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    Tasty Venues

    4.7 (48 reviews)
    Closed 3:00 pm - 8:30 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Recommended Reviews - Tasty Venues

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    First course: fresh tomatoes with tomato compote, mozzarella, pesto, olive oil, and bread.

    A Hidden Gem in Valrico, Feels Like Italy We recently moved to Valrico and had been driving all the way to Gulfport for good Italian food, until we found this hidden gem. I booked the restaurant back in the spring after reading great reviews, and we finally went in July. It was worth the wait. From the moment we walked in, it felt like we were visiting someone's home. Mark, our waiter (and the chef's husband), was kind, funny, and made the night even better. We ordered the chef's "Blind Date" tasting menu, letting her surprise us and everything was incredible. We had fresh tomatoes with tomato compote, mozzarella, pesto, olive oil, and bread. Then came handmade pasta with pancetta, a delicious pork dish with mushrooms and pearl pasta, two desserts, and a bottle of wine. Every bite was amazing. The chef even came to check on us a few times. She joked, "If you loved it, I'm the chef. If not, I'm the dishwasher" The dishwasher's ready for a promotion!" This is the first time since my travels in Tuscany that a restaurant made me feel like I was enjoying a home-cooked Italian meal. We won't be driving over the bridge anymore, this is our new go-to spot.

    The Lasagna

    Wow! If you've not been, you are missing out. The food was amazing, the Chef is great! All of dishes were amazing Brandon , we finally have a restaurant to rave about. Compliments to the chef and the staff.

    This is my new Fiancé!
    Jeff R.

    What a perfect place for a proposal. I called ahead and informed the staff of my plans, and they seated us at a very romantic table. They cheered when she said yes, and brought champagne. Food was fantastic too!! I was so nervous I didn't eat much though!

    Delicious dessert special
    Laurie G.

    This little shop is a true hidden gem. My husband and I recently discovered it and it was so awesome that we went back to eat there again two weekends in a row. If you're looking for a truly authentic Italian meal, go no further than Tasty Venues. Chef Cinzia is an artist in the kitchen and makes everything taste so fresh; you can literally taste the different layers of flavors in every dish. Her husband Mark was our server on our second visit and he is just so warm and inviting. The Barratta special was awesome as was the Seaside Classic appetizer, which is more than enough to share. Chef chose our wine for us at our request and it was perfect. I chose the Maremonti as my entree, which was so delicious and my husband ordered the Short Rib Ragu, which was another special, and said it was "perfect food". I can't say enough good things about this place; run, don't walk to Tasty Venues.

    Throw away menu laid out on your place seating of your groups reserved tea table @ Tasty Venues.
    Rachel L.

    I've tried a few of Chef Cinzia's offerings at Tasty Venues. I have ordered her chicken parmesan family meal, I've purchased semolina flour in her gourmet shop, I've ordered her cooking class to-go and I've dined in the restaurant most recently for her afternoon tea with a few friends a few Saturdays ago. Chef and her staff are doing a great job abiding by the new Covid19 safety precautions. They wear masks, have hand sanitizer available for customers to use, seating at 50% restaurant capacity, throw away menus and individual servings of condiments. But lets talk about the Afternoon Tea! I am a tea "party" fan. Chef posts her dining specials and events on the Tasty Venues FB page, so it was easy to pay ahead and reserve my friends and I's seats for tea. Which is a great idea with limited seating in restaurants now- we were guaranteed dining seats! The price per person was $30 and included all of the following: a pot of tea for the table, classic cucumber tea sandwiches, tomato & roast beef sandwiches (MY FAVORITE savory of the tea!) chicken salad canapé, mushrooms vol au vent, mini shrimp cocktail, cream scones, blueberry lemon mini cupcakes, mini victorian sponge cake (MY FAVORITE dessert of the afternoon!) and mini tiramisu. The tea of the day was Versailles Lavender Garden. The chef visited our table as well as the wait staff checking on us often. We never waited for anything we needed. It was a great experience and I cant wait to schedule another tea with my girlfriends!

    Italian beers
    Angela N.

