Cafe Largo

Wow! I don’t live so far from this place and it took me 15 years to finally try some French food. I couldn’t believe how great the food was. We started with the bread and butter which was excellent. He makes his own bread and uses wheat flour. Then we ordered the scallops, foie gras and onion soup for appetizer. All very excellent. Scallops were tender and juicy with great flavor. Foie gras used apples in it and it was excellent. First time having it and not my last time. But I don’t think anything will compare to café largo. Onion soup was great and not too salty. It’s a true onion soup and not a French onion soup.
Our next course is salad. Tasted so fresh it seemed like he harvested all the veggies out back. Great dressing.
Dinner: I ordered the lamb. I’ve had lamb before and said it wasn’t for me but I thought I would try it again since our friends stated its a regular item they order every time they come to café largo. I definitely was glad to have tried it. It was excellent. Cooked just right — med rare. The sauce was excellent. I cleaned my plate. Prob could have licked it clean if we weren’t in a 5 star restaurant. My husband ordered the fish of the day and it changes based on what’s fresh. It was also really good. Our friends ordered the duck and tenderloin with foie gras and truffle (not on the menu). The duck was really good with a sweet taste to it. And I like how it’s sliced up.
Dessert: soufflé!!! It’s a true soufflé that is made with egg whites? Really light tasting. He had a choice of chocolate and grand mariner flavor. I really like the grand mariner flavor with the hint of orange. The crust was crispy.
Excellent dinner! Can’t wait to go again!
A must have dinner if your in the area.

This exquisite french restaurant has an excellent wine list as well. Had the fois gras appetizer and the rabbit veal special. my friend enjoyed her escargot and venison chops. Can not beat the small quiet ambiance and old world service. A local gem that I love every time!

I live in New Tampa and I drive to this place whenever I get the opportunity. The food is EXCELLENT. It is well cooked, well seasoned and perfection. I have had the lamb and the steak, both of which are excellent and are made to order. The portions are sized perfectly, leaving you full without having that ”stuffed” feeling.
This gem is tucked away within a small plaza that you would likely drive past without thinking twice. However, my dear friend that would be a terrible mistake! The inside of restaurant is immaculate and the servers are always aware and seem to appear out of nowhere just when you need a refill on a glass of wine or water.
I cannot emphasize enough however, the taste of the food here. They have many accolades along their walls that show how award winning the food is, and the head chef there is very accommodating, as I went with someone who is a vegetarian (they loved their food as well btw).
If you ever find yourself across the Howard Franklin Bridge and you want to go to a restaurant that has excellent food, service, and atmosphere. I recommend you go to Café Largo. You will NOT regret the decision!

Every time I visit the area (about 2 – 3 times a year), I come to Café Large. Horrible name. Amazing food. As good as any of the good French restaurants in NYC. Classic French — with a touch of Florida.
I do not know which starter is my favorite — the fois gras or the scallops. Both are delicious. And I always try a different entrée and have never been disappointed.
My only comment — if you eat here when it is really busy (Christmas Eve or some other popular date), it always seems as though the wait staff have a bit of a dear-​in-​the-​headlights look. But the staff is friendly and helpful and the food is fantastic
Dress decently but jacket and tie not required.

The food is insanely good.
My wife and I were looking for something different and spotted Café Largo on a local top 50 restaurant list. The Grand Marnier soufflé caught my eye as did multiple entrees. It was slightly difficult to find the location, it’s tucked in a small plaza. I made reservations, but wasn’t necessary for an ordinary Saturday night.
We started with escargo which was unlike any we’ve ever had. There were not heavy, drowned in butter, but rather sauces that blended well. These «snails» had a great texture, unlike the little chewy ones you get at most places. We almost put in an order for them to-​go.
For our entrees, she ordered the lamb chops and I the chateaubriand. The chops were good, much larger than typical. For those worried about the gamey flavor of lamb, these have little. Unfortunately I found it hard to compare with my order of chateaubriand. The beef alone was unbelievable; the Bernaise sauce was just icing on the cake. The chef’s version of medium rare is more of a rare which suited me perfectly. Of course we both ordered a soufflé — enormous, soft, and sensational.
In addition to the above, I ordered Bordeux by the glass. Instead of bringing you glass of some unknown red, a bottle is opened at your table. It was quite good — well worth $ 9 each.
The only unpleasantry were the chairs — uncomfortable, mainly because I felt like I might break it if I leaned back too much. Certainly a minor flaw. This was all forgotten when the chef comes out to see how everyone is doing — at least twice.
We plan on returning in the very near future, there are a number of menu items on our must have list.

