybor City in Tampa Bay to be the Cigar Capital of the World.
Restaurants in Tampa on the water
Below mentioned restaurants in Tampa on the water.
- Jackson’s Bistro Bar & Sushi
- Oystercatchers
- Ocean Prime – Tampa
Conclusion
In conclusion,the Tampa area has a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, so it’s no surprise that there are many great options when it comes to eating out. Some of the best places to eat in Tampa include the All-You-Can- Eat ribs at the All-you-Can- Eat BBQ Joint, the excellent and best restaurants with cool, delight and cozy ambience.
For more updates and information regarding any local and best restaurants in Tampa, please do visit our blog for all genuine info.
