8 Best Restaurants in The Tampa Bay Area, Florida

Known for its creative fare, this waterfront restaurant has a menu that changes frequently, offering such entrées as broiled rack of lamb in herbed pecan crust and red snapper on a bed of lobster hash. The creative grouper options, including medallions, get well-deserved plaudits from many patrons. Bon Appétit has staying power, having served at the same location for more than three decades. It's a great place to catch a sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. There's live music Thursday through Sunday, in addition to a pianist who plays Wednesday through Sunday evening and at Sunday brunch.

If you drop in for a drink at what is one of the best happy-hour spots in St. Petersburg, it's worth sticking around for dinner. Casual French options include croque monsieur, but there are also more elaborate entrées like bouillabaisse or Atlantic salmon served with smashed peas, baby-carrot confit, and an orange-coriander glaze. The wine list is formidable, and the cocktails are a Friday-evening draw for local movers and shakers. Given the location on bustling Beach Drive, the people-watching here is second to none. If you're around in the morning, stroll over to the attached Cassis Pizza and Market for a pastry and some coffee, or, later in the day, a hand-tossed pizza or sandwich.

In addition to its long, creative lunch and dinner menus, this gem on St. Pete Beach offers creative breakfast options that tend to be a bit healthier—and more worldly—than their greasy-spoon counterparts (think: vegan hash and berry-and-Brie crepes). It's also pretty much the only neighborhood spot in St. Pete Beach where you'll find proper espresso drinks, not to mention formidable brunch and tapas menus. At night, the dining room transforms into a tapas bar with live music and flowing sangria.

Especially popular for breakfast (served all day), this unassuming landmark squats on the beach and serves cheap sit-down eats—mostly sandwiches, but also (after 4 pm) a wide array of seafood entrées ranging from lobster mac and cheese to grilled or blackened mahimahi. Many items have a Greek tinge to them.

For more than a century, this family-owned Ybor City bakery has been a go-to stop for authentic Cuban bread—crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. It's also the largest producer of Cuban bread in the world, each day baking 18,000 loaves for restaurants in Tampa and beyond. In addition to bread, the eatery also offers a number of other baked goods, including guava turnovers, flan, and cannolis, as well as a full café menu with breakfast items, sandwiches (on house-made bread, of course), and salads. La Segunda also has locations in South Tampa and St. Petersburg.

A menu of steamer and raw-bar options supplements such much-enjoyed favorites as quarter-pound hot dogs, fish-and-chips, wings, and burgers—and early birds can catch breakfast here, too. With views of New Pass between Longboat and Lido keys, this is a popular stop for locals and visitors en route from Mote Aquarium and the adjoining bay-front park. The open-air dining area is comfortable even in summer, thanks to a pleasant breeze. Its bar is shaped from the hull of an old boat. There are two additional branches on Siesta Key and Venice Island.

Although the fish served at this upbeat restaurant is deserving of much attention, the ones swimming in the 33,500-gallon aquarium lining the restaurant's back wall are the real draw. The menu consists primarily of local seafood prepared with a Caribbean touch. All three meals are served here. At dinner you'll find grilled jerk swordfish, pan-seared grouper piccata, and Gulf shrimp with stone-ground grits. The massive fish tank's construction was featured on an episode of the reality show Tanked, and it is home to a broad range of residents of the Gulf of Mexico, including a nurse shark, several grouper, and a bright green moray eel, who periodically comes out from beneath its rock. For $25 you can swim in the aquarium during the restaurant's off-hours, and even take a behind-the-scenes tour. If you're eager to catch a game, you'll want to head to the bar, which has multiple TV screens and a decent bar menu.

Lines for meals stretch well beyond the hostess podium at this family restaurant in the heart of Sarasota's Amish community. Although pies—Key lime, egg custard, banana cream, peanut butter, strawberry rhubarb, and others—are the main event, other dishes are tasty, too, including such daily specials as goulash, chicken and dumplings, and pulled smoked pork. For breakfast, choose from French toast stuffed with cream cheese (or Oreos) or a hearty stack of pancakes. Sandwiches include Manhattans (roast beef, turkey, or meat loaf on homemade bread with mashed potatoes and gravy). The place is often crowded, but there's plenty of waitstaff to keep tables clean and cleared, so the flow is steady. The decor retains its Old Florida efficiency appearance.