Tampa Bay's 50 best restaurants of 2021

Cafe Hey
1540 N Franklin St., Tampa. 813-221-5150
Make no mistake, when it comes to Cuban sandwiches, West Tampa Sandwich Shop’s Obama Cuban and even more working class offerings at Palm Avenue Sandwich Shop and Florida Bakery are some Tampa’s best, but it’s hard to kick a craving for the Cafe Hey version. Maybe it’s the finely shaved meat, or extra crispy outer shell of the classic bread, but I’ve walked down Franklin Street with one in my hand at least two dozen times this year. Throw in the new Thai tea and perennially homey vibes at the now 14-year-old downtown staple, and you’ve got a restaurant worth working into your own rotation next year.—RR

7th+Grove
1930 E 7th Ave., Ybor City. 813-640-8422
Haters (you know who you are) say the place is too lively on weekend nights, but that’s a lie. Not only is 7th+Grove now a staple of the Ybor City historic district, but it’s also home to a rocksteady menu of Southern favorites all dished up by an ace team ready to guide you through brunch, taco Tuesday, late night, lunch and dinner. If you’ve never been, get baptised by the braised oxtails, then scream hallelujah, amen.—RR

Al’s Finger Licking Good Bar-B-Que
1609 Angel Olivia Sr. St., Ybor City. 813-956-0675
We hope COVID didn’t take your sense of smell because this is a time-tested Ybor City spot you can ID from down the street. Meats are obviously the star here (we suggest smoked sausage, ribs or the pulled pork), but don’t skip out on sides, especially the creamy coleslaw, spicy collards and the only-available-on-Friday mac-and-cheese. If you’re a fiend for a bang-bang, scoot on over to Big Al’s soul food spot located just a few blocks away (2302 E 7th Ave.).—RR

Anju
2827 16th St., N, St. Petersburg. 727-289-8568
Korean food has always been a favorite, but it really feels like the cuisine had a moment locally in 2021, and the main reason was a big, crunchy embrace of a new kind of KFC—Korean fried chicken—that Anju really does better than anyone else. With roots in a 12-foot food trailer, Mee Ae Wolney now runs her restaurant out of a beautiful brick building on 16th Street where slings sweet, salty and spicy K-pops and a drunk person’s dream: tots loaded with bulgogi and kimchi, plus cheese and scallions, crushed peanut and St. Pete heat sauce.—RR

Bayou Bodega
241 E Davis Blvd., Tampa. 813-513-5478
Tampa’s Davis Islands is home to a lot of old reliables (Thai Island, Margarita’s Mexican Food, Islands Pizza, Anchor Bar) plus some solid Italian (Oggi, and it’s even more impressive neighborhood market and wood fired pizza kitchen), but Yarinel Ramos and Robert Sickler have turned it up at their concept which serves a whole lot of natty wine alongside the flavors of New Orleans, Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean. It’s hard to go wrong, but the po’boys, garlic shrimp, brabant potatoes and simple red beans and rice will guarantee a return trip.—RR

Brgr Kitchen & Bar
10800 Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island. 727-322-7040
I recently found myself on Gulf Boulevard and decided to drop in at Brgr (stylized “BRGR”) to see if it still had the great burgers that put it on my 2019 Top 50 list. If you missed that or my 2016 review, you may not even know that BRGR exits. It keeps a low profile, mostly serving Treasure Island Beach Resort guests. But every time I visit, I’m wowed. The “spuds and rings” are terrific. Choose from skin-on truffle or cinnamon-dusted sweet potato fries. My favorite is the super thick cut Samuel Adams beef-battered onion rings. And “The Nooner” remains as good as any burger that I can recall.—Jon Palmer Claridge

Chanta
113 S Hyde Park Ave., Tampa. 813-605-4011
You’ve probably driven by this old European cafe a million times on your way to a much trendier spot like Oxford Exchange or Fly Bar, and never noticed the casual way it goes about its business. But Chanta has an old world charm that only family run restaurants can seem to perfect, right down to the high backed, wooden chairs and at home dining room feel. This Romanian family, complete with grandmother cooking in the kitchen, and daughters serving and hosting tables, is everything you want in a warm, cozy, old world food hug. The bread is homemade, the goulash perfectly spiced, and the lamb chops grilled to perfection. A small but mighty Italian wine selection helps round out a great little place to share a meal with friends or family.—Daniel Guess

