pane rustica bakery & cafe

wonderful unplanned dinner. it's been years since i was in pane rustica so when a friend mentioned that we meet him there fordinnerand a drink i thought to myself - ok a pizza could work so long as i can get a glass of wine:) imagine my surprise when i walked in and saw the bar area and the full dining room - wow - things had changed. although it looked packed we were seated immediately. our server (we'll call him chad to protect his identity) was prompt and courteous and he made thoughtful suggestions on the menu. aside from spilling a glass of wine on one of the people at our table (which the manager quickly apologized for and after asking for our preference on how he could apologize, provided us with a complimentary bottle of the wine we were drinking) was accurate with our orders and overall very pleasant. our table enjoyed one of the flatbreads that was not only delicious but also enough to feed 4 people. i had the veal cheek bolognese which aside from hoping for a bit more pappardelle was also very good. additionally we had several small plates and everyone had a salad. i also ordered the apple tart (holy cow was it good!) and penne with vodka sauce to go for my boyfriend who was at home. our total bill (including one $40 bottle of wine - they bought the other:) was about $130 for five people. for the atmosphere, quality of the food and the service i would rate it as a very nice night out!! thanks pane rustica (and by the way - you are much more than a bakery & cafe although your breads are some of my favorite in town!)

one night of bad service ruined it for us. i came to pane rustica fordinnerfor the first time with a large group. someone had written me a private message on this site to try it, because i frequently lament the lack of decent bread in tampa (helped somewhat by trader joe's who has their bread shipped in). i thought the food and portions were average for the price and setting. the food overall was good, but nothing that really stands out in my memory. i added salt to the usual salad, the special eggplant soup was pretty flat in flavor, and the seafood entree was good. based on food alone, i'm not sure i would return. i'm from the northeast, and for the money this is nothing special. i wanted to check the price of their bread loaves, given that those prices are not posted online or in store, they are probably too expensive. though i never got a chance to check bread prices because of the following story.

the night we had dinner, our waiter was terrible. he acted as if he was drunk. he slurred his words, his hands shook almost violently, he got a lot of our orders wrong, he kept trying to take half finished things away from people who were still consuming them, bumping into us and spilling water on us, etc... the other staff even noticed something was amiss because they were chuckling at him all through our meal. he seemed to get worse and worse as the night progressed. at the end of that, the bills for our table came out completely wrong, and so we got the manager. the final bills still had a 20% group gratuity that we complained about and had dropped. they brought over the leftover bread "here, take what you want, it'll get thrown out anyways..." most of the people at our table had been there multiple times, and they all swore they'd never come back. i felt the same way.

first visit. i had an earlydinneron november 8th. being a saturday i went early since i sensed that it would be crowded later on. my review is not so much about the food (which was good), but about the service. our waiter was chris, since it was our first visit, he patiently explained about the menu and after we asked was spot on in his recommendations. he was excellent. i also noticed that the manager was working hard to make everyone happy. i would like to just add a little constructive criticism. after chris took our order the young man who brought over ourdinnerseemed out of place in that he did not greet us or smiled. i wonder if the waiter and the manager do not realize that someone else can undo all their great work. despite this, my rating is a high one thanks to chris .

my go-to spot. pane is solid across the board--whether for coffee and pastries at breakfast, sandwiches and cupcakes at lunch ordinnerin its bistro-esque setting. my personal favorites include the chocolate croissants, pizza/flatbreads, tuna sandwich, mozz and tomato sandwich, baked rigatoni, salmon, and any seafood specials. great owners, great staff, great food.

foodies rejoice. my friend and i traveled from orlando to have her celebratory birthdaydinnerat this gem of a restuarant on saturday, april 13. the food, service and ambiance were hitting at all cylinders this night. we started off with their crabcake appetizer which was heavenly. my friend had their special of sea scallops on a bed of linguine and i had their pork porterhouse with risotto. both dishes were executed perfectly and presented beautifully. i also have to give accolades to our server, kasey, who was gracious, efficient and knowledgable. she steered me into ordering the pork porterhouse, a suggestion that i do not regret. management and employees deserve the many positive recommendations regarding their restaurant. add me to the list of believers.

went here fordinnerour last night in fl based largely on positive reviews and votes. i have to say we were not disappointed. we did call and make a reservation so we had a table waiting when we got there. parking, at least for dinner, even on a friday night was adequate by our estimation. you could argue it was a little dark and it was pretty noisy, but it was also friday night. i wouldn't suggest taking a relative who is hard of hearing on a busy service night. our server, cayla, was great, especially to my little boy and pregnant wife. sometimes you worry that at a nicer place if you don't get wine or order one of the more expensive specials you will be forgotten but this was not the case! the menu items looked good. i think i could have ordered just about any of them and liked what i got - the specials looked delicious, unique, and interestingly done - though we all went with regular menu items. i got the baked rigottoni (excellent), my wife the short ribs (excellent), and my son the kid's salmon (excellent). we wished for coffee but that play was apparently ruined by a single squirrel who managed to foil the entire municipal water supply just that very afternoon (ha!). overall very impressed, very satisfied, and it while it was the best meal of our trip it was it wasn't the most expensive! i definitely recommend this place for dinner.

