Gulf To Bay - TOP RESTAURANTS - 2016

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TOP restaurants O F EA R E A’ S B E S T

THE MILL in downtown St. Petersburg, voted Florida’s “Best New Restaurant” in Florida Trend magazine’s 2016 Golden Spoon Awards.

See review inside >>

St. Petersburg/Clearwater has many restaurants to choose from — but those found on these pages are the area’s top restaurants, chosen by Laura Reiley, food critic of Florida’s largest newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times.

$ Most entrees less than $10 $$ Most entrees in the $20s $$$ Most entrees in the $30s $$$$ Most entrees over $40

Dimitri’s on the Water

Annata Wine Bar 300 Beach Drive NE St. Petersburg (727) 851-9582; $-$$ This glamorous Beach Drive anchor started strong and has kept building, with live music many nights, a range of happy hour specials and frequent wine flight offers of three short.

Must eat Assuming you’re dining with a buddy, pick five means you can choose three cheeses and a couple meats (definitely the fennel salami from San Francisco), and then you can augment with small plates. Need more drama in your life? The smoke-infused beef tartare comes under a glass dome swirling like Dumbledore’s pensieve.

Bascom’s Chop House 3665 Ulmerton Rd. Clearwater (727) 573-3363; $$$ Bascom’s has a broad and loyal following, especially among businessfolk, because they do it right. Meals are assuredly paced, needs anticipated, suggestions made with tact and solicitousness.

Bodega

Must eat You’ll find diners preoccupied with certified Angus steaks wet-aged for a minimum of 28 days. In short, classic steakhouse fare, balanced out with a lineup of luxurious seafood dishes and a wine list weighted to big reds.

BellaBrava 204 Beach Drive NE St. Petersburg (727) 895-5515; $$ When BellaBrava moved from Central Avenue to Beach Drive, many thought, “It’s going to take a lot of pizzas and pastas to pay for that move.” The owners went large, banking on Beach becoming the “it” spot in St. Pete. And it happened.

Must eat The best way to experience BellaBrava is to pull up a seat at the bar with a buddy, haggle over whether you’re getting the sausage and rapini or the hot Sicilian pizza, throw in a wedge salad and a pint of one of the house beers, and lean in to kibbitz over the din.

The Black Pearl 315 Main St. Dunedin (727) 734-3463; $$$ One of the most ambitious meals someone may eat can be found at the Black Pearl. Fourteen courses, a table hushed as each tiny, intricate dish is brought out and explained. Serrano paired with a sultry sous vide yolk, shaved Alba truffle and brown-butter croutons. You will be awed, amused, educated and fed.

Must eat Plates are composed without being fussy, each requiring visual appreciation — that goes for a cheese and charcuterie plate showcasing foie gras terrine and a wedge of Humboldt Fog, as well as the No. 1 seller, the white truffle lobster risotto.

Noble Crust

Bodega 1120 Central Ave. St. Petersburg (727) 623-0942; $ This charming, tiny spot makes Central Avenue’s EDGE District a bit edgier. The Cuban bodega is a hip, fun and affordable dining destination that offers quaint indoor accommodations as well as outdoor seating both in front and out back behind the building. Dishes are packed in eco-friendly brown cardboard boxes with the Cubans (and other pressed sandwiches) wrapped in a waxed paper.

Must eat Of course, the Cuban sandwich. Its crunchy La Segunda bread, gooey Swiss and a generous flurry of shredded pork make it irresistible. The jicama slaw and house made Cuban bread pudding should also make your list.

Casa Tina 365 Main St. Dunedin (727) 734-9226; $-$$ Owners Tina and Javier Avila have become part of the fabric of charming Dunedin. The Day of the Dead decor lasts all year, and the couple makes annual pilgrimages to Mexico for inspiration. This restaurant is more upscale, with loads of vegetarian and vegan options and a reluctance to lean on the deep fryer. With aerialists performing some nights and a deep list of margaritas, Casa Tina is suitable for date night or a bit of carousing.

