Tampa is a top tier foodie city — and it’s home to Bib-Gourmand award-winning restaurants. Yelp just released its top 100 restaurants list for 2023 and three spots in the Tampa Bay region made the cut. One restaurant is located right here in Tampa: Izakaya Tori Japanese Cusine.
“We are a brand new Izakaya (Japanese tapas) restaurant in Tampa area,” writes the Izakaya team in a message to Yelp.” If you want to have a experience of the Japanese restaurant culture come check out us, cause that’s we trying to bring out.” They serve ramen, sushi and Japanese skewers, sakes, tap beers, and Japanese craft beer.
ADVERTISEMENT
The restaurant has earned rave reviews for its seafood ceviche, fried tofu, pan fried pork gyoza, fried sushi rolls, hot ramen and karaage chicken. You can glimpse a full menu on Izkaya’s website, and visit the restaurant 310 S Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 160.
Izakaya Tori crafts sake-based cocktails
“Definitely found a new favorite spot for Japanese food! Everything from the gyoza, gyudon, meat skewers, and sushi were fantastic,” wrote Susanna W in a recent 5-star Yelp review. “The flavor and freshness of the food is unmatched. The house made sake was a bargain for the quality.”
Kim T highlighted their array of cocktails in her 5-star review: “One of the highlights of the evening was definitely the sake-based cocktail I ordered – it was absolutely delicious. We shared a few sushi rolls and appetizers and everything was cooked to perfection. The service was also top-notch – our server was friendly and attentive throughout the meal.” 
Uptown Eats and Tukro Coffee get recognition
The other restaurant that made the cut in the region are Uptown Eats in St. Pete and Tukro Coffee in Dunedin. Uptown Eats owner Dan Schmidt has earned high marks for his breakfast sandwiches, wild pastries, and Uptown’s signature sweet coffee.
Tukro Coffee is an artisanal coffee shop in Dunedin with deluge of gluten-free and vegan pastries, and some of the strongest coffee in Florida. It’s exquisitely decorated, and its staff has earned ample acclaim in the avalanche of 5-star reviews.
To determine Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in 2023, Yelp’s data science team starts by using the data generated from our community submissions. From the candidate restaurants, we narrow the list down with the expertise of our community managers and Trend Expert to curate a list as quirky, interesting and unique as the Yelp Community itself.
You can see the full Yelp 100 list here.
What to read next:
- First look inside Brightline’s new Orland station
- The Rollin’ Mullet opens in February in Seminole Heights
- Florida State Fair announces new rides and wild desserts
- Innings Music Festival takes over Raymond James Stadium
- Photography museum opening in historic Ybor City
- Codeboxx transforms Tampa into a major tech hub
- The Gasparilla Pirate Fest Guide
ADVERTISEMENT
