Whats some good restaurants in the area?
I have not lived in Tampa for many years, but Bern's Steakhouse near the Hyde Park area is considered a classic staple and many of my clients still go there. The decor (last time I saw it) was dated, but the steaks are great. They also have a dessert room upstairs - private booths with jukeboxes and a TV - very unique. This steakhouse has been a mainstay for decades.
I was about to post the same thing, even though I've never been there. My girlfriend and her family raves about that place. Apparently they have a tank of live fish in the back and they kill it, filet it, and throw it on the grill. That's as fresh as you can get. I've even heard that they will sometimes let you go back and select your fish. So I guess that's two votes for Bern's
What kind of food are you looking for? Tampa has some of the most variety of bars/restaurants and dinning you can find.
That's a great suggestion. The Colombia has been in Ybor since 1905. If the OP does go there, make sure to walk around to see the numerous rooms and the upstairs. The architecture and decor are pretty cool.
+1 on Bern's... if you go be sure to tell your server you want the kitchen tour as well as the wine cellar tour (!!!)
....being the dance club kinda guy, Floyd's decor is great and stylish. Music is not real techno with more of a top 40 vibe with some hip hop thrown in.....not sooo good. Parking is free but haven't been there since they removed the old VIP lot....that was safe, lighted and you could be seen. Hyde park is more of large café with very pretty girls. Dance floor in VIP is an afterthought with no lighting and a DJ table.....used to play house with a Jazz overtone. Other side dance floor is too small with "ok" lighting. Drum and bass....dat's about it. Parking is safe with Valet and for some extra, VIP in front of the club across the street....only two car parking....if it's not a Ferrari or Lamborghini....dont bother asking. The old John Santoro's Amphitheater was the best for music, the spectacle of the lighting and live on stage professional dancers. The best techo and guest DJ's like Susie Solar, DJ Baby Ann, DJ Trashy.......ahh, sure miss that place. The venue itself was not the most stylish and kinda industrial dated.....did I say the music was great?!!! I'm still looking for somewhere cool to go....the music has to be techo....and dare I wish...trance.....can only dream. ....oh yeah, still hunting for that tall thin blonde.....sigh....I digress. Shamile Freeze...Miami Vice !
++1 ! I took my brother-in-law and his wife to dinner there a month ago and it was really great... the food was good, and it wasn't all that expensive... Great place to eat.... Mike in Kuwait
The cellar and kitchen tour are great at Bern's but the room/rooms are so old and tired...Kind of like a 70's country club.
No doubt! I've had some good times there for sure!! I'm glad someone shares my love of trance music! My buddy, Mickey, spins at Bliss in Orlando on Sat nights and he plays trance/top 40. Destiny used to have trance nights in the main room, too. I sometimes hit Firestone for trance concerts, HOB has SIN Sundays..and last, but definitely not least, TIESTO will be here next month!!
Bern's Steakhouse. ABSOLUTELY !!! I have travelled te world. My favorite food is steak. I currently reside in Steak Country (Argentina) and I can tell you by far Bern's is the place for steak! The atmosphere is good, yes the rooms are older and tired, I really like that in the upstairs though. The food is great, the service excellent, the menue is full and the prices are not really outragous as you should expect from a place where you HAVE TO make reservations well in advance. Ask the waiter to do the kitchen tour after dinner. It will make you appreciate the meal even more. The wine cellar is the biggest private collection in the US or the world. I cannot remember. 1M bottles of wine. Some as old as from the 1700s. Have desert upstairs and go to the bathroom and look at the stall doors. It is hard to impress me when it comes to restaurants and I can tell you, I was floored!
Bern's is good, but if you really want a good meal, no matter what you order, try E&E Stakeout Grill, 100 N. Indian Rocks Road, Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If you are down on Clearwater Beach... the best is- Beach Comber, but also check-out their small restaurant in the back of their property... Bobby's Bistro and Wine Bar, looks like a wine cellular and their wine list is incredible.... small restaurant is more hip and young. The main restaurant is great but older clientele (think Ted Night from Caddy Shack). http://heilmansbeachcomber.com/ Burns is great also... just depends if I'm in Tampa or Clearwater Beach. Also love the original Colombia in Ybor City... very historic.
Right. Also, it was so DARK in the dining room, I dont get it, had a hard time reading the dang menu. Whats with the dark drear?? I know its hard to see any roaches running across the floor, anyway.....LOL Steak was good, but overall, the place is way overrated. Accordion player upstairs was the best part. he played Great Standards!!
I really don't get the raves for Bern's but clearly I'm in the minority. I don't agree on the accordion player either. Drinkin' beer in Munich yes but hold the accordion at a nice dinner. That is the way it goes with "old time" eating though. For me sometimes they work, many times they don't. Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach I get it and love it. Bern's not so much.
Was down there recently and had a local Cuban give us his favorite place... He said, "La Teresita" Excellent classic Cuban dinner....
There is a small Italian restaurant in Pasco county called Rossi Ristorante Italiano. It is on SR 54. It is a family run business and nice for a family. The atmosphere is cozy with the classic Italian songs softly playing in the background. It is not 5 star, just a great place.
Haven't lived there for some time, but moving back hopefully soon. Would take Charlies in Tampa over Berns for steak. Berns decore also needs updated at least the last time was there. Certainly no place to park the Ferrari at least in the past. Docf
Downtown Clearwater, Caffe Milano. Best pizzaria in , at least, Pinellas Cty (dunno about the whole Tampa Bay, though). Guy's name is Ugo, ran a pizzaria in Milan for years (although the best pizza in Italy is farther South). Uses tomato product and all his semolina imported from Italy (same supplier he had there). Individually served, like , again, in Italy. The real McCoy this side of the hemisphere. Of course, only a fool would expect pizza EXACTLY as good as made over there, over here........theres always something thats just not the same.
