Welcome To The โ€˜Subcontinent Of New Tampa!โ€™

New Tampa Has Become A Haven For Indian Food โ€” Now With 11 Restaurants Serving Cuisine From Every Region Of India!ย 

When I first bought Neighborhood News in 1994, there were no Indian restaurants in zip code 33647. The first was Saffron on Cross Creek Blvd., which moved and then closed. Minerva in the New Tampa Center plaza on Bruce B. Downs was the second and there were only two or three for several years. 

Today, with the growth of the local Indian population, there are now eleven Indian restaurants in New Tampa, all of which are listed on this page. On the next page, youโ€™ll find the list of the nine restaurants in New Tampa that serve Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food or at least serve Halal meat options. 

Next issue, we will provide the same type of list of the Indian & Mediterranean restaurants in Wesley Chapel. โ€” GN 

Ambarsari Zaika Indian Cuisine โ€” 10865 Cross Creek Blvd., in Mobil gas station convenience store. (656) 239-2813 Linktr.ee/AmbariZaikaTampaย 

Pure veg, Sattvic- & Jain-friendly meals with bold, rotating menus. Ghar jaisa khaana, made fresh daily. Live pani puri. Chaat, Amritsari Kulcha, Paranthas 

Dosa Hut โ€” 10942 Cross Creek Blvd. (813) 886-4555. GaramDosaHut.comย 

Casual South Indian eatery featuring crispy dosas and other breakfast staples, plus a vegan menu. 

Gorkhali Kitchen โ€” 10044 Cross Creek Blvd. (813) 388-6404. GorkhaliKitchenTampa.comย 

Locally owned & dedicated to serving up great Himalayan-inspired, authentic flavors of Kathmandu City, Nepal, for lunch & dinner. 

House of Biryanis & Kebabs โ€” 19430 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. (813) 388-6777. HBKTampa.comย 

Authentic Hyderabadi dishes prepared with fresh ingredients, traditional spices and a commitment to quality and great hospitality. 

Ice Spice Cafรฉ โ€” 20304 Trout Creek Dr., #101. (813) 591-1758. IceSpiceIndianStreetFoodCafe.shopย 

Authentic taste of Indian street cuisine with a fresh, vegetarian focus. Serves a range of flavorful dishes like chaat, samosa sandwiches, pav bhaji & Bombay sandwiches. Also serve unique Indian ice creams and fruit shakes. 

Jayโ€™s Kitchen โ€” 17501 Preserve Walk Ln., #103. (813) 866-5297. JaysKitchenUSA.comย 

From rich & creamy gravies to smoky Tandoori delights, the menu includes vegetarian, vegan & non-vegetarian options. 

Kabob Cafรฉ & Grill โ€” 18101 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy., Ste 100. (813) 405-8740. KabobCafeandGrill.comย 

Pakistani restaurant with meat curries, veg curries, kabobs, biryanis and some appetizers & desserts. 

Minerva Indian Restaurant โ€” 19050 Bruce B Downs Blvd. (813) 978-8586. MinervaTampa.comย 

Known for specialties like Gongura Chicken, Masala Dosa, and Onion Wada, this restaurant focuses on Halal and spicy dishes, plus a daily-changing lunch buffet. 

Namaste Express โ€” 17503 Preserve Walk Ln., Ste B. (813) 866-1300. Namastexp.comย 

Casual eatery for authentic dishes of South Indian cuisine, also offering vegan choices. 

Nawabi Hyderabad House โ€” 15345 Amberly Dr. (813) 443-0198. Nawabihhtampa.comย 

Growing chain of Indian restaurants known for authentic Hyderabadi cuisine, with a menu that showcases the flavors and spices of the Indian city of Hyderabad. Also known for its variety of biryanis. 

Taaza Mart Cafรฉ โ€” 6260 Commerce Palms Dr. (inside Taaza Mart grocery store). (813) 564-8100. TaazaMartFL.comย 

Indian & Pakistani store featuring fresh produce, spices, sweets and Halal meat, the cafรฉ offers a variety of hot Indian foods, prepared fresh daily. 

Now Open At Former New Tampa Wendyโ€™s โ€” House Of Biryanis & Kebabs

People have been asking us for years โ€” and posting questions online โ€” about whether anything was ever coming to the former Wendyโ€™s location at 19430 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. Until now, we didnโ€™t have any answers. 

The replacement for Wendyโ€™s is a local link in a small but growing chain of 35 halal Indian/South Asian restaurants called House of Biryanis & Kebabs (HBK) โ€” and, three days after the restaurantโ€™s ribbon-cutting event with Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera on July 6 (above right), photographer Charmaine George and I were treated to a number of delicious dishes by the restaurantโ€™s five local franchise owners, led by Satya Meka (left in photo) and Karthik Achanta (right in same photo). And yes, we thoroughly enjoyed everything we sampled.ย 

The three appetizers we indulged in were the most uniquely garlicky Murgh Malai Kebabs (top photo),which were chunks of chicken served fajita-style on a sizzling dish, followed by a spicy Mongadu Gobi (cauliflower, bottom left). Next was an order of Onion Samosas (bottom right), which were different than most Indian samosas Iโ€™ve had before, as the tasty onions and potatoes were wrapped in a crisp, spanakopita-style, almost-cellophane-like crust and were not spicy at all.ย 

โ€œWe can vary the spice on any of our dishes,โ€ Satya told us. โ€œBut, these authentic recipes use the same quality ingredients and taste the same at every HBK location (most of which are along the East Coast and in the Midwestern U.S., with one location in Manchester, England).โ€ 

Of course, we had to try one of the restaurantโ€™s signature biryanis โ€” the HBK Special Chicken Biryani (right photo), which combines spicy, long-grain rice, a hard-cooked egg and a side of zesty, slightly sweet red curry chicken.ย 

Our friend Prahlad Madabushi, who introduced us to the owners and is a vegetarian himself, also had us sample a mild mixed-veggie curry that also was excellent. 

Our final sample (left photo) was HBKโ€™s traditional, thick, creamy butter chicken, which we savored with three different varieties of naan flatbreads โ€” butter, garlic and the spicy (but not too) โ€œBullet Naanโ€ shown bottom right of the page. The naans were all pillowy soft, with a slightly crispy edge perfect for indulging in the butter chicken. I also loved the true Masala Chai tea and Charmaine and I both gave thumbs-up to the Thums Up soda (the Indian version ofย Coca-Cola now owned by Coke) and the house-made, creamy Mango Lassi.ย 

In other words, even with its supposedly limited โ€œsoft openingโ€ menu, HBK has a lot to offer those looking for authentic (mostly South) Indian cuisine. Thereโ€™s also lamb, goat, paneer (cheese) and other dishes we will definitely return to try sometime soon. 

For more information about House of Biryanis & Kebabs, visit HBKTampa.com or call (813) 388-6777.