Vegan Tampa

Channel District · mexican, tacos

JoToro sits on the corner of Sparkman Wharf in the Channel District and describes itself as a friendly neighbourhood taco joint that happens to have a Michelin star chef. That chef is Joe Isidori, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America after his father's restaurants, cooked in Miami Beach, New York and Las Vegas, was named a StarChefs Rising Star and won the New York City Wine and Food Festival Burger Bash three times. The kitchen calls its food Fine Mexican Provisions: wood-fired tacos, knife-and-fork burritos, Mexico City style street corn and a grilled Thai watermelon feta salad, with craft margaritas and tequila flights. Visit Tampa Bay lists it for its plant-based tacos and enchiladas.

Seminole Heights · european, sandwiches, gastropub, american, bar food

The Independent has been the beer bar of Seminole Heights for about fifteen years, a European-inspired pub on North Florida Avenue with a cafe attached that serves the same kitchen menu plus coffee and baked goods. The draft list is built from imported and American craft beer, and the kitchen runs from Bavarian brat platters to tempeh reubens. Visit Tampa Bay records 50 seats indoors and a total capacity of 150 with the outdoor space, and lists live music, gallery openings and beer and wine events as the regular calendar. The bar stays open to 1am at weekends, which in this stretch of Seminole Heights is unusual.

Tampa Heights · florida, seafood, new american, southern

Richard Gonzmart of the Columbia Restaurant Group opened Ulele in August 2014 in the old Tampa Water Works building on the Hillsborough River, next to the natural spring the restaurant is named for. He calls it his legacy and points out that it sits four blocks from where his family lived and about 300 yards from where he was born at St. Joseph's Hospital. The kitchen works off a ten foot barbacoa grill and builds the menu from Florida produce, seafood and other proteins, with native-inspired dishes behind the name of the Tocobaga princess Ulele. Ulele Spring Brewery operates inside the building and was the first on-site brewery in Tampa Heights, pouring Rusty Red, Water Works Pale and Hydration Station Lager.

University Area · vegan

Vegan International Co. is a fully vegan kitchen and small market on North Nebraska Avenue in north Tampa, near the University area. Its own about text is unambiguous: it says it is a 100% Vegan restaurant with market items, and that the store offers express service for take-out as well as limited outdoor dining. The kitchen says the meal you are eating was prepared the same day by committed and knowledgeable vegans, and the business also runs a food truck called the Vegan Halal Cart. It is open seven days a week, which is unusual for a small vegan kitchen in this city.