A Booming Downtown, Sure, But Check Out The Food Scene in Tampa, Florida

TAMPA – The growing downtown skyline is impressive. The growth of the Tampa food scene is what really grabbed my attention.

I recently enjoyed three full days in Tampa and sampled everything from Middle Eastern cuisine to Michelin-starred Italian, and from craft cocktails to maybe the best tuna poke nachos I’ve had outside Hawaii. And that was served up at a sports bar/brewhouse on Super Bowl Sunday, when you pretty much expect a diet of Budweiser and Buffalo chicken wings.

I also checked out a fine art museum, took a ride on an electric boat on a brilliant sunny day, and walked as much of the city’s fine Riverwalk as I could.

Here’s a look at some of the food and drink highlights, as well as other activities to check out in a city that’s quickly gaining a reputation as a hip Florida city.

Three Tampa restaurants were awarded Michelin stars in the company’s initial foray into Florida in 2022. Michelin also awarded bib gourmand awards to a number of Tampa dining spots, as well as many given “recommended” status.

 

WHERE TO EAT

ROCCA

This is a terrific, lively Italian spot just north of the Riverwalk that was awarded a Michelin star last year, It was started by a Tampa native who loved to cook for his friends, and was finally convinced to open his own restaurant. The star of the show is the mozzarella cart, where they take cheese curds and add 210-degree water, then let it steep for a minute before kneading and trimming it at the side of your table. It’s amazing, fluffy cheese that they serve with basil you can smell from 10 feet away, as well as olive oil, balsamic vinegar and heirloom tomatoes from nearby Plant City, Florida. The raviolini with veal was good, but the tagliolini ragu was outstanding and the agnolotti with salami and ricotta beyond amazing. We went with the flavorful, moist olive oil cake for dessert, but they’re known for their burnt cheesecake.

 

PREDALINA

This is a fairly new spot near Amalie Arena, with a spectacular and elegant white interior, great bar and lovely patio. We enjoyed a lovely hummus/appetizer platter, as well as a spicy chicken sandwich with Calabrian chiles stewed in honey. One of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve had anywhere.

“There was absolutely nothing around here a few years ago, but look at it now,” Executive Chef Billy Zeko told me at brunch. “Visitors come here, and they can see Tampa has serious wheels. You look around and you see license plates from New York, Chicago, California. We have people from educated markets coming here, and they know good food.”

It’s not clear what mark they’ll get, but Michelin has said Predalina will be mentioned in their Tampa guide for 2024.

EDISON: FOOD+DRINK LAB

This restaurant just west of downtown didn’t get a Michelin mention, but I thought it was the best place I ate during my visit. Certainly it was the most inventive menu. Chef Jeannie Pierola is a five-time James Beard semifinalist who changes the menu regularly. On the night we were there we enjoyed tremendous, potato-crusted oysters with pickle nectar and wonderful ribs with ginger and cashews, as well as a perfect, parmesan-crusted grouper. The décor isn’t terribly memorable, but I found the wait staff to be terrific.

YARD HOUSE

This is a new outlet from a popular chain of beer and food places in the U.S. The beer list goes on just shy of forever (I especially liked the 3 Daughters Pale Ale from nearby St. Petersburg), but it was the food that surprised me. The Nashville hot chicken was just-right spicy and very moist, and the ahi poke nachos were as good or better than I’ve had in Hawaii. Astonishing, actually.  There are tons of TV’s, and you’re a slap shot away from Amalie Arena.

CASA SANTO STEFANO

This is a fun spot in the vibrant Ybor City area that’s owned by the group that also runs the famous Columbia Restaurant, as well as Ulele on the Riverwalk, Goody Goody Burgers in Hyde Park, and other places in town. The owner had a Sicilian friend and grew up gathering for Sunday dinners at his buddy’s house, so the emphasis here is on family-style food. The Italian Sausage has marsala, fennel and lemon and is truly delicious. We also enjoyed very good meatballs, excellent burrata, and fine grouper. The interior is filled with Italian treasures and photos of local Sicilian families. A very enjoyable dining experience.

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT

The original is in Ybor City and dates to 1905. It was given “recommended” status in the 2023 Michelin guide to Tampa dining. There’s now one next to the Tampa Bay History Center on booming Garrison Channel, as well as the Tampa airport and Saint Augustine. Look for good Cuban sandwiches (their classic is with ham, salami, roast pork, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard), or try a mahi mahi sandwich with onions, peppers and Swiss cheese. Not fancy, but a fun, classic Tampa dining experience.

SUPERNATURAL FOOD AND WINE

This is a wee spot downtown breakfast and lunch spot with a few indoor stools and small tables on the sidewalk. It would have to jump up several classes to be called casual, but it’s got undeniable charm and street cred. One local chef has a testimonial inside to say their breakfast sandwich is the best he’s ever had. I wouldn’t disagree, as I enjoyed nice, fluffy eggs on a potato bun with two strips of bacon. There are tons of VERY spicy hot sauce bottles inside. They’re also known for their donuts, and they have a small selection of interesting wines you can buy by the bottle. Michelin has said it will include Supernatural in its food guide for 2024, but what rating it will get hasn’t been announced.

Other heralded spots

Lilac is at the Edition hotel in Tampa, a gorgeous property near the waterfront and Sparkman Wharf. The restaurant focuses on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine and locally-grown produce and food.

Koya is a top-notch Japanese restaurant in Hyde Park, not far from Edison: Food+Drink Lab. Michelin had this to say: “The dishes are often unexpected yet always thoughtful.”