Chile Verde
2801 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg. 727-800-2679
Opened out of a gutted gas station in 2018, Chile Verde now has two busy locations dishing out some of the best Mexican food in St. Pete. You literally could not miss this restaurant even if you tried—its gigantic green and red lettering and large plastic horses out front definitely catch the eye. Pre-pandemic, Chile Verde was also a small grocer, but now focuses solely on its hot menu of tamales, flautas, burritos and other typical Mexican fare, as tables now fill the aisles dry goods once occupied. There are a lot of taco choices, too, from beef tongue to al pastor to chicken, and make sure to mention whether or not you want the food Mexican-style (with onion and cilantro) or American-style (with lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream.)—Kyla Fields

Chopstick Express
3946 4th St. N, St. Petersburg. 727-526-8999
Chopstick’s menu is stacked with straightforward Chinese and a rotating slate of specialty sushi rolls, including the St. Petersburg roll with shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado and spicy krab meat. No surprises here either—lo mein, fried rice, krab rangoons, egg drop soup and chop suey are all dished out. The most charming thing about this Chinese spot isn’t that its building closely resembles the Checkers that previously operated in the space (drive thru and all), but the fact that the same large birds are always chilling out front, like Florida’s version of bodega cats. If you eat outside at the picnic tables be careful, because sometimes the birds get a little too comfortable. Chopstick Express is always available on third party delivery apps like Uber Eats and Grubhub if you’re not in the mood to fight the cranes.—KF

Columbia Restaurant
2117 E 7th Ave., Ybor City. 813-248-4961
My first time ever going to the Ybor City staple was this year (shocker). From the time I stepped in, it was obvious why the restaurant has lasted for over a century. Guests feel like they’re in old Tampa when the mobsters were like kings and cigar factories were on every corner. The 1905 salad is such a simple dish but packs a lot of flavor from the dressing down to the fresh veggies. The cannelloni de langosta (lobster and shrimp pasta in a sherry cream reduction, smothered with a lobster sherry Mornay cheese sauce) is a phenomenal dish I’d order over and over. The real star, however, is the white chocolate bread pudding, made with bread from another Tampa OG La Segunda. If “died and went to heaven” was a dessert, it would be this.—Alexandria Jones

Counter Culture
2909 W Bay to Bay No. 100, Tampa. 813-570-8599
Last year, Jeannie Pierola, opened one of the most exciting new restaurants in town. Unfortunately, COVID soon pulled the rug out from under the economy; 21 months later, Counter Culture is still providing stunning food—don’t miss the tuna tartare appetizer; it’s simply perfection. A thin yellowfin tuna sliver is wrapped around minced toro tartare to create a disc. Toro (“to melt”) is the fatty part of the fish from the tuna’s belly and melt it does—filling your palate with unalloyed joy. Luckily, the elevated kitchen bar dining, open air mixologist bar, and the Florida patio with Bay views leaves room for social distance ‘til Omicron is in the rearview.—JPC

Dooriban
5600 66th St. N, St. Petersburg. 727-914-4550
Walking up to this family-owned Korean restaurant, you can usually smell the food before even opening the door. From traditional Korean entrees like bibimbap and kimchi soup to street food classics like the Instagrammable cheesy corn dog and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), Dooriban fulfills all spicy and savory needs. It’s affordable lunchtime specials are served from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and range from deep fried pork cutlets to beef bulgogi, all served with rice, dumplings and four traditional Korean side dishes (aka banchan). Dooriban is one of the only traditional Korean restaurants in St. Petersburg, and if its large menu is a little overwhelming, the friendly staff is always willing to point you in the right direction.—KF

Farmacy
Various locations
Tucked within all three Tampa locations of Duckweed Urban Grocery, this vegan kitchen and bakery has great grab-and-go options and hot food, but nothing can satisfy a craving for hearty, spicy and creamy comfort food like the jerk pasta salad in a creamy dressing, served cold and in a plastic tub that’s perfect for a lunch at your stand-up desk or in front of the TV after a long day at the office.—RR

