12 editor picks in Tampa.
Italian cooking in Tampa runs from old red-sauce houses to a new wave of wood-fired and modern rooms. Rocca in Tampa Heights leads the contemporary end on West Palm Avenue, while Forbici Modern Italian in Hyde Park and Donatello in Carrollwood cover the polished mid-range. Pizza-forward spots like Bavaro's Pizza Napoletana downtown and The Fold Pizza Co in Tampa Heights round out the spread.
12 italian places in Tampa we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Tampa · Italian across every city.
Rocca in Tampa Heights holds a Michelin star for Chef Bryce Bonsack's Piedmont-trained pastas, hand-pulled tableside mozzarella and modern Italian tasting.
Order Margherita pizza out of the wood-fired oven plus a glass of Chianti.
Bavaro's in downtown Tampa opened in 2009 as Florida's first traditional Neapolitan pizzeria, with wood-fired ovens and pastas from a Ferrara family recipe.
Order Roman-style pizza al taglio (cut with scissors), cacio e pepe and the bistecca for two.
Forbici in Hyde Park Village runs modern Italian from a Roman-pizza-cut-with-scissors angle, with handmade pasta and a bistecca alla fiorentina.
Order Wood-fired sausage pizza and the Sunday gravy with meatballs.
Noble Crust in Carrollwood runs neighborhood Italian-American with wood-fired pizzas, fresh pasta and a Southern-Italian heritage on the entree side.
Donatello on Dale Mabry has run formal Italian service in Tampa since 1984, with tableside Caesar prep, osso buco and a captain-led wine program.
Order Margherita pizza out of the wood-fired oven plus a glass of Chianti.
Bavaro's downtown is Florida's first traditional Neapolitan pizzeria since 2009, with hand-crafted wood-fired ovens and a 100-year Ferrara family yeast.
Order Roman-style pizza al taglio (cut with scissors), cacio e pepe and the bistecca for two.
Forbici in Hyde Park Village runs modern Italian from a Roman pizza al taglio angle, with handmade pasta and a bistecca alla fiorentina that serves two.
Order Wood-fired sausage pizza and the Sunday gravy with meatballs.
Noble Crust in Carrollwood runs neighborhood Italian-American with wood-fired pizzas, fresh pasta and a Southern-Italian heritage on the entree side.
Order Margherita pie or the weekly seasonal special.
The Fold at Heights Public Market folds Neapolitan-style pies fast for the Armature Works lunch crowd, with classics and seasonal specials.
Rocca in Tampa Heights holds a Michelin star for Chef Bryce Bonsack's Piedmont-trained pastas and tableside hand-pulled mozzarella in an intimate dining room.
Donatello on Dale Mabry runs formal northern Italian service in Tampa since 1984, with tableside Caesar prep, veal saltimbocca and a captain-led wine program.
_by_David_Adam_Kess_(pic.2).jpg){kind=link}