Hidden gem! Delicious Italian cuisine with superior service. I was fortunate to be introduced to this secret Italian restaurant by one of my close friends. The Caesar dressing is the best you’ll have ever tasted. Order the grilled romaine fonduta. The fresh steamed mussels were delicious, almost as good as you’ll taste in Brussels.
Jeff S.
Classificação do local: 1 Tampa, FL
I’ve been coming to this restaurant for breakfast every Sat & Sun for the last 10 yrs and today the waitress told us the delivery truck didn’t show up yet so they don’t have the vegetables that I order. So she said she can bring a few but there will be a $ 6 up charge. I said that was fine but since she didn’t have a good explanation I asked for the manager whom I’ve known since she was cleaning table to account for it. She passed it off to the head chef who said: his cooks & staff complained about me & my girlfriend for coming in so often and requiring vegetables(which I didn’t realize are put away until lunch/dinner so more work), that my girlfriend takes a few tomatoes & onions from the buffet line. I always tip 30−50% and always say hi or wave or try to talk to everyone and thank the chefs on the way out. I don’t feel welcome now. I don’t think that made good economic sense to lose a loyal customer over that. Cost of breakfast $ 30 – 40 X 40% tip X 2 days/week X 52 weeks/yr X 10 yrs. I think it’s time to change breakfast locations. There are so many good breakfast options out there. I feel like I was taken for granted like an old piece of furniture. Oh, and all the vegetable that they didn’t have showed up.
El J.
Classificação do local: 1 Tampa, FL
Unilocal This used to be my ultimate favorite breakfast place to come to until today. Apparently it is such a hassle for the chefs in the kitchen to prepare a healthy meal(that my boyfriend and I have been ordering EVERY weekend for the past 2 years) in which the chefs actually told our particular server today that they were completely out of vegetables. Which turned out to be a complete lie… AND they randomly decide they want to up charge us $ 3.00 per person for what we have been ordering since we first started coming here. I look forward to eating this restaurants breakfast every weekend and the servers are great along with Brett, the kitchen manager… But unfortunately I am very upset with the chefs in the kitchen and they will be glad they will never have to make another one of my omelets again because I will not be returning here. To be lied to by a restaurants cooks(the fact of them knowing you know they are complete liars) and having to attempt to come back here looking forward to a great experience would be nearly impossible. I am incredibly disappointed and I feel if you are employed as a chef at a very high end hotel and feel that making breakfast can be such a dreadful challenge for you. Then perhaps you should re evaluate yourself and pick up an application at the Waffle House.
Brittany U.
Classificação do local: 3 Westchase, FL
We went here on a Friday night around 7 and it was completely empty. Our service was great and the appetizers all tasted wonderful. I’m not one to complain, however we were fairly disappointed with our meals especially for the price. My family’s veal tasted freezer burnt, the filet mignon had no flavor, and the chicken was chewy, but the pastas we had all tasted pretty good. I would recommend just sticking with appetizers and pasta if you try this place.
Ren C.
Classificação do local: 4 Tampa, FL
Found this place due to Paint Nite. Got there before the Paint Nite starts and I would say that the interior design was great very relaxing atmosphere. I sitted at the bar while waiting for the paint nite to start and ordered white sangria at the bar. The sangria was amazing really great taste perfect and for the rest of the night i ordered the same drinks and to top that the price was inexpensive. wasn’t able to order any appetizer but heard from friends that they are good. The bartender was nice and she made sure that i get my drink right on time. Will come back to this place and try there entrees.
Candice M.
Classificação do local: 5 Tampa, FL
Everything was delicious and the service was excellent. We started off with the crab cake which was fresh and full of real crab, so many places serve frozen crab cakes or there isn’t a lot of crab meat, but not here. I had the grouper and it was a large piece. I loved the lemon caper sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus. My husband had the filet and he said it was really good. For dessert we shared the apple tart al a mode and it was nice and light, not heavy.
Lea T.
Classificação do local: 4 Philadelphia, PA
Pelagia is my go-to spot for when I fly into the Tampa airport and want a nice health conscious option for lunch. Every time I’ve stopped by there are many people in the restaurant, but maybe business picks up more for dinner. For lunch the menu has a few pasta dishes, pizzas, sandwiches, and salads. The antipasti dishes are very small so for an appetizer I usually opt for sharing a pizza instead. The Chicken Paillard(with pesto and assorted grilled vegetables) or the Open-faced Grouper Sandwich are my favorite dishes thus far. The restaurant itself is connected to the Renaissance hotel and has a classy Mediterranean vibe with blue accents and beautiful colored glass lights. Being able to make reservations via Opentable is a plus, but I’ve had some issues with the service being slow in the past… Overall it’s a solid 4 star restaurant.
