Restaurant: Wepaa - Palm Harbor, FL (NEW LOCATION)
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Situated in the channels of Lake Tarpon, this traditional Puerto Rican-style restaurant draws from its roots to bring the vibrant culture to life with bright colors, fantastic service, and freshly made foods that present the amazing flavors of the island. This is a new favorite restaurant sitting on Lake Tarpon, making you want to come back over and over again.
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Michael Glinter has traveled to 68 countries and 36 states to get the flavor of some amazing foods. His view on reviews is simple - Taste, Presentation, and Service. He believes telling the reader a positive and negative unbiased look at the restaurant is essential.
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As you first enter the restaurant, you are greeted with paintings and artwork that truly resemble the time you spent on this beautiful island. From the Coqui Frog to the vibrant colors of the Puerto Rican flag, you are quickly transported to a restaurant and bar nestled in the countryside right on the water. Keeping with the Puerto Rican family culture, the bar area is widely open with seating for 20 people and plenty of space for family and friends to gather around to enjoy some of the best traditional drinks and a full bar including spirits, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages.
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What was a true delight was the freshness of the food, made from scratch to order; you could tell every dish was crafted with perfection, and special care was taken to ensure they truly demonstrated the variations of the dishes and the culture behind them. Even the Parcha/Passion Fruit and Guanabana Juice are made fresh in-house.
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Starter: Traditional Alcapurria Jueyes - earthy green plantain and taro cut made me savory spices stuffed with a handsome portion of crab meat - which we dipped into a traditional garlic mayo ketchup dipping sauce.
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Accompaniment: Empanadilla De Pollo (chicken) and Empanadilla De Langosta (lobster) - unlike what many people think as a traditional empanada, this dish is a very lightly baked thin pastry, allowing you to savor the large portion of filling with the main ingredient (Chicken and Lobster) truly standing out with every savory bite.
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Main Dish: Mofongo Relleno Con Carne Frita - Made with Fried Green Plantains mashed with salt, garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, the Mofongo can truly stand alone as a traditional staple, with this dish is presented in a specialty bowl stuffed with pork.
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Main Dish Two: Pescado Frito - Fried Red Snapper, a pan-fried snapper rubbed with traditional spices, delivers a milk flaky fish with crispy outside and very moist inside. Combined with some homemade traditional mofongo and a side of greens.
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Overall, suppose you are looking for a place that checks all the boxes, including an amazing location on the water, traditional foods made fresh, great service, and an environment where you can truly embrace family and friends. In that case, you cannot go wrong with Wepaa in Palm Harbor. I plan on going there many more times, and I hope to see you there! This is a true added gem that has made its way into the area.
For all my Spanish friends - Si estás buscando una cocina puertorriqueña tradicional que te recuerde a casa, debes visitar este nuevo lugar de moda en el Lago Tarpon. read more