Il Ritorno

Must eat Fajitas get high marks, but others tend to head for the chile rellenos, the chiles en nogado or the mole poblano veggie enchiladas.

Castile Hotel Zamora, 3701 Gulf Blvd. St. Pete Beach (727) 456-8660; $$$

Brick and Mortar 539 Central Ave. St. Petersburg (727) 822-6540; $$ It’s difficult to characterize the food for these restaurateurs: Ruhe riffs with Spanish ingredients and Italian fundamentals with the occasional Indonesian fillip, all of it with a focus on local sources whenever possible.

Must eat The beloved dish is the house beef carpaccio carrying a housemade ravioli on its back that, once punctured, seeps out leek and goat cheese mousse and velvety egg yolk. They have solid offerings for charcuterie boards, the best of which is fuchsia-colored beet-cured salmon with assertive notes of juniper and dill.

Café Largo 12551 Indian Rocks Rd. Largo (727) 596-6282; $$$ One of a small handful of restaurants to traffic in classical French cuisine, chef Dominique Christini presides over his monthly Saturday morning cooking classes and a seasonally changing prix-fixe menu, much of it now supported by regionally sourced rabbit, pork and game.

Must eat Cassoulet (slow-cooked white beans, duck, sausage and other goodies) and warming braises like elk stew with cepes. King cakes are made two ways, the fruitcake style in the south of France and the puff pastry galette with almond filling popular in the north. Still, many hew to tradition and order Grand Marnier soufflé.

Must eat Encounter Latin elements like a zappy Argentine chimichurri sauce on a tender culotte steak or house-smoked chicharrons; and if you’re paying attention, coconut lemongrass sticky rice or the tomatillo lychee salsa on a tuna poke will take you in a different direction entirely.

Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza 1101 S Fort Harrison Ave. Clearwater (727) 443-4900; $ Found just south of downtown Clearwater, Cristino’s is the coal-oven champ, with a handful of basic styles: margherita, marinara, Bianca and quattro formaggi. With a great online ordering system, it’s easy to get clicking (artichokes and capers and sausage . . .). Restrain yourself. Cristino’s pies are best with just a handful of toppings.

Must eat Lenny, Marco and Joe Cristino make consistent, chewy/crunchy pies with a fat, nut-brown cornicione, but also try their panzerotti, something between an empanada and a calzone.

Dimitri’s on the Water 698 Dodecanese Blvd. Tarpon Springs (727) 945-9400; $$-$$$

Cafe Ponte 13505 Icot Blvd., Suite 214 Clearwater (727) 538-5768; $$$ What you need to know: suave service; big-city glamorous setting; not too loud; new American menu that tiptoes from Mediterranean to Southeast Asia.

Plus, if you’re a little cash-shy, opt for the early four-course prix fixe (soup, salad, choice of entree and dessert). If you wish to express your affection in larger denominations, there’s the six-course seasonal tasting menu and wine pairings for a little extra.

Must eat Regulars swear by steaks, such as the espresso-rubbed rib eye at dinner or the shaved rib eye sandwich at lunch, but some have a Pavlovian compulsion to get the Yukon Gold/bacon/truffle oil pizza.

Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza

Hotel Zamora is doing things its own way. It’s not on the beach side of Gulf Boulevard, but it uses its bayou-side setting to best effect with a ravishing waterside pool, a patio and a rooftop bar that has water views on both sides.

The menu has strong ties to Spain, with a small-plate approach and lots of smoked paprika and cheeses like Cabrales.

FarmTable Kitchen

With the allures of the Anclote River and historic sponge-diving boats offered tableside, Dimitri’s is dreamy on a nice day. It is presided over by Dimitri Salivaras, a Culinary Institute of America grad and among the area’s more serious chefs.

Must eat There is a homogeneity to many of the Greek menus in Tarpon Springs. You’ll find most of the usual suspects at Dimitri’s, but do not forgo the appetizer platter of spreads with warm grilled pita wedges or the side dish of rosemary-scented, tomatoey stewed chickpeas.

