Malls, parks, theaters, etc (Tampa, Orlando: apartment, houses, neighborhoods)

[LunarMiko]

Hello,

I'm going to be moving to Tampa (likely South Tampa) sometime between late November and early January. I am completely unfamiliar with the area. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what/where are the best local...

* Malls
* Theaters
* Museums (if any)
* Parks, particularly good dog parks
* Hangouts/night spots
* Good local restaurant recs
* Good local teahouse/coffee house recs
* Anything else you can think of...

etc...

I currently live in Orlando and I've never lived anywhere else, so I'm used to everything here and have never had to become reacquainted with a new city. I love theater, improv comedy, local arts stuff, good food, and my dog. So any recs along those lines would be great. Thanks!

[craigm1841]

* Malls
International Plaza Mall - Right near the airport, by far the best mall in Tampa. Great stores, great restaurants, in the westshore business district.

Westshore Mall - About a mile away from International Plaza (dont ask me why). I havent been to this mall as there seems to be no need to go after seeing International Plaza

Brandon Mall - Right on the Edge of Tampa. Actually, a great mall for the suburbs, considering the other malls are 10-15 mins away.



* Theaters
Tampa Theatre



* Museums (if any)
The Tampa Museum of Art
Welcome to MOSI - Museum Of Science and Industry - Tampa, Florida
- Haven't been to either, I should probably go



* Parks, particularly good dog parks
Tampa | Dog Park USA
- I personally like the Davis Island "Dog Beach"



* Hangouts/night spots
Way to many to list! the following is taken from a recent post I made on this forum, figured it was easier then typing it again. this provides some of my favorite spots around tampa:

Westshore: Across the street from where you live, check out Blue Martini (incredible martinis), The Grape (great wine selection), and Bar Louie (60+ beers on tap). You can pretty much bar hop or have a nice dinner right in your own backyard living at phillips. Hula Bay is a cool sunday spot to sport shorts and flip flops. I hear Ocean Prime is great, havent been. You could literally walk there from your apartment in less then 3 minutes. These are all fairly high-end (For Tampa) and offers a great selection of food and drink. The prices tend to keep out the riff-raff, you will meet like minded professionals like yourselves. If you want some good live music, which is almost impossible to find in tampa, check out The Fox, right near veterans. Again, right in your backyard.

South Tampa: Check out Ceviche (Tues nights $4 sangrias, best sangria in town, live spanish/flamenco music, GREAT unique food). There are a ton of great places in South Tampa, but you are going to get a lot of unfriendly people in my opinion. A lot of cliques. This is not the place to go alone. I always had a blast when i was there on a date, but never by myself. I always felt the people down there were more concerned with what I drive rather then who I am. If you are with someone, check it all out. Anywhere you go is going to be fun. Want laid back? try McDintons. Something a little more nice, but not too pretentious, try Cheap or The Rack (Pool tables AND sushi). The ambiance is great in south tampa. Great restaurants/bars, beautiful people. Want to really go somewhere nice, try one of the steak houses on howard avenue. I havent been, but You'll know which ones they are when you see the maseratis and Range Rovers.

Downtown (Channelside): I dont usually hang out here. it is touristy. Want something you havent had in years, try bennigans. I am not a big fan, but this one is one of the few that hasnt closed down, and the view is top notch for a chain restaurant. I do like that sushi place next door. Bananna Joes is corny so is the attached mexican resturant (which it hardly is). Dont forget to stop in at wet willies for a "Call-a-cab". the entire bar is frozen drinks, and the call-a-cab is special. Channelside is alright if you have out of towners with you, or you are new to town, which you are. You can even go bowling at splittsville. It is a 21+ and actually a really nice place. most bowling alleys in the US are a haven for underaged drinking and drugs IMO. Aja seems to be like a really cool club. kind of meat-marketish, but great ambiance. Check out jacksons on harbor island. great food during the day/evening. at night it turns into a club which draws prob 1000+ people when the weather is nice. 3 DJs, outside is hip hop, inside is house, and in the bar/lounge is 80s. Sunday morning they have a great brunch with all you can eat sushi (so i am told)