Arthur F.
Classificação do local: 5 Tampa, FL
Want a quality meal, run dont walk to Pelagia. Celebrated Mother’s Day here. Great buffet.
C K.
Classificação do local: 3 Sarasota, FL
Went for a late dinner. It was perfectly acceptable.
S P.
Classificação do local: 3 Tucson, AZ
Friendly staff and good service. The Pei Mussels were good. The bread and lobster bisque not so great. Portion size was good. It is right next to the International Plaza with better dining options.
Pui Ying S.
Classificação do local: 4 Washington, DC
The pasta is excellent and the squid ink pasta is loaded with seafood. The service here is excellent(that’s a word I don’t use often!) — very welcoming and helpful. The chicken meatball is kind of bland.
EJ P.
Classificação do local: 2 Tampa, FL
I do not understand the rave reviews for this place. I went here for breakfast and the breakfast buffet, which was pricey at over $ 20, was completely underwhelming. Runny/wet scrambled eggs, cold bacon, bad coffee. Based on the breakfast, I certainly would never return here to try it for lunch or dinner. Also the server we had spoke broken English and was difficult to understand and not very helpful. I had to ask her for creamer three times. Perhaps breakfast is not their strong suit. But they lost a potential repeat customer.
So Rene X.
Classificação do local: 5 Gretna, LA
Not your average hotel dining. A nice fine dining experience off to the side of this busy location. Relaxing atmosphere, delicious food, and excellent service. Will definitely be returning to this spot again, well worth the visit.
Christina C.
Classificação do local: 4 Tampa, FL
Nice laid back spot and they bring you bread!(at least at lunch) My friends have made fun of me for proclaiming that there are not a lot of places that will bring you bread before you meal. After I said that they started rattling off places, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, Maggianos… and now I can add to the list Pelagia Trattoria. I am definitely one of those impatient people who want to eat right away once I get to a restaurant so free bread or chips and salsa always endears a place to me. Even though this place is on the pricier side, it has a very laid back vibe. I met my fiancé here for lunch so he was in a suit and I was in jeans and both of us looked like we fit in. That’s not very common. It’s funny because I’ve seen the name of this restaurant before, but never realized it was inside the hotel. When we first walked in my fiancé said he thought we were going to a Marriott. He didn’t realize that the Renaissance is owned by the Marriott. Just head inside the huge hotel, you really can’t mess that part up. However, once inside, if you don’t park by the front desk, you’ll do some walking. I’m glad there is a sign that points the restaurant out, or else we would have walked for a while! It is down the hall from the front desk. So like I said earlier, they start you out with some great crusty bread. They also bring out a pâté that has a strong olive taste. I preferred just straight butter. Their lunch menu is reasonable. My fiancé got the shrimp scampi and I got the soup and salad. The soup was lobster bisque. My meal was definitely a good size. The lobster bisque had a strange tang to the taste that I didn’t like. However, it wasn’t bad enough to stop eating it, it was just strange. The Caesar salad was a classic Caesar. My fiancé loved his shrimp scampi. He devoured it. I like the vibe of this place and it was pretty empty for lunch on a Tuesday. I would definitely like to try this place for a date night dinner!
Karen F.
Classificação do local: 4 Tampa, FL
We stayed overnight in the hotel, so it was very convenient to be able to stagger downstairs for breakfast. I knew they had a breakfast menu, but the real surprise was that they also offered a breakfast buffet for $ 20. While it didn’t include booze, it did include coffee/tea and fresh fruit juices. What I especially loved about this buffet is that the server took the order for a make-your-own omelet, and/or pancakes and/or waffles. So, you didn’t have to stand in line and wait for it to be made. You could go to the buffet and help yourself to the goodies there, and then your omelet/waffle/pancakes were brought to the table piping hot as soon as they were ready. The buffet part had an excellent selection of breads, bagels, lox and all bagel fixin’s, fresh fruit including blackberries and raspberries, and then also a hot section with bacon/sausage, hot oatmeal, breakfast potatoes, and scrambled eggs. My egg white omelet with feta, spinach and tomatoes was good, and the pancakes with chocolate chips were really good. Waffles were a bit dry, like maybe they had just been re-heated. Great buffet, great deal, and my own pot of good coffee, all in a beautiful restaurant. I would come here again for this buffet even without staying in the hotel.
