Oronzo Honest Italian Is On The Grow…And Still Delicious!

Oronzo Has A New Midtown Tampa Location, A New GM In New Tampa & Some Yummy New Menu Items! 

Even though its original location opened in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza during the pandemic in the summer of 2020, the original location of Oronzo Honest Italian has been successful enough that owner Dan Bavaro decided to open a second location of his fast-casual, from-scratch Italian concept restaurant in the new Midtown Tampa development off I-75 at N. Dale Mabry Hwy.

Bavaro certainly is no stranger to success in the restaurant business. He also has opened four popular locations of Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana & Pastaria (including St. Pete, Sarasota, on Franklin St. in Tampa and at Tampa International Airport), but Oronzo’s may be Bavaro’s most ambitious concept to date — one that he co-founded with the company that owns The Melting Pot restaurant.

“You’re getting Bavaro’s old-world, from-scratch Italian cuisine combined with The Melting Pot, which is know for experiences and customer service and we kind of merged those two together to create Oronzo,” Dan told Charley Belcher on a recent Fox 13 News feature about the new Midtown location.

Named for his grandfather Oronzo Bavaro, who emigrated to Brooklyn, NY, from Italy, Oronzo Honest Italian is New Tampa’s only place for actual homemade pastas (which you can watch being made in the open kitchen), plus flatbreads and burrito-style sandwiches made from piadina bread (which Bavaro says dates back to the 1800s) from the eastern Italian town of Rimini, located on the Adriatic Sea.

Whatever its roots may be, Oronzo features modern takes on not only many of the recipes created by Dan’s grandmother Angela Bavaro, but also on how to order, create, serve and enjoy made-from-scratch, fast-casual Italian cuisine.

Favorites Old & New!

We featured Oronzo around the same time last year in these pages, but there are several new menu items that have been added, as has new general manager Simon Luckett, who had been with Oronzo for less than two months when we interviewed him for this story.

“It’s a great place, with delicious food and happy customers,” Simon says (no pun intended). “Everything has been really great so far.”

As for the new dishes, one of my favorites is the healthy new Protein Bowl, which features a delicious base of farro and brown rice, with celery, onion, grilled chicken, soppresata pork, roasted mushrooms, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, feta cheese and homemade pesto dressing. So good!

Another savory (albeit less healthy) new dish is the meatball (or chicken) parm Italian burrito, with homemade spaghetti, your choice of sauce, fresh mozzarella and parmesan wrapped in homemade piadina bread. Not only are they super-tasty, it’s also fun to watch them being made!

The new dish I was shocked that I enjoyed was the pasta and Impossible Bolognese (left) with gluten-free rotini pasta. Photographer Charmaine George and I agreed that the Impossible meat substitute looked and tasted like ground beef and you can choose your favorite pasta to go with it.

And, while you also can still get a variety of delicious cracker-crisp flatbread-style pizzas made with Oronzo’s homemade piadina bread (like the American with pepperoni and San Marzano tomatoes pictured on the previous page), also new to the Oronzo menu — but only available at the Midtown Tampa location at our press time — are artisan pizzas with a more traditional crust. Simon says (oops, I did it again) that the artisan pizzas also should be available in New Tampa soon.

But, our favorite menu items at Oronzo still include the amazing zucchini noodles (Jannah loves them with grilled chicken and homemade pesto, but you can also order it “meatless,” with pomodoro (red), spicy arrabiata, crema (white) or butter and extra virgin olive oil. If you’re not a fan of zucchini noodles (but I think you should try them before you decide), you can get your choice of sauces with Oronzo’s homemade spaghetti, imported Pastaficio DiMartino penne or the gluten-free rotini, and you can add homemade meatballs (which also are available as an appetizer), heirloom tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, and bell peppers. 

Oronzo also features a nice selection of fresh salads and soups (Jannah loves the tomato basil soup).

For dessert, try the new Nutella piatto (right)or my long-time favorite cannoli crisps, with the cannoli cream on the side as a dip. There’s also Italian wedding cookies and a variety six pack of French-style macarons.

Oronzo also features a kids menu, plus white and red wines, Peroni Italian beer on draught, espresso drinks, a Coca-Cola soda fountain and the tasty Oronziata (a house-made blood orange beverage) and bottled versions of the red sauces for retail sale. 

Oronzo Honest Italian (18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.) is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays (9 p.m. on Fri. & Sat.). For info, visit Oronzo.com or call (813) 730-0100.

Here Are The 10 Best Restaurants To Open In Our Areas In 2020!

