osteria natalina

great little spot in the crowded restaurant scene in this area of tampa. small cozy inside so if this is not your bag then look elsewhere. if you do tyou will miss a truly italian experience in service, food and ambiance.very romantic as well for a date night, special occasion or other worthy woo the babe event.food was excellent and we even got some personal attention from the ownership on our visit. wish there were more like this one around, intampaand other places as well.well done.

i have been eating here with the same chef since it was called spartico's. they always make what i want and it's always fresh, well made and delicious. worth a try if you've never been here and if you don't want to come back there is something wrong with you.


-----01 jun, 2013-----

my favorite italian intampaby far. have been coming here for years and have never had a bad experience. highly recommend the calamari app. it's not deep fried but grilled which i now love.

sophisticated italian at its best. the cooking, ambience, and service here manages to strike that very difficult balance between "authentic" italian comfort and upscale sophistication. if you don't know what i mean by this, you will quickly understand when your server brings you bite-sized slices of freshly baked bread to be dipped in a deliciously acidic olive tapenade and explains that the chef will cook you almost anything you want even if it is not listed on the menu of signature dishes. whatever you order, you will experience italian classics elevated into the realm of special. this is hands-down one of the best restaurants in thetampabay area.

this is the best italian and seafood cuisine not only intampabut one of the best restaurants in the country.i've lived intampa23yrs. and i frequently travel, there is just no reason to eat anywhere else if you live here or are visiting. the owner, spartaco has a personality that makes you feel like he transported you straight to a charming town in italy where enjoying food, wine and the company of others takes away the stresses of even the hardest of days.

the best authentic italian in stampain my opinion. small intimate space. animated and gregarious owner makes it to every table. even if the food were bad- which it isn't- he's so entertaining, i'd go anyway. definitely worth a trip out.


-----16 mar, 2012-----

one of my local favorites. small. owner on site. fabulous food and attention.

okay, i realize that i constantly squawk and make wounded duck sounds about how i hate most i hate most italian restaurants in tampa...yet, like a moth to a flame, i keep trying them. then i bitch some more about my unmet expectations. before today, laughing cat bistro in ybor set the bar. but the bar has just been raised. in my quest to find the holy grail of bona fide italian in thetampabay area, one name has relentlessly surfaced. from my former boss. from ud's coworker. that name is osteria natalina. according to the website, "the name 'osteria' is a term listed in italy just below the term trattoria, meaning a bit less fancy and more of a casual feel but still with great homemade food. if you were to list them it would go as such: restaurant, trattoria, osteria, locanda. from the most fancy and elegant to the least fancy and more casual of the eateries in italy." having dined there, i think "osteria" is a bit too self-deprecating for this particular establishment. i can honestl

awesome! our new favorite italian restaurant for tampa!. i've been to osteria once before, and had a great meal, but we have a tendency to forget about southtampaat times...

last night, my friend randy asked me to join him at osteria, and how grateful i am that he reminded me what a terrific restaurant osteria really is!

from the moment i walked in, and being greeted by the owner, spartaco. how great! our server was prompt and always respected our conversation, never interrupting. his descriptions of the evenings specials made my mouth water - perfecto!

randy started us out with the eggplant rollatini appetizer - a delightful and delicately rolled eggplant - perfectly prepared. excellent! randy ordered the snapper off the menu, and i ordered one of the evening's specials - snapper francesca. we shared our dishes, and both meals were fantastic! perfectly prepared, super moist and tasty - fabuloso!

the service was impeccable every step of the way - not the overly-doting type of service, but just enough - maybe what i'd call politely persistent. other servers can discover a few lessons in service by dining here!

i must make it a point to return, as while i think carrabbas is a fairly good restaurant, it deeply saddens me that we don't have more locally owned restaurants with higher scores.

congratulations spartaco - i give this one a 10 (out of 10). you have a fabulous restaurant with awesome service! we will return - with regularity!

(and - thank you randy for reminding me what great talent we have intampabay!)