Click HERE ToEnter Our 2024 New Tampa Reader Dining Survey & Contest & To Win $200 In FREE Dining!
Although our 2023 Reader Dining Survey & Contest was super successful, we’re changing up the format for this year’s contest yet again.
Instead of putting up different categories every issue, we’re going back to showing you the lists of every local or small chain restaurant in a number of categories in both Wesley Chapel and New Tampa and asking you to name your favorites in each category. One difference is that unlike previous years, you can skip as many categories as you like, but we’re grouping the lists of restaurant by type. Here are those categories:
1) Your Five Favorite (overall) Restaurants in New Tampa (NT)
2) Your Favorite American Restaurant in New Tampa
3) Your Favorite Pizza Place in NT
These same categories also appear on the Wesley Chapel ballot. Both entry forms also include lists of places that ask you to pick your Favorite in New Tampa (NT) AND Wesley Chapel, often (but not always) because there aren’t enough in a certain category in just one of our distribution areas. Here are those other categories:
4) Your Favorite Mexican Place in NT/ WC
5) Your Favorite Latin (but not Mexican) Restaurant in NT/WC
6) Your Favorite Chinese Place in NT/WC
7) Your Favorite Japanese/Sushi Restaurant in NT & WC
8) Your Favorite Thai or Korean Restaurant in NT/WC
9) Your Favorite Italian Food in NT/WC
10) Your Favorite Greek or Mediterranean Restaurant in NT/WC
11) Your Favorite Indian Place in NT/WC
12) Your Favorite Breakfast Place in NT/WC
13) Your Favorite Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt or Gelato Place in NT/WC
14) Your Favorite Bakery in NT/WC
15) Your Favorite Coffee Shop in NT/WC
We’re providing the list of places, although we’ve left out the large national and regional chains (with more than 50-60 total locations), because you have to write (or type) the names of your favorites in the spaces provided and we’re pretty sure you know those if they’re your favorite in a category — and yes, you can still include them (we just wish you would focus on local).
Fill out as many categories as you like, but please don’t put the same name in every category, because those votes won’t be counted and if a restaurant is on our Wesley Chapel list, your vote won’t count if you write the name of that restaurant in any New Tampa-only spaces and vice-versa. You can submit both New Tampa & Wesley Chapel ballots without being DQed. Click HERE to fill out the Wesley Chapel Reader Dining Survey & Contest form!
We have upped the prizes for this year — the Grand Prize is now $200, plus prizes of $100 and $50, chosen at random from among all correctly-filled-out entries received by email or on our NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net website (Note-no U.S. Mail entries will be accepted for this year’s contest!) by Friday, October 18.
Click HERE ToEnter Our 2024 Wesley Chapel Reader Dining Survey & Contest & To Win $200 In FREE Dining!
Although our 2023 Reader Dining Survey & Contest was super successful, we’re changing up the format for this year’s contest yet again.
Instead of putting up different categories every issue, we’re going back to showing you the lists of every local or small chain restaurant in a number of categories in both Wesley Chapel and New Tampa and asking you to name your favorites in each category. One difference is that unlike previous years, you can skip as many categories as you like, but we’re grouping the lists of restaurant by type. Here are those categories:
1) Your Five Favorite (overall) Restaurants in Wesley Chapel (WC)
2) Your Favorite American Restaurant in Wesley Chapel
3) Your Favorite Pizza Place in WC
These same categories also appear on the New Tampa ballot. Both entry forms also include lists of places that ask you to pick your Favorite in New Tampa (NT) AND Wesley Chapel, often (but not always) because there aren’t enough in a certain category in just one of our distribution areas. Here are those other categories:
4) Your Favorite Mexican Place in NT/ WC
5) Your Favorite Latin (but not Mexican) Restaurant in NT/WC
6) Your Favorite Chinese Place in NT/WC
7) Your Favorite Japanese/Sushi Restaurant in NT & WC
8) Your Favorite Thai or Korean Restaurant in NT/WC
9) Your Favorite Italian Food in NT/WC
10) Your Favorite Greek or Mediterranean Restaurant in NT/WC
11) Your Favorite Indian Place in NT/WC
12) Your Favorite Breakfast Place in NT/WC
13) Your Favorite Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt or Gelato Place in NT/WC
14) Your Favorite Bakery in NT/WC
15) Your Favorite Coffee Shop in NT/WC
We’re providing the list of places, although we’ve left out the large national and regional chains (with more than 50-60 total locations), because you have to write (or type) the names of your favorites in the spaces provided and we’re pretty sure you know those if they’re your favorite in a category — and yes, you can still include them (we just wish you would focus on local).
Fill out as many categories as you like, but please don’t put the same name in every category, because those votes won’t be counted and if a restaurant is on our Wesley Chapel list, your vote won’t count if you write the name of that restaurant in any New Tampa’-only spaces and vice-versa. You can submit both New Tampa & Wesley Chapel ballots without being DQed. Click HERE to fill out the Wesley Chapel Reader Dining Survey & Contest form!
We have upped the prizes for this year — the Grand Prize is now $200, plus prizes of $100 and $50, chosen at random from among all correctly-filled-out entries received by email or on our NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net website (Note-no U.S. Mail entries will be accepted for this year’s contest!) by Friday, October 18.
We are planning to start our 2024 Reader Dining Survey & Contest in our next issue, but first, here is the list — that I hope is complete — of all of the sit-down and take-out restaurants located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code (and south on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. to Bearss Ave. and west to Livingston Ave. After that, we have the list — which clearly is much larger — for Wesley Chapel’s three zip codes (33543, 33544 & 33545). Of course, with two malls located in/adjacent to Wesley Chapel, there were bound to be more total eateries there than in New Tampa, but the difference in terms of sheer numbers — with about 100 in & near New Tampa and more than 150 in & near Wesley Chapel — is still pretty impressive.
