Earlier this month, Wine Spectator acknowledged 30-plus local restaurants with excellent taste in vino. Winners of the magazine's annual Restaurant Awards receive nods across three categories — Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award (the highest accolade) — and this year, Wine Spectator recognized more than 3,759 eateries around the U.S. and in more than 75 countries and territories.
Truthfully, the list of Tampa Bay honorees kinda tends to look the same from year to year, but seven restaurants outside of the region have earned the Grand Award for the first time in 2018. So it is possible. For now, Tampa legend Bern's Steak House remains our lone victor in that category.
Tampa's Mise en Place and downtown St. Pete's Birch & Vine made a change, however, newly nabbing themselves a Best of Award of Excellence. Sea-Guini in Clearwater Beach is also a never-before-winner of the Award of Excellence, as are Tampa's Rez Grill and La Casa Della Pasta.
Check out the complete lineup of honorees throughout the bay:
GRAND AWARD
Bern's Steak House (Tampa)
BEST OF AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
Alfano's Restaurant (Clearwater)
Birch & Vine (St. Pete)
The Capital Grille (Tampa)
Charley's Steak House (Tampa)
Columbia Restaurant (Tampa)
Forlini's Restaurant (Clearwater Beach)
Haven (Tampa)
Massimo's Eclectic Fine Dining (Palm Harbor)
Mise en Place (Tampa)
Rococo Steak (St. Pete)
Sea Salt (St. Pete)
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
400 Beach Seafood & Tap House (St. Pete)
Annata (St. Pete)
Ava (Tampa)
Bob Heilman's Beachcomber (Clearwater)
Caretta on the Gulf (Clearwater Beach)
Clearwater Wine Bar & Bistro (Clearwater Beach)
Council Oak Steaks & Seafood (Tampa)
Del Frisco's Grille (Tampa)
Edison: Food+Drink Lab (Tampa)
Élevage (Tampa)
Fetishes Dining & Wine Bar (St. Pete Beach)
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (Tampa)
La Casa Della Pasta (Tampa)
Ocean Prime (Tampa)
Parkshore Grill (St. Pete)
The Rez Grill (Tampa)
Ruth's Chris Steak House (St. Pete & Tampa)
Salt Rock Grill (Indian Shores)
Sea-Guini (Clearwater Beach)
Seasons 52 (Tampa)
Shula's Steak House (Tampa)
This article appears in Jul 5-12, 2018.