Engine No. 9 56 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N St. Petersburg (727) 623-0938; $ This is the place that starts with solid hamburger patties and then gets completely bughouse with the toppings. Just look at the menu: the Chubby Duck, the Van Helsing, the Alice in Pain. Gargantuan burgers with foie gras, burgers with peanut butter, burgers that will make your nose run, and burgers that defy all logic (fried cheese curds with jalapeno bacon? and brisket?).

Must eat The shrimp-patty burger topped with crispy slaw, a squirt of Sriracha and some Cajun-spiced remoulade.

Kings Street Food Counter 937 Central Ave. St. Petersburg (727) 914-2111; $ This hipster-retro diner in the increasingly thronged Edge District debuted its indoor/outdoor be-muraled project with a targeted menu: thick shakes, local craft beers on tap, grilled cheeses, hot dogs, poutine, salads and, oh, cronuts (daredevil tomfoolery: cronut breakfast sandwich with scrambled egg, cheese and bacon). A dog-friendly patio, open until 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, seasonal themed movie nights, and a corn dog usually only found in your dreams all can be found here.

Kings Street Food Counter

FarmTable Kitchen Sundial, Locale Market, 179 Second Ave. N St. Petersburg (727) 523-6300; $$ Locale Market was one of the most talked-about launches last year tipping St. Pete into “culinary destination” territory. It’s clear that the reimagined FarmTable Kitchen was a savvy shift. Fresh juices and purees from the phalanx of juicers in the market; crusty rolls from the bakery; extruded and filled pastas from the Cadillac of pasta machines and wet- and dry-aged steaks from the beef case, where they lounge flanked by 196 Himalayan salt plates to absorb moisture.

Must eat Any of their steaks are magical on the grill or pan-seared, but they are rainbow-unicorn magical when cooked by experts over the flywheel grills at FarmTable Kitchen.

Fetishes Dining and Wine Bar 6305 Gulf Blvd. St. Pete Beach (727) 363-3700; $$$ For 18 years it was an outlier on St. Pete Beach. Bruce Caplan’s salaciously named Fetishes Fine Dining was a throwback of sorts, a nod to the Continental restaurants of yore. Area wine lovers knew it was one of the few places on the beach to receive major kudos from Wine Spectator, the depth and breadth of Caplan’s list a surprise in such a small place. He reopened in a new location in 2012 and excised the word “Fine” from the name. Has he taken things down-market? Absolutely not.

Must eat Tableside Caesar salads, steak Diane, Dover sole and flambeed desserts like bananas Foster.

Il Ritorno 449 Central Ave. St. Petersburg (727) 897-5900; $$-$$$ There’s a vivacious prettiness to the food that feels very feminine. It’s a small restaurant that already has a fairly regular following, dinner only, with sourcing that can range from West Coast mushrooms and caviar to right-in-our-backyard greens and citrus.

Must eat The big seller is a composed dish of swaths of American red snapper crudo accented by kumquat rounds, radish, sweet-hot calabrese chile jam and delicate red-veined leaves of lemony blood sorrel. Also consider the little pasta hats stuffed with stinky/velvety taleggio and paired with black trumpet mushrooms and a frizzle of fried leeks.

Must eat Said corn dog comes blistering hot and enrobed in a sweet, crunchy wafflish batter with a ramekin of zingy grain mustard and your choice of side (bacon blue cheese mac salad).

The Mill 200 Central Ave., No. 100 St. Petersburg (727) 317-3930; $$ Recognized as the Golden Spoon winner for best new restaurant in the state by Florida Trend magazine, the Mill is a must visit (and eat) destination in downtown St. Pete. The place is steampunk-cool, festooned with gears and tooled leather and vintage waterwheels, its menu concerning itself with gamier meats and humbler cuts (boar ribs, braised lamb belly, venison saddle).

