{"id":260612,"date":"2026-05-06T13:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260612\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:40:08","slug":"the-team-behind-boulon-is-opening-an-upscale-mexican-steakhouse-in-downtown-tampa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/260612\/","title":{"rendered":"The team behind Boulon is opening an upscale Mexican steakhouse in Downtown Tampa"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tampa\u2019s next fine dining experience is drawing inspiration from the coasts of Mexico. Next Level Brands, the team behind Boulon, Forbici, and Union New American, has plans to open Matilde, an elevated coastal Mexican steakhouse that will be located just off the Riverwalk in Downtown Tampa.<\/p>\n

The 7,600 square-foot restaurant aims to open in the spring of 2027 at AER Tampa (Arts and Entertainment Residences, 300 W Tyler Street), a 334-unit ultra-luxury rental community. Gazit Horizons announced the plans today after agreeing to the lease deal with Next Level Brands, as the restaurant will now join JetSet Pilates, Yoga Six, Bagel Nook, and Engel & V\u00f6lkers on AER Tampa\u2019s ground level.<\/p>\n

The announcement described the restaurant, named in honor of Co-Founder Andrew Wright\u2019s matriarchal grandmother, as a \u201cfitting tribute that reflects the concept\u2019s foundation in heritage, culture, and gathering around the table.\u201d Located next to Straz Center and the Riverwalk, the Gazit Horizons team believes Matilde will increase the vibrancy of the neighborhood, \u201cserving not just building residents but also neighbors and arts patrons for the area\u2019s many cultural destinations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next Level Brands Founder Jeff Gigante says more details on plans for Matilde will be released over the course of the next year before it opens. Given his success in Tampa with his three popular concepts, including the nearby Water Street Tampa star Boulon, Matilde will likely be one of the most highly anticipated debuts in years when it opens its doors next spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to begin introducing Matilde as it takes shape, gradually sharing more of the vision as it continues to unfold,\u201d Gigante said. \u201cMatilde will build on our commitment to shaping Tampa Bay\u2019s evolving culinary landscape, introducing original concepts that push creative boundaries while remaining rooted in hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zvi Gordon, President and CEO of Gazit Horizons Inc., said Matilde exemplifies their vision for AER Tampa to activate the River Arts District with best-in-class experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatilde introduces a distinctive dining and entertainment concept that will bring new life to the waterfront and further define the neighborhood as a premier destination,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cPartnering with Next Level Brands, one of Tampa\u2019s most accomplished hospitality groups, makes this addition especially compelling. We anticipate this being a great success for the broader community and our residents.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa\u2019s next fine dining experience is drawing inspiration from the coasts of Mexico. Next Level Brands, the team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-260612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}