    I've been wanting to come here for a while so I was excited when I got my boyfriend and another couple convinced to check it out. The vibe was pretty cool with jazz music playing the entire time. The restaurant is very cute and intimate and the store has some cool things. There were do not touch signs on some of the shelves so it was kind of weird trying to look at the items. Also, you have to walk around tables of people that are dining to look at the items displayed and that was quite an awkward experience. When we first walked in we were greeted at the door by our server and she knew who we were right away based on our reservation time. We were told we had to sanitize our hands before we sat at our table. We were only going to touch the foods we were served to us to eat, but we complied and then sat down. We asked our server about the beers and she really didn't know much about them, so we asked for a light Italian and strong Italian beer and they turned out to be delicious. She ended up bringing our food and our drinks to us one and two at a time with several minutes in between. She did not ask about ordering appetizers, but after she had been to our table for the third or fourth time, we asked to order the mussels. They came out and were delicious although they weren't served with a bowl for the shells and she also had to go get a spoon for us to serve them. She came back with a teaspoon. That was strange, but we went with it. My friend asked about the linguine and clams and said decided that she wanted that and our server wrote it down then just walked away. She came back about 10 minutes later and asked if we all ordered. She didn't remember the linguini order at all, so my friend ordered again and then the rest of us did. Our food took about 20 minutes to get to our table and it was brought out one item at a time. I should note that the other two tables in the restaurant had eaten their meals by then. My boyfriend sat for several minutes without his meal. We waited for him while our food was getting cold. Our server did not know which entrees she had in her hands, so we had to guess as to what went where based on what we ordered. Again, so strange. I don't want to be mean in case our server has a medical issue, but being outsiders and not knowing the people at this place personally, it was a very very strange experience. The pastas were very Al dente, but the flavors were all fabulous! It was very messy for my friend to eat her linguine and clams without a bowl to put her clam shells in, but she was very happy with her meal. To sum it up, the place was cute and our server didn't have much of a personality and wasn't really sure of what was going on, but we did eat really good food. While it was a very strange evening, I'm glad we finally tried this local restaurant. I'm not sure that we will be back as it just wasn't a nice experience overall.

    Whitney B.

    My husband and I LOVE food. Like not a normal level of love but a deep appreciation of culture and cuisine! We finally were able to make it to this little slice of Heaven and OMG it was every culinary woman's dream! From the second you walk in you feel like family! The service by far way THE BEST I have seen in a long time since Covid. The chef even comes out to check on you! I don't give reviews lightly and when I say "I will be back" ohhhh honey....this is my new secret place to go! Come as strangers and leave as family. This was by far the best meal I have had in a long time!

    Saturday Sunday Monday
    Aixa P.

    Great authentic Italian food with a beautiful and relaxing ambiance! The chef changes the menu seasonally to always use fresh in season ingredients!!

    Lasagna only served in Sundays. $25 and includes a tea and side salad
    Kristina M.

    Must visit! Adorable shop with tables throughout. Small and quaint. Limited hours so make sure they are open. Party of more than 4 I would make a reservation. We did girls day today and loved it!! One of the girls in our group is from Italy, her and the chef were able to speak Italian to each other. This is authentic Italian not American Italian! Don't expect to go and have spaghetti with garlic bread. Very pleasant experience. They make you feel welcomed! So many neat things to look at or purchase while you wait for your meal.

    6.27.17 Lunch Menu

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    Delicious! Everything we had was perfect. The charcuterie, pasta, wines, all fresh. We will return.

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    5 years ago

    Super rude owners and not kid friendly. Avoid this place!! Many better restaurants in the area with friendly staff.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Tasty Venues

    Review Highlights - Tasty Venues

    Chef Cinzia creates the flavors and aromas worth flying to Europe for, only right here in our neighborhood.