With the possible exception of the hotel/tourism industry, there’s little doubt that the restaurant business was among the most Covid-affected industry sectors in Florida in 2020.

And, although many of the new eateries that opened in Wesley Chapel in 2020 were delayed by the pandemic, the past year was still one of the busiest for new restaurant openings in both Wesley Chapel and New Tampa.

Among the new eateries that opened in 2020 in (and adjacent to) Wesley Chapel and New Tampa were the following and please note that ALL of these restaurants will make my list of “Gary’s Favorites” in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel for 2020 in our next issue:

1. Treble Makers — The dueling piano entertainment venue that opened in The Grove at Wesley Chapel during the early stages of Florida’s restaurant re-openings, Treble Makers was one of the few newcomers to register more than a blip with our readers, finishing as the 4th Favorite restaurant in Wesley Chapel and Favorite American Restaurant in both of our distribution areas in our 2020 Reader Dining Survey & Contest. If you haven’t tasted chef Kevin Maggard’s coconut curry grouper, fried calamari or grilled filet mignon, you owe it to yourself to check out Treble Makers for a dueling piano show on Friday or Saturday night‚ or anytime!

Via Italia’s Bolognese

2. Via Italia — With so many different kinds of pizza on the menu, you might think that Via Italia, located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa was “just” a pizza place. All of the different styles of woodfired pizza are great, but try any of Via Italia’s fresh pasta dishes. Owner Roberto Maganuco has both pesto Genovese and pesto Siciliano dishes (which are amazing), but don’t wait as long as I did to try the linguine with white clam sauce — it’s the best I’ve ever had in Florida. Via Italia was voted the #9 Favorite Restaurant in New Tampa by our readers, but it surely would have finished higher had it been open longer…or in a normal year.

3. Zukku-San Sushi Bar & Grill — Again, Zukku-San opened too late to get any reader votes this year, but it is a beautiful new restaurant with a full liquor bar, great sushi and Japanese specialties (including the best tempura and chicken teriyaki we’ve had in years) and a true South Tampa vibe. Look for Zukku-San to register with our readers in 2021, too. 

4. Rock & Brews — Considering how packed the place has been (even with social distancing) inside and out since the moment it opened, we were a little surprised that the first Tampa Bay link in this small chain (on S.R. 56) — inspired and owned in part by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS — didn’t get any votes at all from our readers, until we realized that it didn’t open until a week before we shut down the voting. With great live music on the weekends and everything from unique bruschetta to sweet heat fried chicken and even pizzas on the menu, Rock & Brews will likely make our 2021 top-10.

Lima’s seafood ceviche

5. Lima Peruvian Chicken — Anyone who looks up “Peruvian cuisine” online will find out that it is considered the #1 Latin cuisine and top two or three in the entire world — and Lima has authentic Peruvian rotisserie chicken, fish and seafood ceviches, baked scallops and so much more that it’s a shame some people thought it was another Mexican place that replaced El Pescador in mid-2020 in the New Tampa Center plaza on BBD. When I announce my favorite restaurants (new or existing) in New Tampa next issue, Lima will be in the top-5.

6. Florida Ave. Brewing Co. — Another hotly-anticipated entry that opened too late to receive reader votes this year, the former location of Sports & Field on S.R. 56 has a unique menu, with items like bibimbap bowls, Chinese sticky ribs and smoked gouda lobster mac & cheese, to go with more typical sports bar fare, an amazing craft beer selection, full liquor bar and private tasting rooms.

7. Oronzo Honest Italian — –One of two fast-casual Italian places in our area to make this list, owner Dan Bavaro (who also owns Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletano in South Tampa)’s Oronzo serves house-made pasta with delicious sauces and toppings, as well as pizza-style flatbreads, unique piadina sandwiches, plus salads, desserts and more — and now serving beer and wine! Located on BBD in New Tampa, it’s worth the drive to check out Oronzo, a truly unique concept. 

8. Aussie Grill — Although I’ve always enjoyed the Outback Steak House, here is another unique fast casual concept, this one  from the folks at Bloomin’ Brands, that I really love — and not just because Jannah and I live across the street from its S.R. 56 location. We definitely give thumbs-up to the bacon burgers and the topped grilled chicken and the order-ahead system is outstanding.