Must eat The housemade charcuterie board and accessories continue to stretch and expand. There are octopus bacon and plush tongue rillettes to go along with the duck bacon and toro pastrami, surrounded by grainy mustards and baby pickled zucchini on a rustic board planed smooth.

Noble Crust 8300 Fourth St. N St. Petersburg (727) 329-6041; $ The Italian-Southern fusion pizza-pasta-etc. hot spot debuted weekend brunch and it feels just right. The best seats are on the 800-square-foot patio with its retractable roof and remote-control windows, but the funky-industrial dining room is also sun-dappled and pleasant during the day.

Must eat Try the lemon ricotta pancakes with fresh blueberries and lemon curd, no syrup required. The fried chicken and waffles are up there with the area’s best, with a bewitching bourbon pecan butter and a little cup of watermelon salad.

Osaka Sushi and Thai Restaurant 13800 Park Blvd. N Seminole (727) 397-3885; $ One of the boomingest restaurants to open recently is this chic emporium of crowd-pleasing specialty rolls. Its dining room is built around a three-sided exhibition sushi bar. The strength here is more-is-more combination rolls, many with suitably embarrassing names, plated attractively and marrying different fishes, garnishes and sauces. The freshness of the fish and quality of ingredients lift it above our area’s other strong contenders.

Must eat There are 72 specialty rolls, many with the kind of layering of flavors that in lesser hands might be muddy but here seems synergistic.

Parkshore Grill

Pia’s Trattoria 3054 Beach Blvd. S Gulfport (727) 327-2190; $$ This cozy Italian original has continued to expand its scope while honing the details. The dining room is commensurately lovely, with a full bar and thoughtful small wine list. The menu has expanded to include ambitious seafood specials and drop-dead desserts like a hazelnut and chocolate ricotta cheesecake.

Must eat Most people swear by the generous bowl of spicy arugula dressed in just a bit of good balsamic and topped with thick shavings of Parmesan.

Pizzeria Gregario 400 Second St. N Safety Harbor (727) 386-4107; $ You order at the counter, they hand you a stuffed animal, then your order slip goes whizzing overhead across the room like a low-budget high-wire act into the hands of pizza radical Greg Seymour. In front of the chalkboard menu is a heavily crossed-out and smudgy board listing the farmers he works with.

Must eat The menu changes with the season: Pizza topped with cherry tomatoes, house moz, plush roasted eggplant, squiggles of basil and a garlic wallop (get an order of “garlic schmoo” to waggle your crust in).

Salads are always vibrantly fresh and interesting (e.g., warm beets with pickled onion, shaved fennel and feta).

Red Mesa 4912 Fourth St. N St. Petersburg (727) 527-8728; $$

Salt Rock Grill

Parkshore Grill 300 Beach Dr. NE St. Petersburg (727) 896-3463; $$ Outside tables offer a view of the bustling downtown and namesake park.

Inside, a curving bar is flanked by a glass-encased wine closet that doubles as a design feature and includes some fine, moderately priced California cabernets and pinot noirs. Plates emerge from the open kitchen as finely crafted American cuisine with a twist.

Must eat Consider beef Wellington or pan-seared scallops, only this version sweet and tender, circling a mound of sauteed baby spinach with the rich smokiness of Southern greens.

Parts of Paris 146 Fourth Ave. N Safety Harbor (727) 797-7979; $$ Safety Harbor restaurants have an ace in the hole. Most of them are set in lovely, repurposed 1930s bungalows, many with come-hither front porches and tree-canopied front yards. Parts of Paris is the luckiest duck (and yes, they do serve said bird, as confit with braised fennel and a tarragon-cashew brown rice).

Add a lineup of classic French fare, from boeuf bourguignon to textbook beef tartare.

Must eat Brunch cannot be beat and the addition of a full bar has meant lovely cocktails such as a French 75, with dishes that go sweet (crêpe Suzette) or savory (moules-frites).

Hailing from Oaxaca, Mexico, chef Chris Fernandez’ most ambitious work can be seen here, where the cuisine is regional Mexican with an emphasis on sophisticated plate presentations at dinner and speedier, more streamlined offerings for businessfolk at lunchtime.

