Tampa Bay's Top 100 Restaurants: small plates

Restaurant critic Laura Reiley dined out for nearly 200 meals this past year, so she knows where the best restaurants are in Tampa Bay.  As we roll out her Top 100 Restaurants, here are her picks for best small plate fare. Your fave's not listed? Let us know in the comments section. And if you want all 100 in a handy guide, be sure to pick up a Weekend section in Thursday's St. Petersburg Times.

Full Top 100 list | Search for another restaurant/bar

Best small plates
Small plate concepts got huge in 2008, and downtown Tampa restaurants sprouted like mad. Still, Fly Bar hovered over most, Leslie Shirah's industrial-chic vibe, rooftop deck and San Francisco-style nibbles keeping the place packed. The growing Ceviche empire decamped in Tampa to better digs (the site of the former St. Bart's), a good move because, while the menu remains largely unchanged, everything seems to taste a bit better on the moody nighttime patio and in the warren of intimate rooms. St. Petersburg Ceviche's new cousin, Pincho y Pincho next door, serves many of the same small plates, but the oh-so-Barcelona atmosphere and sidewalk tables make the veal and chorizo meatballs and braised lamb ribs with white beans taste even better. Pincho is also a glorious breakfast hangout. And speaking of Ceviche, Marchand's Bar & Grill at St. Petersburg’s Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club has just launched an affordable ceviche bar and small plate menu, served from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday — mofongo made with plaintains and braised pork or smoked white fish with tomato and fennel-herb crostini for around $6. (And on the weekends Marchand's has instituted a new late-night chocolate buffet.)
     Fly Bar and Restaurant, 1202 Franklin St., Tampa; (813) 275-5000,  flybarandrestaurant.com 
     Ceviche, above, 1502 S Howard Ave., Tampa; (813) 250-0203, ceviche.com
     Pincho y Pincho, 10 Beach Drive, St. Petersburg; (727) 209-2302 
     Marchand's, 501 Fifth Ave. NE, St. Petersburg; (727) 894-1000, marchandsbarandgrill.com 

Comments

[Elaine]

I honestly can't believe that Vizcaya is not on this list. Their tapas are the best by far in the Tampa Bay area. It a cozy little restaurant in Carrollwood. The chef is basque and the food is the closest thing to the food I had in Spain.

[The Mouth]

Thanks, Elaine. It's a place that's been on my list to visit for ages. Thanks for jogging my memory!