I now thoroughly understand the mixed reviews on this restaurant. Last night, I experienced it as a single lady looking for a nice experience and some good food. What I got instead was a full plate of humiliation served up with a smile and final comment by the waiter whispered close to my ear that I had «saved a dollar» on the wine. Wow. I later summed it up as poor leadership from Chef Dominique and snotty attitudes since I’d failed to meet what I will call «ordering expectations». Some background: I had been to a few «Happy Hours» here some time ago and had enjoyed ½ priced wines, a free plate of appetizers and had ordered a memorable cheese platter. When I walked in at 5 pm on a Friday, I surveyed the nearly empty room and asked if they still had a Happy Hour. The waiter at the door looked obviously puzzled. I decided to define Happy Hour as I had experienced it there before — wines half-​priced and before I mentioned the free appetizer plate, the waiter said quickly — «You could order a half-​glass of wine.» Whoever heard of having a half-​glass of wine? Was I being encouraged to enter and discouraged? I didn’t know which but I was intrigued — if it was meanness, it was really mean. But I couldn’t imagine Chef Dominique allowing waiters to be mean to his guests. I ventured in and ordered the cheese platter and that ½ glass of $ 9 wine. Why not? I could always order more. The cheese platter consisted of four varied cheeses, two (frozen) dollops of herb butter and 4 small slices of bread. I began enjoying myself and complemented the waiter on the cheeses. I noticed a piercing glance from the sous chef from behind the bar and the Chef Dominique passing by my table several times without a glance my way but was that a smirk on his face as he purposely turned his head away? I ordered more wine and asked for more bread. I was brought odds and ends of hard, inedible very crusty (stale?) bread. Rather than breaking a tooth on it and with increasing annoyance, I told the waiter — this is an error that shouldn’t be overlooked — I showed him the bread. «Oh, would you like more bread?» Was my request interfering with their busy dinner service? By now it was about 5:40 pm and there were two tables of diners. By now I had gotten the message — why didn’t I just get out but I wasn’t finished. Should I take the remaining cheese to go? Finally, the waiter brought me a few additional pieces of bread. I finished up and left knowing 1) Happy Hour no longer existed and that I hadn’t been welcomed there without ordering dinner, 2) that I was viewed as a cheapskate and easy target of ridicule as a woman on her own and, 3) that Chef Dominique not only knew how I was being treated but obviously approved of it and had even joined in. After all hadn’t I deserved it? No, I won’t be going back. No, I won’t be recommending this restaurant and, yes, I will unsubscribe to Chef Dominique’s emails. I will, however, wonder why Chef Dominique would work so hard to have a following and a successful restaurant and yet afford to treat a guest like this? It is the guest who should have expectations of the restaurant and not the other way around. For shame…

The food was outstanding. We started with the scallops which were cooked perfectly in a pistachio reduction sauce… Yummy!
Next was fish for my wife and Chateaubriand for myself. The presentation, service and food was excellent.
For desert a soufflé that was out of this world.
If you go save room for the soufflé.
The dinner concluded with a very pleasant conversation with the chef delighting in stories about his time cooking at the White Hall Club (just off Rush Street, Chicago) in the 70’s, and reminiscing about long ago great Chicago chef’s.
p. s. This dinner was every bit as good as many a dinner at Le Francais or Les Nomades. Well worth the trip to enjoy a wonderful night.

Not sure what problem some of others had but found it very nice — food and especially service– Joe did a very good job and recommended very nice wine, as I am not up on French wines. Food was very good, soup and veal needed more seasoning, but scallops were delicious, although quite expensive $ 38 for four scallops-​special–
Only negative was on leaving saw people eating delicious looking lamb shank and when I asked the waiter he said he did not know it was available– ???
But plan to return to try it– overall very nice eveening

Think twice before going there. We were there for dinner on a special occasion. Upon return home, I started vomiting from 3am till noon next day. The amount of physical and psychological pain I endured during the night will stay in memory as a bad experience for a long time. I spent rest of Sunday catching up on sleep, and had a bad stomach for couple days later. Eat at your own risk!

What a wonderful hidden gem! The staff is wonderful and the food is amazing. It IS a little pricey but this is one of those places where you get what you pay for. I can’t wait for my next visit!

It did not go well. A special birthday celebration. $ 300 later — just awful. Service was poor. The gravy could have come from publix, just across the street. Will never return.

My boyfriend and I have been here at least six times and the food and service is excellent. We were tempted to not tell our friends about our favorite place, but it is too good not to. Everything we’ve tried here is great. We recommend it to anyone.

We have been to France, eaten French food and even had some French house guests cook for us. This is excellent French food, half the restaurants we went to in France weren’t this good. The main entrees are at least $ 25, but I felt as though the quality, value and presentation were well worth it.
The selection and description of dishes made it difficult for me to pick which to order. I ended up ordering the escargot appetizer (fantastic), seafood pasta entrée (delicious and large portion). My boyfriend got the rack of lamb and he said they were probably the best he has had, I tried some of it and it was tender and juicy. I might order it next time.
For desert, we had the caramelized fruit tart, how can that go wrong? It didn’t. Of course it was very tasty and again excellent presentation.
The service was excellent. It was a Sunday evening and there were only two other tables there the whole evening. We felt like it was our own personal French cuisine escape. They had only the one cook and one waitress (on heavier nights our friends tell us they have more staff).
The décor and ambience is a mix of French and Florida Cuban. They had Cuban music playing softly in the back ground, some French décor and wicker chairs with cushions (palm tree print). It was part fine dining (formal place settings) and part FL casual. I quite enjoyed it, as I felt I could relax and enjoy my meal without being in an uptight restaurant.
I highly recommend this restaurant. It’s perfect for an intimate group, couples celebrating or just a nice evening of good food.

