Will be based near downtown, but flexible with locations.

Looking for great fish (not shellfish),Indian, Italian if you have any thoughts!

in Tampa/Ybor City,

I've always enjoyed dining at the various Columbia restaurants. There are three I believe, the last time I was in Tampa, I dined at the Ybor city location. These are family owned, BEAUTIFUL, restaurants that serve Spanish and Cuban food. The paella(sp?) was the best I've had, the seafood dishes are always fresh. The decor is lots of blueand white tile, plants, water. Very nice for dinner or lunch.

ALL over the Tampa area, you will see Cuban sandwich places. DO NOT MISS munching on one of the best sandwiches ever invented!!!!

A little more on the adventurous side, about a ½ block further than the Columbia in Ybor City (on the same street), is a scary looking and scary clientele Caribbean food restaurant. Not well lit, but I had a tremendous curried goat w/plantains. The jerk chicken was very good as well.

Grazi!

Tampa has a long list of great restaurants...

#1 in the world for quality and value
http://www.bernssteakhouse.com
largest working wine selection in the country
awesome steaks, chicken, fish, caviar, you name it... every bite of every item is comparable to the best you have ever tasted.... $50/person with not counting alcohol... worth double that....

Charley's steakhouse

For Italian, I like buca's on north dale mabry huge portions, nice decorations...

For Mexican, Vallarta's is the place...

Seafood... more than you can shake a stick at.. salt-rock grille, oyster catchers, rusty pelican to name a few...

-Mike
Clearwater, Fl/Charlotte, NC

Hey mjcother, welcome to FlyerTalk. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/smile.gif

La Teresita! Great Cuban diner food. Very good and super cheap. Kind of a hunt from downtown, but worth checking out. We went for a lunch and had coffee, cuban sandwiches, plantanos, rice and beans, all for, I think, $14 for two. We liked it so much we went back twice over the next two days!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ikobi:
La Teresita!......</font>

Address? phone?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
Address? phone?</font>


La Teresita
3246 Columbus Dr W, Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 879-4909

Take 275 South to Dale Mabry Northbound exit.
Make a right on Columbia.
Restaurant will be on the right, a few blocks past Himes Avenue.

I concur with the review. This place is one of my favorites!

But I DISAGREE with the review on Berns. If you like flavorful food then don't go to Berns. The steak is tender but NOT flavorful. The hands down best steak in Tampa is Shulas Restaurant. Its not only tender but one of the most flavorful steaks I have ever had. I'm a self professed steak gourment. I've eaten at most of the top tier steak houses from Peter Luger's in New York to Morton's in San Fran...Shula's ranks up there with the best.


Shulas Steak House
4860 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33609
(813) 286-4366

Take 275 South from downtown.
Exit on Westshore Blvd.
Make a right onto Westshore once you come off highway.
Shulas is in the huge hotel at the corner of West Shore and Kennedy Blvd.

[This message has been edited by ilambert (edited 05-09-2002).]

thanks ilambert, and welcome to FlyerTalk! http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/smile.gif

I second the recommendation for La Terasita. Good portions and cheap, cheap, cheap.

Don't agree with the comment about the lack of flavor in Bern's steaks. I've only been once and it was awesome.

OK restaurants in Tampa.

First of in the “downtown area” your choices are limited there are the usual hotel restaurants but you will find quite a decent Indian restaurant SHALIMAR on Morgan Street, two block south of Kennedy.(used to be in the i-dine program) for some reason there is a shortage of Indian places in Tampa.

For restaurants close to downtown I suggest you head west on Kennedy to( south) Howard Ave which has turned into Tampa’s “ Dining District” where you will find dozens of quite good eateries really not that far from down town.
I will try to list some of the them which includes a few of my favorites.
Starting from Kennedy going south: ( Note: Howard is on-way going south for the first 2 blocks on my list)
All these places are on the concentrated in about a one mile drag.
MANGROVES (d)- one of my favorites, seafood and quite inventive perhaps Tampa's best “unknown, but been around for a long time place “ open for dinner only, but also open on Sundays.
PO BOYS CAJUN(d): fairly new place usual Cajun food - fair
TC CHOYS ASIAN BISTRO - good " fairly upscale" oriental, limited dim-sum items but last time I tried them they were all very good, also sushi, plus large menu.
The YELLOW DOOR - a small but very good Vietnamese-French restaurant, a favourite.
SANGRIA TAPAS BAR - usual tapas items, though portions seems larger than most tapas places very popular on weekends, food quite tasty, open late.
MEXICAN restaurant ( cant recall name at present), huge chimicangas serves only beer.
STARBUCKS: enuf said:
SEVEN On 17 (d) interesting menu, partly Italian partly Asian, good.
ROYAL THAI : good though not outstanding Thai restaurant.
PRIMADONNA (d) standard Italian menu done quite well - but bit boring.
HUGSO SPANISH Restaurant: manly breakfast/lunch place Spanish/Cuban food mainly havent been there in years used to be quite cheap.
SIDE-BERNS: perhaps my favorite, inventive food done well, great wine list , special dim-sum night on Thurdays??. Partially owned by Berns, but be prepared spend a little money.
CICCIOS AND TONYS: Italian food fairly good, but best nights are Sundays and Saturdays which are “pasta nights” you pay a set amount ($15 ???) and they bring out pasta dishes every 5- 10 mins whipped up at the chefs’ whim, try a little of each dish or one you prefer after 10 items you are well stuffed, all you care to eat.
BERNS STEAK-HOUSE: lots of people like it, for me over-rated.
CAFE BY THE BAY http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdining_forum/frown.gifd) “ California/American” food, good, but place had a 70's dated feel to it.
BELLAS : Northern italian, wood burning open, pizzas, failrly good.
ST BARTS : Caribbean food with a French flair, very good, recently re-opened was the old French La Bordeaux restaurant, had a jazz club attached not sure it still open.
CERVICHE: Spanish and tapas place, fair but too crowded on weekends.

Note: I have omitted a number of other (or otherwise un- remarkable) or newer places or places I have not been, on this strip.
Items marked (d) are I-dine places as far as I can remember, but some don’t give miles on weekends.

Mike




[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 04-20-2003).]