Downtown (Not Channelside): There are a few gems amongst the quiet tampa streets. As a young professional myself, I instantly appreciated what "Taps" on the first floor of skypointe had to offer. Great ambiance, unique beer selection, tons of wine, many of which are on display in glass showcases in the wall. you can purchase a card and do wine tasting, or of course the waiter will bring it to you as you sit at bar top tables or on couches in the lounge area. great staff, great like minded ambitious young people. NOT south tampa. Many of the people living there may be fairly new to town themselves. mostly residents of Element and SkyPointe. next door is a chic sushi spot which turns into a night club in the evening. very urban/sophisticated. sushi was good, but overpriced in comparison to some of the GREAT sushi places in town. Boss Hogs is alright, saturday nights has a lot of young Tampa Bay Lightning employees. I have met some really cool people there. Avoid it on fridays. it is 18+. The hub is next door. Avoid it all ALL COSTS. it is smokey and disgusting. the bathrooms are usually flooded. they make INCREDIBLY strong mixed drinks though.

Brandon: Got friends in the suburbs? meet them at Green Iguana or Acropolis. Always cool spots (for the burbs)

North Tampa: couldnt tell you a thing about it.



* Good local restaurant recs
Depends on what you like.



* Good local teahouse/coffee house recs
Tampa is far from seattle or portland, but there is a starbucks in south tampa that is open 24/7 and is a bit of a hotspot for young professionals and University of Tampa students alike.



* Anything else you can think of...
Tampa is a great city. you are trading some of the nightlife and shopping of orlando for beaches. Depending on what you like, how old you are, what your income/what you spend on entertainment, whether you are single or not will all play a significant role in what you do in tampa, much like any city.

[LunarMiko]

Wow! Thanks for all the info!

From the looks of it, the International Plaza looks comparable to Florida Mall and Millennia Mall and has a few of my favorite stores/eateries in it, like Lush, Teavana, and the Cheesecake factory.

I'm glad there's a lot of nightlife... there's also a lot here, so that'll be an easy adjustment.

I generally like French (bistro or more upscale), Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean (Greek especially), and Japanese food, as well as Vegan/Vegetarian cafes, but a good burger place or pizza parlor isn't below me if you know of any!

If it helps with any further info, I am 24, female, and in a steady, long-term relationship. My s/o and I are moving there together.

We have so many places we regularly visit in Orlando that it'll take some time getting used to a new place... but I'm excited about it. We don't spend a whole lot on entertainment, and look for bargains whenever we can... student discounts, special promotions, memberships to gardens zoos theme parks etc... anything to save cash in the long run, but we do go out at least a few times a month if not more.

[tampaguy03]

Look at creativeloafing.com and tbt.com for all the things going on in the area...

As far as some of your eats in Tampa, Restaurant Rows in the area include South Howard Ave(SOHO district) from Kennedy Bklvd to Bayshore Blvd(some of my favs include Mangroves, Seven17, CHEAP, Oasis Cafe, Berns, Side Berns, Ceviche, Bellas, Daily Eats, Lime, The Lodge); Ybor City's La Septima - 7th Avenue(some of my favs here include Columbia, Acropolis, Gaspars Grotto, Carmines, Green Iguana, Teatro, Samrai Blue, Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Rock n Sports, La Creperia, Laughing Cat); south MacDill Avenue from Swann Ave to Wallcraft Ave - Palma Ceia and Bayshore Beautiful neighborhoods(my favs include Datz Deli, Byblos, Pinkys, Cappys Pizza, Pach's Place, Yoko's, Pane Rustica, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Cafe Paradiso).

my fav mexican is Algustos on Kennedy Blvd, Mediterranean is Acropolis, Byblos, Genghis Khan, Paninoteca, Vegan includes Queen of Sheba(Ethiopian), Grass Roots, Pizza include Cappy's and Paci's, Burgers include Hula Bay/Dukes, Green Iguana.

downtown st pete has some great coffee/tea houses, I havent found many in South Tampa unfortunately but you do have Indigo in the Hyde Park Village, Grounds on Davis Islands, Tre Amici in Ybor City, Sacred Grounds in North Tampa, and then yes - Starbucks all over the place.