Pasta di Guy’s meat oven-baked pizza

9. Pasta di Guy —  Although he didn’t need to add his yummy (love the cheese!) oven-baked pizzas for me to be a fan, Cordon Bleu (London)-trained chef and owner Guy Carmeli keeps making this already-popular fast casual Italian eatery better and promises to keep adding new house-made pastas like fresh spaghetti (but, the strozzapreti is still my favorite) and probably more appetizers. I love the creamy pesto, vodka (1/2 Alfredo & 1/2 marinara), aglio e olio (garlic & oil) and beef bolognese (which does carry a $2.50 upcharge) sauces and I pretty much add Guy’s fresh sausage to everything.   

10. (tie) Chuck Lager America’s Tavern — Jannah and I love the atmosphere and many of the dishes at this third link in the U.S. of a new chain with a menu created by celebrity TV chef Fabio Viviani. With a little more diverse menu and some better fish options, Chuck Lager could climb on at least my list of favorites for 2021. 

10. (tie) Mahana Fresh — This second location (the original is in Bradenton) fast casual concept on BBD in New Tampa is different than most other “bowl culture” places because it offers not only three different kinds of grilled chicken, but also tender grilled steak as a protein option. There also are multiple kinds of rice and spinach salad as a base, but I’m kind of addicted to the kale crunch salad, as well as the sesame ginger broccoli, garlicky cilantro green beans and Mediterranean tomatoes.

Other new restaurants that opened in 2020 that I considered for this list:

 Michi Ramen (New Tampa)When Michi Ramen opened before Oronzo on BBD in New Tampa, it was set up beautifully as a takeout-only, so I was stunned when I saw what a gorgeous restaurant it is inside, once it opened up during Covid. The pan-seared Japanese-style gyoza (pork dumplings), tempura-style soft-shell crab, and popcorn-style fried chicken with spicy mayo are my favorite appetizers. I’m not the biggest ramen fan, or Michi Ramen would surely have made my top-10 favorite newbies.

Main Event — Yes, we realize that the bowling and entertainment center is more than “just” a restaurant, but Main Event did host one of the first North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ pandemic-caused shutdown of just about everything here in the Sunshine State.

Double Branch Artisanal Ales — Again, Double Branch, located in The Village at The Grove of Wesley Chapel, doesn’t yet qualify as a “restaurant” — at least not until its kitchen opens — but it has offered pizzas from a food truck outside the craft beer brewery and should open a kitchen inside in 2021. Even so, enough of Wesley Chapel’s craft beer-crazed residents voted for it as their Favorite Bar in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel for it to finish in this year’s top-5 in that category.

Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. — As a transplanted native New Yorker, I appreciate the “legit” kettle-boiled-then-baked bagels and “Brooklynized” water used for the bagels and coffee at this new favorite on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel, which could contend for “Favorite Breakfast” in our distribution areas with our readers next year and already scored with yours truly this year.

Crumbl Cookie — Although it also opened too late to make a splash in this year’s Reader Survey, not since Nothing Bundt Cakes opened in the Shops at Wiregrass has any new dessert-only place created such a stir in our community. The decadent churro and s’mores cookies are our favorites of Crumbl Cookie’s rotating flavors so far and the flavors of creamy ice cream also are rotated weekly.

Arepa Mia (Lutz) —  Located in the Grand Oaks Plaza on Wesley Chapel Blvd., this authentic Venezuelan eatery offers a variety of meat-filled arepas and empanadas, as well as tequeños, chicken wings and even Venezuelan soups. Everything definitely looks, smells and tastes homemade, so I would love to see this menu expanded.

Gu Wei Noodle House (New Tampa) —  This super-authentic Chinese-style (definitely not New York-style) Chinese restaurant opened late in 2020 at the former location of  Sukhothai off BBD (near the AMC 20 Movie Theater). Noodles are Gu Wei’s specialty but I prefer the stir-fried rice with my dishes. Even so, I have enjoyed the pan-sautéed pork dumplings, the beef with broccoli, which is mild on the menu, but I ordered it spicy — and it was.

Special Mentions — Although there has been a Bonefish Grill in Wesley Chapel for years, Jannah and I love the new S.R. 56 location, which has lots more parking as well as seating at the bar. Yes, the menu is the same as always, but again, Jannah and I live across the street from Bonefish now.

And, even though Moschella’s Italian Eatery & Market opened only nine days before the end of 2020 and doesn’t have dine-in restaurant seating, what this new gourmet shop does have are prepared foods as good or better than most restaurant fare.

Let me know if I missed any that opened last year that you love!

Oronzo Honest Italian — Honestly Fast, Casual & Delicious!

