After a roughly eight-year hiatus, Spanish tapas stalwart Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant will make its long-awaited return to Tampa next summer with a new home at International Plaza and Bay Street.
Caledon Concepts, the boutique restaurant group behind Ceviche and St. Petersburg’s Rococo Steak, announced this week that the restaurant will take over the now-vacant Alma Restaurant & Bar location on Bay Street, the mall’s outdoor strip of bars and restaurants. Alma closed last May.
“This opening marks an exciting new chapter for our beloved local tapas brand,” Lee Karlins, president of Caledon Concepts, says in the announcement. “We have dedicated ourselves to becoming a place where people gather and share — sharing plates, stories, and sangria – and we couldn’t think of a better place in Tampa Bay than International Plaza.”
Ceviche prides itself on being the “original tapas restaurant” in the Tampa Bay region. Its first location, on South Howard Avenue, opened in 1997 and saw the restaurant expand to locations in St. Petersburg and Orlando. In 2012, Ceviche shuttered its flagship restaurant and relocated to a new spot on West Azeele Street, according to its Facebook page. However, when the restaurant’s lease expired in 2018 Ceviche closed its doors for good, promising to return to Tampa with an “updated and modernized version of the brand.”
A few years later, in 2020, the tapas restaurant’s downtown Orlando location closed too, blaming the pandemic for its departure, the restaurant’s Facebook page says. The following year, though, saw Ceviche make good on its promise to update its image when the restaurant moved its St. Petersburg location to a sleek, modernized space on swanky Beach Drive.
Caledon Concepts hopes to bring that reimagined version of the brand to its new space at International Plaza, located at 2223 N. Westshore Blvd. in Tampa. The spacious new Ceviche location promises an “elevated modern” design, the announcement says, with a large open bar area, indoor and outdoor patio seating, and easy access to the more than 170 stores and restaurants that call the mall home.
Caledon Concepts is working with Brian Wolfe of Wolfe Architecture to design the new space, the release says.
“Ceviche has been a staple of the Tampa Bay dining scene for decades, and we’re delighted to see their next chapter unfold here at International Plaza,” Julia Wyman, Marketing and Sponsorship Director at International Plaza, says in the release.
Even though it may have a new look, Ceviche’s menu still promises the same unique Iberian flavors customers have come to know. Longtime Executive Chef Horasio Salgado blends authentic, imported Spanish ingredients and beloved family recipes into his dishes and the restaurant continues to pride itself on its extensive wine list, which focuses on Spanish and international wines. Ceviche has earned Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence every year since 2022, the release says.