By Tom Scherberger
The Tampa Bay area is a hotbed of great food experiences, from casual food trucks and late night eats to elegant fine dining. Check out these can’t-miss fine dining Tampa experiences.
Beverly’s La Croisette
The long line on weekends shows this American diner with the French accent is the go-to place for breakfast or brunch in St. Pete Beach. Maybe it’s the humongous omelets (including the aptly named Hangover, stuffed with corned beef hash, topped with hollandaise), the pancakes (as big as your head), the orange marmalade (try it on the buttery croissants), the Croque Madame or the nine variations of eggs Benedict.
Online: lacroisettestpetebeach.com/
Lenny’s Restaurant
This has been a Clearwater institution since 1958, with a distinct Philadelphia sensibility in keeping with its location near the Phillies spring training headquarters (try the scrapple!). Lenny’s features huge portions, bantering servers and a lively crowd. A basket of pastries presented when you’re seated whets the appetite while you choose from 20 omelet variations, knishes, potato pancakes, fresh-baked bagels and amazing home fries. Deli sandwiches, hoagies and burgers round out the menu.
Online: lennysclearwater.com/
Skyway Jack’s
A St. Petersburg landmark since 1976, Jack’s has thrived since moving from a marina beside the Sunshine Skyway nearly 20 years ago. Credit the sassy waitresses and food made with hungry fishermen in mind (pork chops, country ham, smoked sausage, pig brains). The biscuits with sausage gravy are a thing of beauty and the Hobo Hash is to die for. The scrapple put Skyway Jack’s on Food Network Magazine’s list for best breakfast in Florida. The blackboard lists specials like fried flounder with eggs.
Online: skywayjacksstpete.com/
Saturday Morning Market
Billed as the largest weekly market in the Southeast, this is a strolling feast for the senses. Open from early October to late May, the market features 200 vendors rotating among 130 spots. The offerings include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, but the real highlight is a United Nations of prepared foods: Spanish, Cuban, Thai, Mexican, Cajun, scrumptious knishes, tender barbecue, stone-fired pizza, artisan baked goods. Stroll and munch or grab a chair and enjoy the free live music and people-watching.
Online: www.saturdaymorningmarket.com
Columbia Restaurant
After more than a century of serving fine Latin cuisine, Florida’s oldest restaurant remains a bustling bulwark of historic Ybor City and is now run by the fourth and fifth generation of the Hernandez Gonzmart family. Menu mainstays like the “Original Cuban Sandwich,” black bean soup, chicken and yellow rice, ropa vieja, paella, sangria, flan and, in recent years, an innovative tapas menu keep generations of Tampa families coming back for more. Be sure to wander through the myriad dining rooms (Don Quixote is everywhere) and soak in the history of old Tampa. Flamenco dancing nightly.
Online: www.columbiarestaurant.com
Pane Rustica
What started as a narrow little mom-and-pop bakery has grown into a South Tampa mainstay, sporting a swanky cocktail lounge, a buzzy dining scene and one of the best lunch spots in the Bay area, thanks to the fresh bread made daily. Menu highlights include inventive sandwiches that can be turned into salads (magic!), thin, crispy pizzas with creative combinations that change daily, and one of the best hamburgers in the city.
Online: http://panerusticabakery.com
Brocato’s Sandwich Shop
A visit to Tampa isn’t complete without a Cuban sandwich, but where to go for this iconic munch? It’s a question that can spark heated debate, but few would disagree that Brocato’s has made a definitive version for more than 60 years and is also home to premier examples of two other Tampa staples – Devil Crab and stuffed potato. A humble setting draws a large and diverse crowd of blue and white collars.
Online: www.brocatossandwich.com
Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish
If you narrowed authentic Florida barbecue down to just one dish, it could be smoked mullet, and Ted Peters has set the standard since 1951. It’s not much more than a roadside stand with open-air picnic tables and pine-paneled dining room (for the really hot or the occasionally cold days). Choose from mullet, Spanish mackerel and salmon slow-smoked over red oak or amazingly gooey cheeseburgers, German potato salad redolent with bacon, and the gold standard for smoked fish spread, another iconic Tampa Bay foodstuff.
Online: www.tedpetersfish.com
Taco Bus
Recently named the sixth most popular food truck in the country, Taco Bus is rooted deep in the Tampa Bay food consciousness (with five brick-and-mortar locations in addition to a roaming truck). The menu features the simple street food of owner Rene Valenzuela’s home town of Hidalgo, Mexico, with a focus on fresh ingredients, including house-made bread for the tortas. Highlights include cochinita pibil, acorn squash and carne asada, served in tacos, burritos, tostados, tortas and salads. Try some horchata to wash it all down.
Online: www.taco-bus.com
Bern’s Steakhouse
Tampa’s premier restaurant is more than a steakhouse; it’s an experience. Dry-aged, hand-carved prime grade steaks and organic vegetables are just the start. Bern’s also has the largest restaurant wine collection in the country (and it’s surprisingly affordable). After dinner, take a tour of the wine cellar and bustling kitchen, then move upstairs to the dessert room. Nearby sister restaurant Sideberns offers cutting-edge comfort food and the new Elevage hotel/restaurant across the street makes this spot the epicenter of foodie heaven.
Online: www.bernssteakhouse.com
Mise en Place
Mise en Place offers sophisticated fine dining in Tampa with a menu that changes weekly, depending on available local ingredients and chef Marty Blitz’s current passion. The emphasis is on fresh and flavorful, so there might be mofongo pork, a lobster poutine, rack of lamb (a menu mainstay) and fried green tomatoes with crab. House-cured meats, smartly selected cheeses and an excellent wine and cocktail list complete the augment the menu.
Online: www.miseonline.com
Birch & Vine
A farm-to-table aesthetic in the dining room and magnificent views of Tampa Bay at the rooftop bar, with sidewalk seating along Beach Drive, combine to make this a choice spot to catch the downtown St. Petersburg buzz. The sous vide Nieman Ranch filet mignon defines the concept of tenderness.
Online: thebirchwood.com/birch-vine/
Maritana Grille
Located in the Don Cesar, one of the most historic hotels in Florida, locals know Maritana Grille as more than a hotel restaurant. It is simply one of the finest restaurants along the Pinellas beaches, with an emphasis on locally sourced, sustainable ingredients in an elegant but relaxed setting. Executive Chef Kenny Hunsberger, recently named Tampa Bay’s best chef by Creative Loafing, has overseen a creatively reimagined menu. The Reveal dessert will have you squealing with delight when the ostrich-sized white chocolate egg cracks open to yield scrumptious ice cream and cake.
Online: www.doncesar.com/dining/maritana
Walt’z Fish Shak
If you are looking for fresh fish - and who isn’t? - go to Walt’z, which buys its fish right off the nearby docks in Madeira Beach (the grouper capital of Florida) every day. You never know what will be on the chalkboard menu – hogfish, snapper, black or red grouper, cobia, pompano – and sometimes it runs out fast. Get there early for their simple dishes of grilled or lightly fried fish, boiled Key West pink shrimp, smoked fish spread, Bahamian rice and Caribbean cole slaw, with beer and wine and a view of John’s Pass from the converted bungalow.
Online: www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/profile/waltz-fish-shak/2213
