The Best American Food in Tampa
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The best American food in Tampa, according to the experts: AAA and Michelin Guide have both weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Mystic Fish comes out on top.
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Parkshore Grill and Steelbach hold the next two places. AAA shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Michelin Guide next.
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Rank 1. Mystic Fish
Contemporary American
The awards
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Rank 1. Parkshore Grill
Contemporary American
The awards
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Rank 1. Steelbach
Southern
The dining room occupies what was once the Tampa Electrical Company's main offices, and the bare industrial bones are still very much the point. It's a Southern steakhouse where the grill runs on mesquite and oak, and the beef comes from a dedicated partnership with a local rancher, grass-fed and grain-finished for the house. The composed plates are solid, but most tables are here for the steaks, and the provenance makes them easy to argue for.
The awards
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Rank 4. Fat Beet Farm Kitchen and Bakery
American Bakery
What started as a farm outside Tampa grew into a daytime kitchen and bakery where the all-day menu runs from biscuits with honey and whipped butter to turkey Reubens and rotating soups. The mac and cheese, particularly the green hog version with pulled pork and green chilis, has its following. A community calendar on the wall keeps track of on-site events, which gives the place the feeling of a neighborhood hub that also happens to bake its own bread.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 4. Ponte
Contemporary American
Cream-and-white dining room, linen tablecloths, Champagne on arrival: Christopher Ponte's eponymous midtown Tampa restaurant makes no secret of its ambitions. It's a contemporary American fine dining spot with a menu that runs from raw bar through a dedicated steak section with a full roster of sauces, butters, and toppers. The cocktail list splits neatly between classics and modern riffs, which feels like something for everyone, or a mild identity crisis, depending on your mood.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 4. SuperNatural Food & Wine
American
A tiny downtown sandwich counter with a few seats outside and almost no reason to linger, except you will. SuperNatural runs breakfast and lunch, and the morning olive and feta on focaccia has a cult following among people who normally eat sad desk food. The cinnamon sugar sour doughnuts sell out, which tells you something. The Michelin Guide has it listed, which tells you something else.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 4. The Brisket Shoppe
Texas Barbecue
Texas barbecue with a Cuban detour is what the pitmaster here calls "Tampeño," which sounds like a genre you'd invent after one too many but turns out to be a real and considered thing. This is a counter-order barbecue shop in Tampa where brisket and smoked turkey share menu space with cowboy beans and collard greens laced with smoked ham. The Michelin Guide has listed it among its selected restaurants.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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The awards
- AAA AAA: Approved
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The awards
- AAA AAA: Approved
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The awards
- AAA AAA: Approved