Filipiniana
3848 W Waters Ave., Tampa. 813-885-6300
Philippine Café Filipino food rarely hits my belly if it’s not coming out of a home kitchen run by my mom or a tita, but for some reason I went to Filipiniana quite a bit. Maybe it’s because making longanisa or tocino (sweet pork sausages, medallions, respectively) is a pain the ass. More likely, it’s because Filipiniana feels like home, especially when it comes to the made-to-order “silog” plates where the breakfast pork gets served with a fried egg and garlic fried rice, all steaming hot. Bonus points since it’s right next to Saigon Deli.—RR

Gangchu
6618 N Nebraska Ave. Tampa. 813-723-4264
St. Pete’s Anju gets high marks for its KFC (Korean fried chicken), but Gangchu is the best all-around new K-chicken and beer spot in Tampa Bay. The restaurant itself is a thrill to dine in whether or at the bar in the glow of the giant TV screen or under the soft light on the back patio where all kinds of crispy chicken (gluten-free, too; bone in, boneless, sandwich) lives in harmony with a killer cocktail menu plus other highlights like the bulgogi cheesesteak and japchae (get it with the egg). Banchan is a la carte and can get expensive here, so just get the kimchi fried rice which includes sides.—RR

Golden Dinosaurs
2930 Beach Blvd. S, Gulfport. 727-873-6901
If you love animals but also crave pastrami, chili dogs, bacon, po’ boys, and even a good Philly, then you’ll want to make the drive to Gulfport where all kinds of humane greatness is being served out of a tiny window on Beach Boulevard. Seitan (wheat gluten) and tempeh (soybean) can satisfy your meat cravings (ever had a Chick-Fil-Nay sandwich?), but the real stars at Golden Dinosaurs are specials like seitan bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños and a variety of vegan spins on Tex-Mex.—RR

Gulf Coast Sourdough
6703 N Florida Ave., Tampa, 813-304-1294
Since moving to its new location in Seminole Heights, Gulf Coast continues to serve its ​​the Best of the Bay-winning breads, sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, and, of course, “Flybys” (a little stuffed sandwich-calzone-type-of-goodness). The new space is easy to find, too, since it shares a plaza with Revolution Ice Cream and Mekenita Cantina. You can smell the fresh bread a block away when you’re driving down Florida.—Colin Wolf

Haven
2208 W Morrison Ave., Tampa, 813-258-2233
One of the Bay area’s most satisfying, sophisticated, dining experiences still wrapped up in a regionally-appropriate casual bow. Executive chef Chad Johnson and Chef De Cuisine Martin deJesus are obsessed by their food sources and work to build startling layers of flavor so you’ll find dishes to make your head explode. A case in point is November’s “Whiskey Tampa Foxtrot” special Garrison Brothers bourbon dinner with a fine dining spin on Texas BBQ; it was the best meal of my dining year. Beyond events, Haven remains aspirational, with 300-plus dark spirits in 1-oz. pours of almost any cult whisk(e)y you could dream about. It also has 40 premium wines by the glass, an impressive cave of 60 cheeses, plus a variety of charcuteries.—JPC

King State
520 E Floribraska Ave., Tampa. 813-221-2100
Pull up to this restored and revamped service station during coffee rush hour and you’ll realize that the secret’s long been out: King State lives up to the hype and then some (in 2019 it was named Food & Wine’s best coffee shop in Florida, No. 8 in the U.S.). Chef Carolyn Kowalski handed her team the recipes for a lethal breakfast sandwich and seasonal lunch/dinner menu all fortified by weekend pizza nights and regular guest pop-ups then buoyed by Aric Parker’s out of this world beer, N/A coffee cocktails and house wine. And yuh, the King roasts its own coffee, too.—RR

Kristina’s Cafe
3590 34th St. N, St. Petersburg. 727-526-6673
From Metro, Trip's, Kissin’ Cuzzins and even the “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives”-featured Munch’s Cafe, there’s lots of old-fashioned diners in the ‘Burg. But what makes Kristina’s a stand-out amongst its no-frills counterparts is late-night hours, massive portions and an old-timey feel. There are no surprises on the large menu—comfort breakfasts like biscuits and gravy and chicken fried steak are available all day, alongside a variety of sandwiches, salads, entrees and desserts. It’s the type of restaurant where your coffee is refilled before you even notice it getting low. Kristina Cafe’s pandemic hours are 7 a.m.-10 p.m., but hopefully its beloved 24-hour tradition will return soon.—KF