Great small little place tucked away in largo. Very good solid food. This is a very small place so if your looking for a big atmospheric experience try something else however, if your looking for good food and an intimate dinner with the wife, this is your spot.

My wife and I had the pleasure of dining here recently. It was a quiet Tuesday night, celebrating 19 yrs. of marriage. The server was exceptional, as was the food, from appetizer through dessert. They have a very broad wine selection as well. The only issue I had was not knowing of it sooner than recently. Bön Appetite!

We went on a Tuesday night. It is located in a remote section of a strip center off Indian Rocks Rd. There was only one other 2-​top occupied. So there were only four diners in the restaurant. Since we were in the midst of Tropical Storm Debby, they had stored all of their outdoor patio furniture inside the restaurant behind a see-​through screen. Considering that this was supposed to be an upscale French restaurant, we were stunned.
For dinner, we started with the pâté sampler which (though delicious) was poorly presented and did not come with any sturdy variety of baguette to spread the deliciousness. Next and the biggest mistake of our evening was to order the blue crab soup with absinthe. It was very very thin with less than a ¼ teaspoon of crab in it and it had a somewhat medicinal aftertaste. After two sips, I wanted to stop. The house greens came on a small plate with a nonexistent dressing and some very good beets but mine was served with a bad tomato. The highlight of our dinner was our entrees. We had a special of pistachio dusted sea scallops and the Chateaubriand with bearnaise. The scallops were large and perfectly cooked and the beef was wonderfully med. rare with bearnaise that was both delicious and unbroken. The starch and veggies were in very small portions. For dessert, we had the fruit tart and the chocolate mousse. Both were satisfactory but unimaginative.
After years of restaurant dining, I have come to rely on the value of having impeccably clean bathrooms in a fine eating establishment, however these were atrocious. I realize that our waiter and the cook were the only employees present, but still. For this kind of money, we should of had a top notch experience with a view other than patio furniture stacked in one side of the dining room and an attentive waiter who would ask about the quality of our meal. We have learned our lesson and will not return. Please be cautious over these other reviews with only one review recorded… they are the owner’s family! Try the Black Pearl for a better experience!

I don’t live in this area but my wild guess is that you don’t find many places like this down here.
Despite us being the only patrons on a winter Tuesday evening, this place really delivered on ambience, service, and taste.
I am guessing the reason no one else was there was because culturally, in this area, people just don’t want to pony up some dough for a meal on a Tuesday night two days after Christmas. Perhaps people should indulge themselves more!
I tried the shrimp and scallops flambé, the duck, and the young French hen. Everything was fantastic. Especially the hen. We had a great french wine recommended by our server that just hit the spot with the things we ordered. And they let us bring in our own bottle of Campari (a couple folks in my party like Campari on the rocks with this type of meal).
Again despite the low attendance, this place has been in business since 1986, so they must be doing something right. I can imagine a healthy crowd on Saturday night during the spring.
I look forward to my next visit here upon my return to the area.

this is one of my favorite dinning spots, french food
at it’s best, dominic the owner does all the cooking.
you’ll think your in france as you taste his special
sauses !
ray & nancy murray

It was a dark and stormy night in early December when I went searching for french food with the aid of Unilocal and my trusty GPS. I attributed the emptiness of Café Largo to the weather and it being Tuesday night. Being the sole patron in the restaurant, I thought it would give me a chance to see what they were about.
Well, I did see. The service was okay, but not exemplary; falling a little too far on the «oh, I didn’t see you» side when I was the ONLY patron in the place. The food lacked not only inspiration, but was mostly overcooked. Again, not something one would expect when there is only one meal to cook.
I was disappointed and cannot see myself returning as there are better choices in the area.

Upscale dining options are very few in this area, so we were happy to discover this charming French restaurant in the Galleria Plaza. Owner/​chef Dominique Christini’s primary inspiration is the cuisine of Provence.
The menu changes every two weeks. On the night we visited, we started with escargots and goat cheese in a pastry shell and an assortment of pates served with cornichons. My husband had a traditional onion soup followed by venison chops on a bed of red cabbage confit, and I had blue crab soup followed by sauteed medallions of veal lion in a mushroom sauce. For dessert we shared a Grand Mariner soufflé. Everything was prepared perfectly and served elegantly.
The wine steward suggested a bottle of Château Coudert St. Émilion Grand Cru would be an excellent complement to our entrees. At $ 38, it was one of the less expensive options.
Dinner for two with tax and tip was $ 190, which is a lot higher than most people in this area (many of them retired seniors on fixed incomes) expect to pay for dinner. But Café Largo has been here for 18 years, so obviously people who appreciate fine dining are willing to eat here and pay for the quality they receive.
You can purchase a gift certificate valued at $ 100 for only $ 80. If you buy four you get a fifth one free, so you get $ 500 worth of meals for only $ 320.
Informal cooking classes are offered one Monday evening a month. After the meal is prepared, students and trhe chef enjoy it with a glass of wine. The cost is $ 37.50 per person.