Food · Tampa · United States
What to eat in Tampa
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Tampa, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Clément Bardot, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Tampa Cuban sandwich, Cuban bread and Deviled crab. Start with café con leche and Cuban toast, buy bread at La Segunda, try a deviled crab and finish with Spanish bean soup at the Columbia — all within a few blocks of 7th Avenue. Cuban bakeries are busiest early in the morning; deviled crabs and fresh bread can sell out by lunchtime.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Tampa Cuban sandwich
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 4
- Tipping
- Tip about 18–20% at table-service restaurants, $1–$2 per drink at bars, and 15–20% for…
- Food experiences
- 4
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10 foods to try
Dish
1.Tampa Cuban sandwich
Roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard pressed in Cuban bread — and, in Tampa's version, Genoa salami, a nod to the city's Italian cigar workers. The city council adopted it as the official 'historic Tampa Cuban sandwich'.
Where: Ybor City bakeries and cafés and long-running Cuban sandwich counters across West Tampa.
Bakery · Vegetarian
2.Cuban bread (Pan cubano)
A long, light loaf with a crackly crust, traditionally baked with a palmetto frond laid along the top to create its distinctive seam.
Where: La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City has baked it since 1915 and supplies many of the city's restaurants.
Street food
3.Deviled crab
Spicy blue crab meat mixed with sofrito, rolled in Cuban breadcrumbs and deep-fried in a torpedo shape — a cheap cigar-factory lunch that became a Tampa institution.
Where: Cuban bakeries, Ybor City cafés and old-school West Tampa sandwich shops.
Dish
4.Spanish bean soup (Sopa de garbanzos)
Chickpeas simmered with chorizo, ham, potatoes and saffron, served as a hearty starter in Tampa's Spanish restaurants since the early 1900s.
Where: The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City is the classic place to try it, often with the 1905 Salad.
Dish
5.1905 Salad
Iceberg lettuce, ham, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, olives and Romano tossed at the table with a garlic and Worcestershire dressing, named for the year the Columbia opened.
Where: The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City and its other Florida locations.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
6.Café con leche and Cuban toast
Strong, sweet Cuban espresso with hot milk, served with buttered, pressed Cuban bread for dunking — the standard Tampa breakfast.
Where: Cuban bakeries and coffee counters in Ybor City and West Tampa.
Dessert · Vegetarian
7.Guava pastries (Pastelitos de guayaba)
Flaky puff pastry filled with guava paste, sometimes with cream cheese. Guava is a local emblem — Tampa's nickname 'the Big Guava' plays on New York's Big Apple.
Where: Cuban and Spanish bakeries, best eaten warm in the morning.
Dish
8.Grouper sandwich
A thick fillet of Gulf grouper, fried, grilled or blackened, on a bun with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce — the default lunch at waterfront restaurants around Tampa Bay.
Where: Bayside and beach restaurants from Tampa to Clearwater and St. Pete Beach.
Dish
9.Stone crab claws
Only the claws of Florida stone crabs are harvested and the crabs are returned to the water to regrow them. The cooked claws are served chilled with mustard sauce.
Where: Seafood restaurants during the season, roughly mid-October to early May.
Drink · Vegetarian
10.Cigar City craft beer
Tampa's craft-beer scene took off with Cigar City Brewing, whose Jai Alai IPA is now found across Florida, and the city has dozens of breweries.
Where: Brewery taprooms in Seminole Heights, Ybor City and around the Westshore area.
Travelling around United States? What to eat in United States covers the dishes to try in each of our 44 destinations there.
Food experiences
Ybor City food walk
Start with café con leche and Cuban toast, buy bread at La Segunda, try a deviled crab and finish with Spanish bean soup at the Columbia — all within a few blocks of 7th Avenue.
Dinner and the dessert room at Bern's
Bern's Steak House in Hyde Park is known for dry-aged steaks, a very large wine list and an upstairs dessert room of private booths. Book well ahead.
Food halls on the river
Armature Works' Heights Public Market and Sparkman Wharf's container food garden let groups mix and match local vendors by the water.
Brewery hopping
Seminole Heights and Ybor City have clusters of breweries close enough to visit several in an afternoon by rideshare.
Quick bites and street food
- Cuban bread — La Segunda Central Bakery in Ybor City has baked it since 1915 and supplies many of the city's restaurants.
- Deviled crab — Cuban bakeries, Ybor City cafés and old-school West Tampa sandwich shops.
- Café con leche and Cuban toast — Cuban bakeries and coffee counters in Ybor City and West Tampa.
Vegetarian options
Of the 10 foods in this guide, 4 are usually vegetarian: Cuban bread, Café con leche and Cuban toast, Guava pastries and Cigar City craft beer. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Cuban bakeries are busiest early in the morning; deviled crabs and fresh bread can sell out by lunchtime.
- Stone crab claws are seasonal, so expect them only from roughly mid-October to early May.
- Waterfront restaurants fill at sunset at weekends; arrive early or reserve.
- Many restaurants offer 'Florida-grown' or Gulf seafood specials; ask what came in that day.
- Air conditioning is strong indoors, so carry a light layer even in summer.
Tipping
Tip about 18–20% at table-service restaurants, $1–$2 per drink at bars, and 15–20% for taxis, rideshares and tours. Check the bill: some restaurants add an automatic service charge for groups.
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Tampa famous for?
Tampa Cuban sandwich, Cuban bread, Deviled crab and Spanish bean soup. Roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard pressed in Cuban bread — and, in Tampa's version, Genoa salami, a nod to the city's Italian cigar workers.
+Is Tampa good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Cuban bread, Café con leche and Cuban toast and Guava pastries.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Tampa?
Tip about 18–20% at table-service restaurants, $1–$2 per drink at bars, and 15–20% for taxis, rideshares and tours. Check the bill: some restaurants add an automatic service charge for groups.