Some great botanical Gardens include the USF Botanical Gardens, and in Largo there is the Florida Botanical Gardens which is HUGE and both are FREE. Florida and local residents ususally get some good discounts either at some point in time, or throughout the year at places like Busch Gardens, Lowry Park Zoo, Florida Aquarium, and museums like the ones downtown Tampa - Museum of Art, Museum of Photographic Arts, Police and Fire Museum, Tampa Bay History Center, USS Victory Warship, Ybor State Museum, HB Plant Museum....and St Pete has LOTS of museums as well(Fine Arts, International, Dali, Holocaust....).

My fav theaters include Tampa Theater, for its history and character, and it plays mostly independant and foreign films, then there is the new Cinebistro in Hyde Park Village, Muvico in Ybor City, AMC Westshore and Channelside Cinemas and IMAX.

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center is the largest south of Washington DC with 6 separate theaters, there are also numerous independant theaters in the area(check creativeloafing)...

Dog Parks in South Tampa I take mine to include Picnic Island(follow Westshore Blvd south to the end, turns into Commerce Blvd and follow the signs); Gadsden Park(follow MacDill Avenue till it ends at the Base), and Davis Islands. Cypress Point Park just opened a new dog park I want to check out(at the end of Cypress Avenue on the Bay.

I hope this helps.

[LunarMiko]

Thanks, that really does help! I'm bookmarking this thread for sure.

[mquintana]

And keep in mind as well, for the 'burbs Brandon has a few things to offer in terms of things to do-but is also close to places with more things to do-just not in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by mquintana

And keep in mind as well, for the 'burbs Brandon has a few things to offer in terms of things to do-but is also close to places with more things to do-just not in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.

I am in brandon now. I am moving to a more active/social scene. One that promotes interaction. Try I would seriously consider Westshore. Downtown was pricey and rather underdeveloped for living, south tampa is too pretentious, when they really have no right to be, as there is a very small uber-wealthy or uber-educated population in tampa. Westshore is a great place to meet young professionals in my opinion. Keep in mind, this isnt NYC or DC.

all of that said, Brandon is NOT that bad now that there are restaurants like green iguana and acropolis popping up, but the regulars not typically professionals. it is a mix of married couples, college kids, and blue collar workers.

[mquintana]

That's true, I live in Brandon myself. We are fortunate that we have a few things to do here. There is also Lynksters right on 60 and Providence Rd (in the same plaza as Chilli's). It's located on the side of the plaza. There's also another pool hall near Message Envy, or atleast there used to be.

Ideally though, for myself, when we decide to move, I would love to be in Westchase. It's so pretty there...I guess the only pitfall is it being right on the water though...

Originally Posted by craigm1841

I am in brandon now. I am moving to a more active/social scene. One that promotes interaction. Try I would seriously consider Westshore. Downtown was pricey and rather underdeveloped for living, south tampa is too pretentious, when they really have no right to be, as there is a very small uber-wealthy or uber-educated population in tampa. Westshore is a great place to meet young professionals in my opinion. Keep in mind, this isnt NYC or DC.

all of that said, Brandon is NOT that bad now that there are restaurants like green iguana and acropolis popping up, but the regulars not typically professionals. it is a mix of married couples, college kids, and blue collar workers.

[craigm1841]

Originally Posted by mquintana

That's true, I live in Brandon myself. We are fortunate that we have a few things to do here. There is also Lynksters right on 60 and Providence Rd (in the same plaza as Chilli's). It's located on the side of the plaza. There's also another pool hall near Message Envy, or atleast there used to be.

Ideally though, for myself, when we decide to move, I would love to be in Westchase. It's so pretty there...I guess the only pitfall is it being right on the water though...

I consider that a luxury!

[mquintana]

Yeah, I suppose it can be, but I lived in the Keys and water can also be a bad thing. Considering we don't get much hurricane action in this area, it's ok, but the one day that we do-i'll bet it's gonna be a doo-sey! So then that could be a problem...but it's like I said before, it's so pretty over there!

Originally Posted by craigm1841

I consider that a luxury!