Ocean Prime Tampa

The Restaurant

Ocean Prime Tampa occupies a freestanding building at 2205 North West Shore Boulevard in the Westshore business district, four miles west of downtown and a five-minute drive from Tampa International Airport. It opened in 2014 as the Tampa flagship of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants — the Columbus, Ohio group that operates Ocean Prime locations in fourteen major US markets — and has been the city's default corporate-dinner address ever since.

The dining room is the classic Cameron Mitchell formula: dim, attentive, polished. Approximately 160 covers split between a main dining room, a vaulted wine room (the 'Carolyne Room') that seats 14 for private dinners, and a separate Skyline Room for private events of up to 50. The kitchen runs as Modern American with seafood and prime beef as co-equal stars — a wood-grilled USDA Prime filet, a 16oz New York strip, a butter-poached Maine lobster tail, a sashimi-grade tuna with avocado tartare. The shellfish tower is among the largest in the city.

The piano bar is the differentiator. A working baby grand stands at the centre of the lounge area, with a rotating cast of jazz pianists from 6.30pm to close. The cocktail programme is built around the bar's signature 'Berries & Bubbles' — a dry-ice presentation that has become the room's calling card. The wine list runs 350 bottles weighted toward California Cabernet, with a thoughtful by-the-glass section that lets the table progress through the meal without committing to a full bottle.