Jodie C.
Classificação do local: 5 Fox Point, Providence, RI
Best service and food in a hotel I have ever had. Coming from a foodie this place is amazing. Chef made me fresh eggs Benedict after breakfast hours !!! Every meal has been excellent!
Angela D.
Classificação do local: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Highly recommend coming here. The food is just superb and you can feel that it’s made with care and knowledge. I would go more often if I didn’t have to take 275 to get there. This place is truly a hidden gem.
Breonna L.
Classificação do local: 3 St. Petersburg, FL
Came here for drinks and appetizers Drinks were good but my appetizer(crab cake) was bland and nasty. I’ll try this place again for dinner since I’ve heard many positive reviews for it but if dinner taste anything like those crab cakes I had during lunch, I want no part of it.
Mark H.
Classificação do local: 4 Tampa, FL
A boatload of us were staying at the Renaissance for wedding purposes, so we ate at Pelagia Trattoria a lot during our 2 night stay – Breakfast, lunch, rehearsal dinner as well as the reception meal. I really wanna follow the herd here and drop a 5 star review, but I just can’t and I’ll explain up front. All of the food I ate from here while staying at the hotel was fantastic, but(and it’s a big BUT) I just didn’t get the taste of Italian with any of the food I ate. Not even a hint. But since everything was great from the taste and portions of the food down to the friendliness of the staff, I’m going 4 star and would definitely return. CRABCAKES — Massive. Maybe even too large for an app. Hardly any filling if any at all. Excellent taste and texture. CAESARFONDUE — Looks strange as hell when it’s served, but trust me, it’s damn good. Grilled romaine? Serious? Laugh now, be amazed later. How about the world’s longest croûton? It’s definitely made in house, and not some Pepperidge Farm crap like some other restaurants serve up(cough, cough Bennedetto’s cough, cough). The dressing was slap-your-mom fantastic. Definitely not from a bottle. I’d love a dinner sized portion of this salad topped with the filet. FILET — Perfectly cooked, delicious and tender as all get out! Worth the money if you’re wanting a moderately-priced steak. Not sure on the ounces, but it was huge. In fact, I heard a female friend of ours say something I thought women never said, «It’s too much meat.» True story. PANSEAREDCHICKEN — Pretty good, but not worth the $ 20 price tag, IMHO. Mine was served with the mashed potatoes, so I couldn’t help feel like I was eating over-priced Boston Market. Honestly, get the steak or Grouper. GROUPER — Large and in charge. Tender and deliciously prepared and the filet is massive. I saw about 10 people order this dish and the filets were all about the same size. Order it with the polenta. You won’t be sad. OMELET — What the fluff is going on here? This was the thickest, fluffiest damn omelet I’ve ever seen. Have no idea how they pulled it off, but I’m glad they did. $ 11 might sound steep for an omelet, but they serve it up with potatoes and 4 links of sausage. I went with the chicken apple sausage – amazing. I ate this breakfast and stayed full until about 6PM. Side note: They have a breakfast buffet, but at $ 20 it doesn’t seem worth it. Judge for yourself though. Only thing I didn’t like was the mojito. If you’re a huge mojito connoisseur like myself, this one will leave you feeling disappointed. Order a Harvey Wallbanger instead!
Brett N.
Classificação do local: 5 Tampa, FL
Why 5 stars? Because this is quality. — — — It’s a shame to say that many Unilocalers in the Bay Area probably have no idea that Pelagia even exists. A damn shame, I reiterate! The food, the people, and the ambiance score 5-stars across the board for me. I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Executive Chef, Andrew Basch and he’s really a joy to speak with. His passion for food and perfecting his craft, beams from his aura. I’ve enjoyed the meat & cheese plate, as well as the burger… and it’s safe to say that I’m in love. This is one of the best burgers in Tampa Bay. I’m sure they offer many great dishes that are much more complex, but that burger means business. It’s incredibly tender… like beyond the legal limit of meat tenderness. And the fries are served with a chili ketchup… something I’ve never tried, but now I’m spoiled. I want that every time I eat fries for the rest of eternity — it was perfect! Meat and cheese plates have never really been huge with me, but this one might be my favorite that I’ve ever had. I loved every single item on the plate… and I’ll save myself the embarrassment of trying to name each individual item. Just know this — s’allgood. If you’re heading to International Plaza, this is your escape from a very chain-heavy area. Support this business, because it’s local and it rocks.