And finally, we also have listed separately the places that are bars only, coffee- or dessert-only places & other food-oriented places that can’t, in all good conscience, be called “restaurants,” although some places on the “Coffee or Tea Only” list still also qualified for the restaurant list.
If you feel that any that are missing from this list, please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com to let me know. We’ve already had to make some additions since just the Wesley Chapel list ran in our June 11 Wesley Chapel issue.
The List Below Includes 150 Currently Open Restaurants Located Between Oak Grove Blvd. In Lutz & All Three Wesley Chapel Zip Codes!
We are planning to start our 2024 Reader Dining Survey & Contest in our next issue, but first, here is the list — that I hope is complete — of all of the sit-down and take-out restaurants located in all three Wesley Chapel zip codes and extending west to Oak Grove Blvd. in Lutz. If you see any that are missing from the list please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com to let me know. Below this main list are additional lists of places that are bars only, coffee or dessert-only places & other food-oriented places that can’t, in all good conscience, be called “restaurants.”
Its unique fusion of Italian and Southern cuisine has made Noble Crust in The Shops at Wiregrass the winner of our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel for three consecutive years. (Photos by Charmaine George)
Since it only has three locations — Wesley Chapel, Carrollwood and the original in St. Pete — you can’t really call Noble Crust a chain.
What you can call it, however, is a three-peat winner as our readers’ Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel. Noble Crust, which is known for its Southern-inspired Italian fare, craft cocktails and great vibe, has been in our readers’ top-5 every year since it opened in the Shops at Wiregrass in 2017, and has taken home top honors for 2021, 2022 & 2023.
Although runner-up finisher Azteca D’Oro (see below) had the most first-place votes, Noble Crust had more 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-place votes than any other Wesley Chapel restaurant this year to secure the top spot with our readers.
Although it has been open in the Shops at Wiregrass less than a year, Azteca D’Oro’s monster burritos helped make it our readers’ Second Favorite Restaurant in Wesley Chapel for 2023.
A family-owned mini-chain with eight other locations from New Smyrna Beach to Lakeland, Azteca D’Oro opened in the Shops at Wiregrass earlier this year to mostly rave reviews and came within a few points of winning the top spot with our readers in its first year here.
Azteca D’Oro’s quality, authentic Mexican cuisine and huge portions helped the newcomer earn the most first-place votes of the more than 500 Neighborhood News readers who voted in this category this year and it might have finished ahead of Noble Crust had it had as many 2nd-5th-place votes.
Grillsmith has been in our readers’ top-10 Favorite Restaurants in Wesley Chapel every year it has been open, and it gives the mall a clean sweep of the top-3 this year.
Another perennial favorite, this five-location mini-chain has finished in our readers’ top-10 every year since it opened (including first-place honors as recently as 2020), Grillsmith’s third-place finish this year gives the Shops at Wiregrass a clean sweep of the top-three spots in this year’s survey.
The restaurant’s fairly-priced American fare, like its “short-trip fresh fish,” and comfortable bar continue to attract fans among our readers.
Although it’s never finished in the top-10 at its newer location on S.R. 56 before, this former two-time Readers Survey winner jumped up to #3 this year, thanks in part to its revamped menu.
With nearly 200 locations nationwide, Bonefish is a full-fledged chain known for its fresh seafood, like the bang-bang shrimp shown here.
Jumping up from its #19 finish with our readers last year (and #14 in 2021), Zukku-San on S.R. 56 is an upscale, family-owned Japanese restaurant with a premium full-liquor bar and delicious food.
Starting with just a sushi “stall” at Tampa’s Armature Works, Zukku-San has added a full location in North Carolina and another fast casual concept called Ato at the KRATE Container Park at The Grove.
It was only open for a short time when most of our readers submitted their ballots last year, so it came in at #25, but this upscale addition to The Shops at Wiregrass obviously pleased a lot of locals this year.
The original Living Room in downtown Dunedin is a perennial favorite, and the Wesley Chapel location being voted Best Pasco Restaurant by Creative Loafing readers probably didn’t hurt its recognition factor with our readers this year.
Jumping up from #11 with our readers in 2021, BJ’s is another full-fledged chain with more than 200 U.S. locations that is still serving a wide variety of favorites, despite obviously reducing its number of menu options over the past year.
Its ideal location in front of the Tampa Premium Outlets on S.R. 56 definitely helps keep the parking lot and wait list full at our local BJ’s and its fair pricing and premium full-liquor bar has helped keep it among our readers’ favorites
Like BJ’s Brewhouse, Bahama Breeze didn’t crack the top-25 when we asked readers for one list of favorites among all Wesley Chapel and New Tampa restaurants last year, but it was #7 in Wesley Chapel in 2021, the last time we split our areas into separate votes, as we did this year.
This 43-unit chain still attracts plenty of locals with its island-inspired fare.
This is by far Ford’s Garage’s highest finish with our readers since 2019, when it finished 11th.
The 22-location chain, which utilizes the Ford Motor Company’s logo, is located on the north side of S.R. 56 and features a wide variety of hand-crafted burgers and other better-than-the-average-burger-place food, plus a full-liquor bar.
Bubba’s 33, the 27-unit sports bar chain from our friends at Texas Roadhouse, is another eatery that has finished higher with our readers this year than in any of the last five years.
Bubba’s has been a solid top-20 finisher with our readers most years, but its combination of great food, sports and music videos attracted its most votes ever.
