Day: November 14, 2024

Las Palmas Wins Favorite Latin & #2 Overall; Via Italia Is 3rd & Also Wins Fave Pizza & Italian! 

There isn’t much more we can say about Stonewood Grill & Tavern that hasn’t already been said each of the past eight years as our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa, so we won’t even bother. Suffice it to say that Stonewood’s combination of quality food, an elegant setting, outstanding service, New Tampa’s most hopping upscale bar crowd and fair prices continue to keep it at the top of your list. 

This year’s second-Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa (and Favorite Latin Restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel) was at least a little bit of a surprise, NOT because Las Palmas Latin Grill isn’t a great mom-&-pop restaurant, but because owners Ramses and Ana Garcia were still operating out of a food truck, rather than their brick-&-mortar location, when last year’s survey was conducted. For Las Palmas to nudge past last year’s second place finisher, Via Italia, after not making the 2023 top-25 was very impressive. 

Overall, seven of your 2023 top-10 Favorite Restaurants in New Tampa still made this year’s Top-10 (some moved up, others down), but Las Palmas, EggTown and the reopened Kobé moved into the top-10 while Fresh Kitchen, Olive Garden & Minerva (which still won for Favorite Indian Restaurant) dropped out. — GN 

1. Stonewood Grill & Tavern 

17050 Palm Pointe Dr., Pointe at Tampa Palms 

(813) 978-0388 • StonewoodGrill.com 

So, even though it is part of a mini-chain with fewer than ten units, no one should be surprised that Stonewood Grill & Tavern — which was the first upscale restaurant to open in New Tampa and has always been at or near the top of our Reader Survey rankings ever since — took home top honors again this year. 

With new menu items like peach bourbon-glazed pork chops (top) and the huge tuna poké stack appetizer (bottom) always being added to the chain’s menu by Tampa Palms executive chef Danny Manzur, and the most New Tampa of all bar scenes in zip code 33647, it’s not difficult to understand how Stonewood keeps itself at the top of our reader rankings (and at least near the top of mine) every year. Kudos to Manzur and operating partner Dennis Diaz and their staff for never skimping on quality. 

2. Las Palmas Latin Grill 

6431 E. County Line Rd. 

(813) 991-5500 • LasPalmasLatinGrill.com 

When owner and chef Ramses Garcia told me last year that he sold his Las Palmas food truck and was getting ready to reopen in the same space his brick-&-mortar Las Palmas Latin Grill had been in before (after closing for about a year because of a kitchen fire), I knew he was going to be successful, but I had no idea that he would be able to go from not making the top-25 in the 2023 Reader Dining Survey to #2 Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa in such a short period of time. 

Of course, adding beer and wine had to help, but adding new dishes — like his delicious fried whole snapper (top photo) to go with his award-winning Tampa- and Miami -style Cuban sandwiches (bottom photo) likely helped even more. 

No matter what menu items you love at Las Palmas, it’s clear that Ramses and his wife Ana have provided the restaurant comeback story of the year for not just our readers, but for yours truly as well. 

3. Via Italia Wood Fired Pizza & Bar 

8644 Hunter’s Village Rd., Village at Hunter’s Lake 

(813) 475-4857 • EatViaItalia.com 

Finishing closely behind Las Palmas for #2 this year was last year’s #2 finisher, Via Italia. I don’t believe that the drop of one spot from last year has anything to do with former owner Roberto Maganuco selling the restaurant to new owner Sonny Patel, as the restaurant still serves the same delicious Italian fare (like the tagliatelle Bolognese shown here). I just think Via Italia fell victim to a new wave of support for Las Palmas. 

4. Liang’s Bistro Asian Cuisine 

17515 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 

(813) 978-1225 • LiangsBistroTampa.com 

Jumping up from #6 last year to the fourth spot this year is Liang’s Bistro, which also continues to dominate the “Favorite Chinese Restaurant in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel” vote, as it has every year since it opened. 

As I have often said, while not all of Liang’s dishes can be called “New York-style” (although its crispy egg rolls, right, are very NY-ish), there’s no doubt that it has been our area’s only quality sit-down Chinese place. 

5. Fat Rabbit Pub 

16029 Tampa Palms Blvd. W., City Plaza at Tampa Palms 

(813) 252-3004 • FatRabbitPub.com 

There’s no doubt that the Fat Rabbit Pub has been a model of consistency since it opened to rave reviews several years ago and this year is no exception. 

Fat Rabbit has repeated as our readers’ #5 Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa, thanks to still serving its more upscale pub items (like its new fattened shrimp appetizer and a variety of new rice bowls, including the Fish Taco bowl with Mojo mahi-mahi), as well as some of the best wings (photo) in our distribution areas. 

6. The Grill at Morris Bridge 

10920 Cross Creek Blvd., Cross Creek Commons 

(813) 388-5353 • TheGrillatMorrisBridge.com 

Although it dropped from #2 Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa two years ago to #3 last year and #6 this year, there’s no doubt that a large number of our readers love owner Frank Gouveia’s Grill at Morris Bridge, as it finished only a few votes behind the #3-#5 favorites on this page, all of which were significantly ahead of #s 7-#10. 

Plus, with the recent addition of new bar menu items (like this chili cheese dog), The Grill isn’t just for “date night” anymore. It’s also a great place to watch a game, too. 

7. Mr. Dunderbak’s 

14929 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Oak Ramble Plaza 

(813) 977-4104 • DunderbaksBeer.wordpress.com 

After returning to the top-10 (#8) in New Tampa last year, following a mysterious one-year absence from our readers’ top-25, Mr. Dunderbak’s and its German (and American) cuisine continues to be not only a popular place to have a beer, but also everything from corned beef Reuben sandwiches (photo) to jagerschnitzel, as it rose to #7 this year. In short, Mr. Dunderbak’s is still Tampa’s “German Bierhalle, Braueri, Marketplatz und Restaurant.” 

8. Cali Tampa Palms 

17004 Palm Pointe Dr., Shoppes at The Pointe 

(813) 975-1222 • EatCali.com 

Although New Tampa’s original “bowl culture” eatery has risen and fallen a few spots year over year, Cali Tampa Palms continues to be one of our readers’ Favorite restaurants in New Tampa. 

Known not only for its tasty bowls (like the “Lean & Clean” shown here), but also for delicious wrap sandwiches, salads and oven-baked pizza — all with quality ingredients, Cali is likely to remain a consistent favorite for years to come. 

9. EggTown 

17507 Preserve Walk Ln. (New Tampa) & 27607 S.R. 56 (Wesley Chapel) 

(813) 533-7221 (NT) & (813) 994-9666 (WC) • EggTown.com 

Jumping up eight spaces from #17 last year is this year’s #9 Favorite restaurant in New Tampa, EggTown. 

Despite losing out to Keke’s in this year’s “Favorite Breakfast Place” voting, this growing (now up to five units) mini-chain (with locations in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel) is a great place for delicious breakfast items (like the egg, chicken & waffles shown here) but also delicious lunch/brunch specialties like chicken salad croissants, burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches. It has super-fair prices, too! 

10. Kobé Japanese Steakhouse 

17641 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 

(813) 680-5800 • KobeSteakhouse.com 

You can’t really call Kobé Japanese Steakhouse a “newcomer” to our area because it had a New Tampa location for several years before shutting down to relocate a few miles south on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., but it is the first time in a couple of years Kobé has been open and our readers obviously are still taken with what is now New Tampa’s only place for “dinner-&-a-show” teppanyaki-table Japanese fare. Our readers obviously appreciate that Kobé — now with eleven locations throughout central Florida, — has returned with the same quality it had before.