{"id":434512,"date":"2026-10-22T06:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T06:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/434512\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T06:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T06:48:22","slug":"tampa-bays-essential-italian-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/434512\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay\u2019s Essential Italian Restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-41290 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bellas_0532-scaled-e1791993746577.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1948\" height=\"1472\"  \/>Bella\u2019s Italian Caf\u00e9<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bellasitaliancafe.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bella\u2019s Italian Caf\u00e9<\/a><br \/>1413 S. Howard Ave., Suite #100, Tampa | (813) 254-3355<\/p>\n<p>A South Tampa favorite since 1986, Bella\u2019s Italian Caf\u00e9 has been serving authentic Italian cuisine for 40 years. The menu features fresh, house-made pastas and sauces, alongside pizzas baked in an oak-fired stone oven crafted in Milan. Longtime favorites include the Famous Chopped salad, Confetti Spaghetti, Pollo Milano and pear-filled Pera Sachet. From classic Italian comfort food to signature dishes generations of Tampa diners have come to love, Bella\u2019s remains a neighborhood institution.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41289\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1018-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1757\"  \/>Donatello Italian\u00a0Restaurant<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/donatellotampa.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Donatello Italian Restaurant<\/a><br \/>232 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Tampa | (813) 875-6660\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A Tampa dining institution since 1984, Donatello Italian Restaurant brings old-world Italian tradition to the heart of the city. Founded by the late Guido Tiozzo and now led by his son, Gino, Donatello serves handmade pasta daily alongside classics inspired by regions across Italy. Signature dishes include Ossobuco alla Milanese, Cannelloni Donatello, Antipasto, jumbo lump crab cocktail and many others.\u00a0 Elegant service, an extensive wine selection and live music complete the timeless fine-dining experience.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41293\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Sunny_Forbici_August-101-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1703\"  \/>Forbici Modern Italian<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatforbici.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Forbici Modern Italian<\/a><br \/>Tampa and St. Petersburg<\/p>\n<p>Forbici Modern Italian brings its lively take on Italian dining to both Tampa\u2019s Hyde Park Village and its new St. Pete location. Known for pioneering Roman-style pizza in Tampa, Forbici also serves favorites like pesto rigatoni and hearty Bolognese. With a menu made for sharing, plus live music and happy hour specials, Forbici creates a vibrant setting for everything from casual dinners to celebrations with family and friends.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-41459\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bocelli-Tampa09092026_2677-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\"  \/>Bocelli Modern Italian<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bocellitampa.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Bocelli Modern Italian<\/a><br \/>5427 Bayshore Blvd., Tampa | (813) 374-9302<\/p>\n<p>Bocelli Modern Italian brings an old-school Italian-American approach with a modern flair. With a full-service restaurant in South Tampa, a quick-service location in Tampa and another coming to Largo, the concept draws from the Northeast\u2019s Italian-American traditions, particularly New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Dishes include Green Morelle with saute\u0301ed escarole, prosciutto and hot cherry peppers, and Chicken Riggies with chicken, sweet and hot peppers, marinara and rigatoni. Pasta and pizza dough are made from scratch, with staples such as Bolognese and Cavatelli alla Vodka remaining on the menu while seasonal specials offer something new for repeat customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bella\u2019s Italian Caf\u00e9 Bella\u2019s Italian Caf\u00e91413 S. Howard Ave., Suite #100, Tampa | (813) 254-3355 A South Tampa&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[170291,116644,168968,170292,69238,135,137,170293,136],"class_list":["post-434512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-best-italian-food","tag-bites-brews","tag-essential-italian","tag-italian-cuisine-in-tampa-bay","tag-italian-food","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-italian-food","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434512","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=434512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}