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The List · Rebuilt every week

The 50 best restaurants in Tampa.

Ranked from the full review record, not the marketing. Movement is against last week’s issue.

50ranked rooms
8.2top score
66K+reviews read
Weeklyrebuild cadence
By Corinne Ashford, Editorial Team

Tampa does not agree on much, but its review record is clearer than its marketing. We scored every restaurant in the city on a single 10-point Insider Score built from the full body of its reviews, then corrected for what raw star averages miss: a 4.8 from forty reviews is not a 4.8 from four thousand. What survives that math is this list.

The famous addresses hold their spots only where they earn them. Just as often, the kitchens at the top sit in a strip-mall plaza or a quiet neighborhood corner, rooms that never bought a billboard. That is not a thumb on the scale. It is what the numbers said, and we let them say it. The full method is public: read exactly how the score is built.

The top ten

Issue № 136 · rebuilt Sun Aug 16, 2026

Bacon Street Diner№ 01

Bacon Street Diner

Brunch Clearwater $$
1 wks on the List
8.2Excellent —
Lolis Mexican Cravings№ 02

Lolis Mexican Cravings

Mexican North Tampa $$
1 wks on the List
8.0Excellent —
Craft Street Kitchen№ 03

Craft Street Kitchen

New American Trinity $$
1 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
Wright's Gourmet House№ 04

Wright's Gourmet House

American South Tampa $$
1 wks on the List
7.8Excellent —
On Swann№ 05

On Swann

New American Hyde Park $$$
1 wks on the List
7.7Excellent —
Pia's Trattoria№ 06

Pia's Trattoria

Italian Gulfport $$
1 wks on the List
7.7Excellent —
Lenny’s Restaurant№ 07

Lenny’s Restaurant

Brunch Clearwater $$
1 wks on the List
7.6Excellent —
Rusty Bellies№ 08

Rusty Bellies

Seafood Tarpon Springs $$
1 wks on the List
7.4Great —
Psomi№ 09

Psomi

Greek North Hyde Park $$
1 wks on the List
7.4Great —
Rocca№ 10

Rocca

Italian Tampa Heights $$$
1 wks on the List
7.4Great —
ƒ

How the List is built

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors’ read. The List is rebuilt every week from the live review record; the movement column shows each room’s change against last week’s issue. Full methodology →

Rows 11–50

The rest of this week’s List. Movement vs. Issue № 135.

RankΔRoomCuisineNeighborhoodScoreWeeks
№ 11 — Guppys on the Beach Seafood Indian Rocks Beach 7.3 1 wk № 12 — The Black Pearl French Dunedin 7.2 1 wk № 13 — Rooster & the Till New American Seminole Heights 7.1 1 wk № 14 — Oxford Exchange New American Hyde Park 7.0 1 wk № 15 — Hellas Restaurant Greek Tarpon Springs 7.0 1 wk № 16 — Ulele New American Tampa Heights 6.8 1 wk № 17 — Big Ray's Fish Camp Seafood South Tampa 6.8 1 wk № 18 — Bern's Steak House Steakhouse Hyde Park 6.7 1 wk № 19 — Doc B's Restaurant Bars Westshore 6.7 1 wk № 20 — Mykonos Greek Tarpon Springs 6.7 1 wk № 21 — Cesare At The Beach Italian Clearwater 6.6 1 wk № 22 — The Urban Stillhouse New American St. Petersburg 6.6 1 wk № 23 — West Tampa Sandwich Shop Cuban West Tampa 6.3 1 wk № 24 — Frenchy's Rockaway Grill Seafood Clearwater Beach 6.3 1 wk № 25 — Predalina Mediterranean Downtown Tampa 6.2 1 wk № 26 — Edison: Food+Drink Lab New American Hyde Park 6.1 1 wk № 27 — The Sacred Pepper New American Carrollwood 6.1 1 wk № 28 — Donovan's Meatery Steakhouses Riverview 6.0 1 wk № 29 — Boulon Brasserie and Bakery French Downtown Tampa 6.0 1 wk № 30 — Kojak's House of Ribs BBQ Seffner 6.0 1 wk № 31 — Mise En Place New American Ybor City 6.0 1 wk № 32 — Columbia Restaurant Cuban Ybor City 6.0 1 wk № 33 — Skyway Jack's Restaurant Brunch St. Petersburg 5.9 1 wk № 34 — Mr Souvlaki Greek Tarpon Springs 5.9 1 wk № 35 — Pho Quyen Vietnamese Town 'N Country 5.7 1 wk № 36 — Salt Rock Grill Seafood Indian Shores 5.5 1 wk № 37 — La Teresita Cafe Cuban West Tampa 5.4 1 wk № 38 — Oystercatchers Seafood Westshore 5.4 1 wk № 39 — Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish Seafood South Pasadena 5.4 1 wk № 40 — Malio's Steakhouses Downtown Tampa 5.4 1 wk № 41 — The Chattaway American St. Petersburg 5.3 1 wk № 42 — Ocean Hai New American Clearwater Beach 5.3 1 wk № 43 — Bon Appétit Restaurant & Marina Bar Seafood Dunedin 5.1 1 wk № 44 — Brocato's Sandwich Shop Cuban East Tampa 5.0 1 wk № 45 — Skipper's Smokehouse Seafood North Tampa 4.8 1 wk № 46 — Timpano Hyde Park Italian Hyde Park 4.7 1 wk № 47 — Costas Restaurant Greek Tarpon Springs 4.5 1 wk № 48 — Dimitri's on the Water- Tarpon Springs, Florida Greek Tarpon Springs 4.4 1 wk № 49 — Island Way Grill Seafood Clearwater 4.4 1 wk № 50 — Casa Tina Mexican Dunedin 4.4 1 wk

About this ranking

How is this ranking calculated?

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors' read. The same method is applied to every kitchen in Tampa.

How often is the list updated?

It is rebuilt every week from the current review record, so a room that slips or surges moves with the numbers.

Why do lesser-known restaurants rank so high?

Because the data puts them there. The score does not know where a restaurant sits. A neighborhood counter and a marquee dining room are measured exactly the same way.

Five rooms, every Friday.

The new opening, the sleeper the score just flagged, and the one room worth booking this week. Free.