    Mentioned in 10 reviews

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    Appetitbyalisa

    Appetitbyalisa

    5.0
    (6 reviews)
    12.4 mi

    How many good things can I condense into one review about Chef Alisa and her husband, Alex? I…read morereached out to Alisa by simply searching for a 'private/personal chef' on Google. She was one of the first few chefs in the Houston area that popped up on my screen and I decided to do some more "research;" and by "research," I mean I searched for her on social media platforms to see pictures of her dishes before contacting her...Come on, we're all guilty of it. lol To my pleasant surprise, Chef Alisa was one of the winners on The Food Network's "Supermarket Stakeout" which I thought was a pretty cool thing to have on her resume. :) So of course, naturally, I contacted her to check out her prices and menu. Now, by no means am I accustomed to having a personal chef in our home, but to celebrate a special occasion, I thought it would be a fun experience and a great "date night" for my husband and I. My review is strictly based off of my first experience having a chef come to my home to cook for me and the communication between Chef Alisa and I throughout the whole process. From the very beginning of getting into contact with Chef Alisa, she was extremely prompt in her e-mail responses and very transparent about her rate and any additional costs. After reviewing other chefs in Houston, I decided that I wanted Chef Alisa as our private chef to celebrate a special occasion with my husband, and after that, she sent me a menu with several delicious selections for each course (i.e., appetizer, salad, main dishes, desserts). I think choosing just one option from each course was the hardest part about this whole process, I wanted to try them all. During the selection process, I e-mailed Alisa back and forth a few times asking if I could make small changes here and there (e.g., sub an appetizer, or add a protein), and each time I heard back from her, she was timely in her responses and tactfully offered her professional recommendations. What I liked about Chef Alisa was that she was helpful and respected any accommodations or changes I wanted to make to the final menu. To give you an idea of some of the changes, I asked for, Chef Alisa recommended an appetizer, a salad, main dish and dessert; whereas, my husband doesn't like salad, so I asked if we could have two hot appetizers instead. Chef Alisa was accommodating and made two hot appetizers for us to replace the salad and added a protein to one of the dishes she normally serves as a main entree. While at the store, she even accommodated when I wanted her to change one of the proteins (last minute). Her ability to be flexible and accommodate her clients made her really pleasant to work with. After making my selections, I had to pay 50% of the total cost to Alisa to secure the date and then on the day of, I would pay the rest as well as any additional costs (e.g., groceries). Additionally, Alisa asked for a picture of my kitchen so that she could work her way around the kitchen with ease on the day of her arrival. On the day of, Alisa and her husband Alex (her "sous chef") came over about 3 hours before I wanted our meal served (appetizers by 6:15pm), and she started to cook up a storm as if my kitchen was her kitchen all along. I got to know them as a couple while she was cooking and Alex was prepping and it really felt like I was just chatting with friends. They're a really sociable couple and Alisa's food turned out amazing. The entire meal was served perfectly well-timed, and they were attentive to our needs. The icing on the cake was that there were no dishes for me to do at the end of the night! They left our kitchen cleaner than it was before they came over. :) If you're looking for a fun date night or even a get-together with friends, hiring Chef Alisa for a special occasion will be a treat.

    Alisa G. and her team helped me host a wonderful 12-person birthday dinner celebration for my wife…read more She made my first private chef experience fantastic and, because of that, it will not be my last. She presented, at our request, a Mediterranean-themed dinner with appetizer, entree with side, and desert. Every dish she served was delicious and her team took exceptional care of us and our guests. It was all very much appreciated. I highly recommend Alisa G and look forward to using her services the next time an opportunity arises.

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    Appetitbyalisa
    Appetitbyalisa
    Appetitbyalisa

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    Piccola Italia Bistro

    Piccola Italia Bistro

    4.5
    (418 reviews)
    13.3 mi
    $$

    MAKE A RESERVATION....You will need it…read more Piccola is a very small place. A few tables. And you need the reservation to get in as people do go all the time. The chef is the owner and even takes the order. The assistant cleans, and serves and handles the rest. Like stepping into an Italian family kitchen to see what is on the table for the night. And with the special menu of the evening, it is like you are stepping into the kitchen. With a reservation for 6 we were lucky to have the table. It is a BYOB so bring what you might want to go with the meals. A red wine is a good idea. As for the specials, it was varied. There are many options to have that are not on the menu. Even that is small. The chef does tell you what was the specials. He answers the questions and does describe what he is thinking. For 6 of us this gave us good options. Several were ordered, and some traditional was selected. We started with appetizers. Tomatoes and mozzarella was always a way to start. Classic. Mixed with a green salad and some extra cheese it is a good way to go. Garlic bread was a complement. We also had the rice balls stuffed with a small meatball combo. This is typical in certain regions of Italy, and each are different. It had a special sauce to top it and more bread. The sauce was good enough as a dipping sauce for the bread without the rice ball. As we ate the apps we drank the wines. Truly typical for an Italian meal. When the entrees came out it was time to shift things around. These entrees were a good size and freshly cooked. You can see the chef in the kitchen cooking each meal. This is a home kitchen. We had a few specials. One was the duck on the couscous. With the frech sauce and herbs it was amazing. It is not how you expect to have duck. It was definitely not Chinese. This was a fresh duck cooked and aged so that the flavor was ideal. The portion was large and the aroma amazing. Also had to have a very traditional pasta carbonara - pasta mixed in a garlic cream sauce with onions and pieces of bacon. A bit of peper and grated cheese helps. It is an old simple idea what what is always made in a family. There was also pasta bolognese, and even a pasta with sliced rib steak in a mushroom cream sauce. Very different. Once the meal was finished had to have espresso and dessert. The espresso was made the old way in a pot I still have on a the shelf and use. As for the dessert, we did have a lemon cake and a cake made with pistachio that was ground and had flavor that was not expected as a cream in a cake. It was exceptional. As the waitress mentioned, these cakes come from a bakery in Italy and are delivered. The taste and sweetness are typical of Italy and not of the US. Very Italian. The food is great. It is fresh, tasty, has a flavor and style that is unique to the chef. He can make a great meal that you will enjoy. It is typical but with a twist. The portions are a good size. The price is perfect. Bring your own wine and step inside. It is like being in someone;s kitchen. And make that reservation!