Must eat The house sangria is some of the best in the area. Once fortified, opt for the guacamole sampler so you can chip-shovel the one studded with crabmeat, a corn and chorizo version, or the chipotle-inflected guac.

Salt Rock Grill 19325 Gulf Blvd. Indian Rocks Beach (727) 593-7625; $$$ This gorgeously designed collaboration between Frank Chivas and the late Chef Tom Pritchard is renowned for its straight-ahead grill cookery, fresh seafood, raw bar and deep wine list. The restaurant also has a fantastic patio bar that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway, and an outrageous early menu special that keeps them lined up at the front door.

Must eat It’s hard to go wrong when contemplating your options. The fresh day-boat caught seafood should be near the top of your list or consider a steak cooked at a blistering 1,200 degrees.

Sea Salt

Z Grille

Station House

Sea Salt

Stillwaters Tavern

Sundial, 183 Second Ave. N St. Petersburg (727) 873-7964; $$$

224 Beach Drive NE St. Petersburg (727) 350-1019; $$

Sea Salt is one of three fancy restaurants anchoring Sundial’s second floor. The main attraction here can’t be missed: An L-shaped display of whole fresh fish on ice that is decorated with seaweed and lemons.

This recently opened project feels like an anchor on Beach Drive. In a primo spot just across from the Museum of Fine Arts, the handsome indoor/outdoor restaurant is a magnet for tourists, snowbirds and locals.

Must eat Some of the unfussed-with raw bar items are notable. There are between six and nine oyster types daily, ranging from British Columbia to Massachusetts and the good old Gulf.

Must eat The biggest seller is the lager cheese fondue. The short rib burger with red-wine mustard is a keeper, as is the trout spread. And for happy hour, one of the best deals is the housemade beer nuts.

Snapper’s Sea Grill

Z Grille

5895 Gulf Blvd. St. Pete Beach (727) 367-3550; $$

104 Second St. S St. Petersburg (727) 822-9600; $$

What sets Snapper’s apart from other local seafood spots is fresh-off-the-boat fish and a tremendous wine list served by a savvy staff that does it justice.

Since Z Grille first opened, downtown has been cemented as fertile ground for ambitious independent restaurants. Deviled eggs and a ridiculous but delicious more-is-more house-ground foie gras steak burger are favorites, but there’s a lightness and brightness to dishes that dot the rest of the menu, too.

Must eat The fundamentals are grouper and snapper (and tuna, because you have to have tuna evidently, theirs being a very appealing rare, wasabiedged endeavor with crazy fried noodle antennae).

Station House

Must eat Spicy shrimp wraps, duck confit pot stickers and tikka masala sea scallops with a foil of curried cauliflower puree and chile-tinged cucumber salad.

260 First Ave. S St. Petersburg (727) 895-8260; $$ The best seats are at the bar, partly because of the dynamic bartending team and partly because customers seem especially chummy and prone to bar-wide conversation. The kitchen’s mission is what they’re calling “American cocktail cuisine.”

Stillwaters Tavern

Must eat It’s small plates and sharables, without a hard line between appetizers and entrees. Share a ramekin of bechamel- and Gruyere-lush braised greens, or go all in with an entree-sized bowl of “grits and grunts,” the house spin on shrimp and grits.

For a comprehensive list of dining options in the St. Pete/Clearwater area, please see VisitSPC.com/Dining

Laura Reiley, of the Tampa Bay Times, is a former food critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Baltimore Sun. She is the author of four books in the Moon Handbook series: Florida Gulf Coast; Walt Disney World and Orlando; Tampa and St. Petersburg; and Paradise Coast. She has cooked professionally and is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. Reiley dines anonymously and unannounced. The Times pays all expenses.

On the cover: The Mill, St. Petersburg

For a comprehensive list of dining options in the St. Pete/Clearwater area, please see VisitSPC.com/Dining