 

WHERE TO DRINK

I can’t say I did a tour of the city’s cocktail scene, but I did try a couple great places.

The rooftop Beacon Bar at the posh JW Marriott hotel offers tremendous cocktails, and expansive views of Tampa’s waterfront. Come for the sunset and enjoy the greenery as you sip on drinks such as The Rising Sun, with roku Japanese gin, sesame, yuzu, pineapple, orgeat and Peychaud’s bitters, or the outstanding Pistoles at Dawn with Michters small batch bourbon, Montenegro, del maguey vida mezcal, spiced demerara and tiki bitters. I don’t think I could make it at home, but it was powerfully good.

I had an outstanding spicy margarita at Tori Bar on Kennedy Blvd. (steps from downtown) for $10 at happy hour. It’s next to the lovely Oxford Exchange (great food, a book shop and more in a cozy setting).

If you’re more into coffee than cocktails (I love both), check out Blind Tiger Café in Ybor City and Buddy Brew? at the beautiful Armature Works, a former train repair station on the Hillsborough River that’s now a glorious food hall.

 

WHERE TO STAY

 

 

My wife and I enjoyed a great room at the Hyatt Place/Hyatt House, which is just a couple blocks from the Riverwalk and a short jaunt to Amalie Arena, albeit across some areas without a lot of street life at night. The rooms here are large and have everything you need. There’s also a small, outdoor pool on the fifth floor and a popular, large sun deck just below it. Breakfast is included, and there’s a bar on site. It’s a good spot for biz folks, but also for leisure travellers.

Both the Edition and the JW Marriott speak to the growing sophistication of Tampa’s hotel scene. On a previous visit I had a fine stay at the Epicurean Hotel, which is less than 10 minutes from downtown by car and offers a lovely, boutique hotel experience. It’s across the street from Bern’s Steakhouse, one of Tampa’s oldest and most respected restaurants. The Epicurean is part of the Marriott Autograph Collection.

I didn’t venture inside, but Le Meridien Tampa is housed inside a stately, old courthouse building on the north edge of downtown.

 

CULTURE AND ACTIVITIES

Rolling on the River

Piloting an electric boat on the waterways of Tampa with the folks from eboats Tampa is a lovely way to spend an hour or two, especially on a warm winter’s day. They gave me a two-minute instruction, basically showing forward and reverse. The top speed is darn slow, so it’s not exactly a racing vessel. We were soon slowly heading up the Hillsborough River, past the joggers and cyclists on Riverwalk and on past the Tampa Museum of Art, the pretty campus of the University of Tampa, Ulele restaurant, and up to Armature Works.

We passed lots of private boats along the way, as well as “tiki boats” with thatched roofs, boats shaped like racing cars, and pirate-themed boats. Lots of fun.

You can bring your own food and drinks, and they seat 10-12 people. The 10-seater doesn’t require a boating license and costs $89 an hour. The premium boat seats 12, costs $129 per hour, and requires previous boating experience..

A Super Cool Cigar Factory Tour

There were once 150-200 cigar factories in Tampa. Now there’s just one operating, and that’s J.C. Newman’s El Reloj factory in the north Ybor city area.

The company was founded by a young man from what is now Slovakia. He and his family emigrated to Cleveland in the late 1800s, and a German fellow taught Newman how to roll a cigar, a task he quickly mastered.

The company thrived, and is still family owned.

It’s the last premium cigar company in the U.S., making 12-15 million cigars a year, according to our excellent tour guide, Holden.

He showed us a cool basement with old cigar memorabilia (one box showed five for 39 cents), and took us to a room where workers wet the dry tobacco leaves prior to storing it for rolling purposes.

Some of the machines in the factory date back 90 years, which makes fixing them a bit of a challenge.

‘We use a lot of bubble gum and duct tape around here,” Holden said with a grin.

A human could maybe roll 100 cigars a day, but the machines allowed Newman’s factory to make 4,000 a day.

If you pay extra, you can try your hand at rolling a couple cigars yourself, and then take them home for a souvenir. My wife and I tried and almost certainly performed poorly, but Holden congratulated us both on a job well done.

Holden told us a hand-rolled cigar draws better and has more flavour than a machine-made smoke.

“It’s like filet mignon versus a hot dog.”

We were told it takes most people two years of practice to master the craft.

Next year marks the 130^th anniversary of the factory.

A 75-minute guided tour costs $15. Seniors, veterans and students pay $12. A cigar-rolling class costs $75. There’s no charge to see the theatre, factory store or museum.

Ybor City

There are tons of restaurants and great shops in this historic, handsome area of town. In addition to Blind Tiger, Columbia and Casa Santo Stefano, I suggest checking out Wicked Sweet Sugar boutique for amazing looking macarons, cookies and cupcakes (margarita, carrot and more).

Tampa Museum of Art

This is a bright, wonderful spot in downtown Tampa that’s right on the Riverwalk. The museum features  modern and contemporary art, as well as Greek and Roman antiquities. They also have revolving exhibits. When I was there they were displaying beautiful, brightly-coloured Haitian art. One of the newer exhibits shows work by Norma Canelas Roth and William Roth.

Tampa Bay History Center

This is a great spot to learn about the area’s fascinating history. Displays include tributes to Tampa’s Black community and Native American history, as well as exploring the region’s cattle industry, pirate-filled past and modern sports history. Hockey fans will likely notice the mention of Steve Stamkos, the pride of Markham, Ontario.

For more information: www.visittampabay.com