25 hot new restaurants coming soon to Tampa Bay

Ash

1050 Water St., Tampa
Last year, Strategic Property Partners announced its newest concept, Ash, which will debut on the ground floor of Water Street Tampa’s Asher building, the district's newest residential development. The new restaurant is brought to downtown Tampa by a familiar name: Proper House Group (PHG), the minds behind Rooster & The Till, Nebraska Mini-Mart and more. PHG said that its latest concept will specialize in Italian-inspired cuisine and boast an extensive outdoor patio. Originally, the 2,400 square-foot restaurant and its accompanying 1,000 square-foot patio was scheduled to debut in the spring of 2023. As of now, the rumor is it's ready to pop any day now.
Photo via Ash/Instagram

Beacon

510 Water St, Tampa
A press release says that JW Marriott Tampa Water Street’s new rooftop bar Beacon is the “tallest public rooftop bar in Tampa” and the second tallest in the state of Florida. A rep for JW is still working to tell Creative Loafing Tampa Bay exactly how many feet in the sky Beacon is. It’s slated to debut sometime in September at 510 Water St., although an exact grand opening date is yet to be determined.
Photo via JW Marriott

Fortu

332 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg
A new upscale Asian fusion dining experience is coming to downtown St. Pete. Set to serve “elevated Pan-Asian cuisine,” the steakhouse will take over the old Ceviche location on Beach Drive. From Japanese whiskeys to wagyu beef, Fortu plans to emphasize on quality. The spot plans to open any day now.
Photo via @forturestaurant/Instagram

Streetlight Taco

4004 Henderson Blvd., Tampa
Chef-partner Michael Brannock tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that his debut restaurant, Streetlight Taco, will open its doors sometime this fall—hopefully September. Located at 4004 Henderson Blvd. in South Tampa’s Palma Ceia neighborhood, this “hyper-traditional,” 2,500 square-foot restaurant will boast a capacity of about 100. Brannock's partners in Streetlight Taco are Jack Murray and Nick Reader, two of the managing partners of Rocca, the modern Italian restaurant that took home one of Tampa’s first Michelin stars earlier this year.
Photo via Michael Brannock

Dutch Bros

3616 W Ballast Point Blvd, Tampa
One West Coast-based coffee chain (with a cult-like following) has its sights set on the Sunshine State, and recently filed permits to open its first outpost in South Tampa. A 950 square-foot, drive-thru Dutch Bros is in the works for South Tampa’s Sun Bay South neighborhood. Currently, Ballast Point Car Wash occupies that parcel of land, but if Dutch Bros’ plans are approved, the wash will be razed for the coffee shop’s new development. The popular coffee brand is known for its iced lattes, smoothies, teas, sodas, milkshakes, frozen blended coffees and energy drinks—all from the convenience of its drive-thru. Signature drinks include the “Golden Eagle” Dutch freeze blended with vanilla and caramel and the aptly-named “9-1-1” loaded with six shots of espresso, half and half and Irish creme syrup.
Photo via DutchBros/Facebook