    We've been coming here for a long time under william's ownership and we always loved his style of…read morecooking. Today we learned that he is taking a break. A whole new menu but didn't include any of william's classics. No duck salad, no clam linguini or spicy seafood pasta or any other williams items on the menu. The pastas we ordered (seafood with sundried tomatoes and gnocci with lamb) werent bad but not even close to what we had before. Disappointing. Sadly I dont think we'll be back until william come back. Also, the pastas we ordered (under specials menu--did not have a price, but each pasta was $50 each which I think its very high for pasta we had)

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    Inside
    Inside
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    Amatriciana
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    Outside
    Epicurean Theatre

    Epicurean Theatre

    4.6
    (8 reviews)
    13.1 mi
    $$$

    Great experience! Good memories made. Worth it!!! Great location and atmosphere,nice peopleread more

    My husband and I had the most incredible date night at the Epicurean Theatre! We attended the…read more"Dinner with a Master Chef" class on Friday, July 18th 2014. Our instructor was celebrity chef, Whitney Miller, winner of Master Chef (season 1). The Epicurean Theatre is a gorgeous and very modern culinary classroom in the Epicurean Hotel in South Tampa. The culinary classroom has a kitchen in the front of the theatre for the instructor/ chef and stadium-style seating for the students. (If you want a seat near the front of the class arrive early!) Flat screen televisions are located in the front corners of the classroom to display close-ups of the food as it is being prepared. The layout of the classroom allows participants to eat and drink while watching a cooking presentation. After the chef completes each course of the meal the Epicurean's wait staff serves the dish. Whitney Miller was so charming and entertaining throughout our class. I loved her stories about growing up in Mississippi and being a contestant on the Master Chef. Her menu in our class included some of her favorite Southern dishes: First Course: Arugula Salad with Grilled Figs, Homemade Buttermilk Ricotta Cheese, Crispy Prosciutto and a Citrus Vinaigrette (Wine Pairing: Schiopetto Pinot Grigio) Second Course: BBQ Shrimp and Cheese Grits (Wine Pairing: Black Bird Rose) Third Course: White Chocolate Bread Pudding (Wine Pairing: Rosa Regale) Everything was so delicious and I cannot wait to make these dishes at my home! Confession: I probably won't make my own ricotta cheese for the arugula salad because who has time for that?! We received so many great cooking tips from the class and I plan on purchasing Whitney's cookbook so I can introduce my husband to more Southern cooking. If you are interested in taking a class at the Epicurean Theatre I highly recommend it! They offer a variety of classes from cupcakes to cooking to wine or even speaking a foreign language. They even offer brew bus tours! The classes range from $45-$125. Our Master Chef class cost $65 per person which wasn't a bad deal in my opinion considering we received a two hour demonstration from a celebrity chef, a three course meal, and three wine tastings. Can't wait to take my next class at the Epicurean Theatre!

    Photos
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    BBQ Shrimp and Cheese Grits
    BBQ Shrimp and Cheese Grits
    Cupcakes and cocktails 10/19/2017

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    Cupcakes and cocktails 10/19/2017

    Tasty Venues - cafes - Updated August 2026

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