If you’ve been craving freshly made Italian food and haven’t yet tried Oronzo Honest Italian, located in the outparcel building to The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., I suggest you go now because it’s a one-of-a-kind fast-casual dining experience that’s sort of an Italian take on nearby Chipotle.

Owner Dan Bavaro, who started his career in the food service business at the age of 16 in New Jersey, when he worked for a food truck/caterer who provided food for movie sets. Two years later, he started a high-end limousine company and made enough money when he sold the business to open his own restaurant.

“I knew I didn’t want a ‘slice joint’ or a fine dining Italian place,” Dan says, so after moving to Tampa in 2007, “I ended up becoming one of the first three places in the country to serve wood-fired true Neapolitan-style pizza (that has since become all the rage) when I opened the original Bavaro’s Pizza Napoletana on Franklin St. downtown in 2009.”

Dan Bavaro (far left) with his family.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Dan says that when he first opened Bavaro’s, his whole menu was maybe ten items — including two pizzas, two appetizers, two salads.

By his third year in business, however, Bavaro’s had added pastas and sauces, all made in house and started selling the sauces in the restaurant.

“When we started, I got up to making 250 pizzas a day. Once we added other items, only 60% of the business was still pizza.” By 2015, Bavaro started franchising his place, with new locations popping up at Tampa International Airport and in downtown St. Pete and downtown Sarasota.

In 2016, he began talking with Bob Johnson, the owner of the uber-successful The Melting Pot franchises in our area and the two decided to start working on a fast, casual Italian concept together that four years later became Oronzo, which was named for Dan’s grandfather when it opened earlier this year. Oronzo and Angela Bavaro emigrated from Italy to Brooklyn, NY, where he owned and operated a trucking company, delivering fresh ingredients to local markets and restaurants. 

What About The Food?

Dan is proud that even though Oronzo is a fast, casual concept, the restaurant is a true scratch kitchen, where the pastas, sauces, bread for the piadina sandwiches (aka Italian burritos) and crispy, Roman-style flatbreads (Dan warns that they are not pizzas, although they’re yummy, whatever you call them) are all made in-house. Even the salad dressings and amazing tomato basil zuppa (soup; Jannah’s favorite, which is served with crisp, toasted rosemary focaccia bread) are all house-made.

Start with an Italian-inspired salad (the Italian chopped, classic Caesar and “Iconic Caprese” are all delicious (we added grilled chicken to the Italian chopped salad on this page). Our favorite dressing is the Caesar, but the roasted pepper vinaigrette gets Dan’s vote.

Jannah and I love the spaghetti with meatballs (and I love adding the fresh Italian sausage to it) and the fresh-cut zucchini noodles with antico pomodoro (fresh tomato sauce). You can choose from Oronzo’s pomodoro, spicy arrabbiata, crema, pesto, butter or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) sauces.

I’m also a big fan of the chicken pesto pasta. The only pasta on the menu I haven’t tried is the primavera, which you can get with spaghetti or zucchini noodles.

Also outstanding is the Caprese forza bowl, made with farro, an ancient grain from Sicily that has become popular here, too. The Caprese bowl features farro, crispy baked chicken, heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto and a balsamic drizzle. So savory!

Senior video producer/photographer Charmaine George, who took most of these pics, also raved about the Caprese piadina (above) and Dan says his favorite is the chicken parm piadina.

My favorite flatbread so far is the Carne (with San Marzano tomato sauce, spicy Italian sausage, prosciutto cotto and spicy soppressata, fresh mozzarella and EVOO).

For dessert, Oronzo has three unique options. The only one I’ve had so far are the cannoli crisps, which are house-made cannoli cream, served with almost cookie-like cannoli crisps for dipping (above). There’s also a warm Nutella piatto flatbread and Italian wedding cookies. There’s even a great kids menu (labeled “Bambino”). 

Oronzo also features an easy-to-use ordering kiosk which quickly walks you through all of the available menu items and Dan says his online ordering system is state-of-the-art, too.“You can go on there and order for a week from now at a certain time and the system will remind us to make your food fresh a few minutes before you’re set to pick it up,” he says. “Technology is a key part of what we do and it’s been made better by listening to our customers.”

And now, Oronzo also offers beer and wine. The new additions include a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo red, a Pinot Grigio white and a sparkling prosecco, plus Peroni beer on draft and an Oronziata non-alcoholic beverage made from scratch with blood oranges, plus delicious espresso and Americano coffees.

Oronzo Honest Italian is located at 18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. And is open every day, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. For more information, call (813) 730-0100 or visit Oronzo.com.