there is nothing like a comfy neighborhood bakery and cafe and pane rustica is one of my favorite local spots. nestled in the heart of palma ceia at 3225 south macdill, pane rustica  is a food lover’s haven with rustic sandwiches, hearty pastas, decadent sweets and of course, a coffee bar. i have spent many mornings at pane rustica  having coffee with friends and it  is one of my favorite spots to read a book and relax. aside from their cafe menu, they also feature a full bar anddinnermenu with exquisite entrees and exotic cocktails. i will be featuring theirdinnermenu and cocktails next month, so for now i want to focus on one of my favorite sandwiches at  pane rustica …… smoked turkey.   served on your choice of bread, this heavenly sammich consists of smoked turkey, sweet onion jam, tomato and aioli .  i had mine on rosemary focaccia and it was outstanding. comforting and beyond tasty, this is one of my favorite sandwiches in tampa bay.     the sweet onion jam is what really mak

lovely meal. just thought i'd throw my two cents in.

we went to pane rustica this last saturday before heading off to an 8 o'clock show. i had already seen pictures of the outside so driving up to a mini mall wasn't too disconcerting. and luckily, walking in the decor was warm and beautiful. it didn't at all feel like the kind of place that people would be walking in to scream out orders to the bakery, or bringing groups to come and get gelato, which was what i had been worried about as i was taking my boyfriend here for his birthdaydinnerand had been looking for something upscale.
i had made reservations so we were immediately taken back to our table. it was a little half couch-half table along the back wall and you could see the open kitchen and the bakery working away. on a personal note, i hate these kinds of tables and i really wish restaurants would stop seating two tops this was. yes, it's much more functional, but i hate being on top of other diners and later in the meal that was an issue.
so, the food. the first thing that was brought to the table was bread with homemade hummus. honestly, i was completely unimpressed. i've had better bread from whole foods and the hummus badly needed salt. but it is just bread so even though this is a bakery, i let it go.
the cocktails looked creative and tasty so i decided to start with the smashed grapes while my boyfriend started with his ever present glass of malbec. the malbec was very tasty (it's hard to do a bad malbec) and the smashed grapes, though good, was.. i don't have another word for it, watery. the flavors were all there but it tasted like they had put everything in a shaker, let it sit for a little too long and then strained it. the water was palpable. either way, it must have been good enough to finish because after the first course had came and went it was gone too and i moved on to a very nice white blend from spain that i was very happy with.
the first course. i decided to start out with the grilled asparagus with the cheddar fondue. they were grilled to perfection and the fondue was creamy without wimping out on flavor. my boyfriend started with the kurobuta pork cheeks which he loved, but when i had a taste i found a little lackluster. maybe i just failed in my bite to get some of the cranberry sage jus because i thought it really needed something to brighten it up.
second course for me was the scallops with the corn fondue and for him the wild stripped bass with the boar bacon. the entrees is where this place really shined. my scallops were cooked to perfection, the corn fondue was creamy and permeated with the flavor of fresh summer corn. the rendered chorizo gave it the exact salty bite it needed and the crispy potato coins were the perfect crunch. i would definitely recommend this dish. his snapper was perfectly cooked, the boar bacon has a wonderful flavor that was not at all gamey, the brussels sprouts were impossibly fresh without any bitter aftertaste and the tabasco butter is exactly what you wanted on that beautiful piece of fish. i'm sure the dishes sound a little overdone but somehow it all melded together perfectly with every component feeling necessary.
we were originally going to head over to the harry waugh dessert room after dinner, but we had underestimated how long it would take to eat. when the server said that dessert was complimentary on your birthday, that solidified our choice. seeing as it was his birthday, he picked. i would have went for the cookie sundae as i'm fonder of sweeter desserts, but he likes things lighter and so he picked the summer cake with the blueberry compote.
i have to say, it was a great choice. the cake itself was so well done. i have a little old italian couple that lives across the street from me. they owned a bakery for thirty years and send over this exact cake all the time. they fail on so many levels in comparison. the summer cake from pane was light and sweet but buttery and umptious. it had a perfect crumb and went delightfully with the blueberry compote and the zabaglione. i will say their zabaglione could have used some improving on as instead of a creamy custard it felt like they had made it in the gelato machine and left it in for too long. maybe we just got a bad batch. my boyfriend isn't italian so he didn't notice at all.
the whole thing came to a neat $140 and i'd say it was worth it. we left pleasantly full and happy unlike some other posh restaurants who forget that the end game is supposed to be to feed you. i would definitely like to go back again if for no other reason than to try their rack of lamb and the salmon that both had me torn as to what to order.
i always forget to mention this part but the service was well paced, friendly and accommodating. to me service that you don't notice is there is the best kind so it was wonderful. and as for the seating being bothersome, at the tail end of the meal, after the dessert had come, we had a very annoying pair of blondes sit next to us and they proceeded to be loud and obnoxious until we left. i felt bad for the older couple who was on our other side.
overall, four stars. couple of minor things, but all in all a great meal. i would go back and i would recommend.

i've been twice brunch and each time had something brand new to me. gonna have to trydinnerthere soon as i'm sold on the place.

best restauarnt in town. pene rustica may be one of the great restaurant sucess stories in a long time. they started as a small bakery and sandwich shop and have developed and grown into a top 5 full service restauarant, if not #1, in south tampathe seafood, meats are top notch and some great flavors. the service is impeccable, especially in the new bar area. you have to love the bread and hummus that comes complimentary to the table. i used to go here all the time for lunch, it has now become a must fordinneras well.

p.s. where else can you get silver oak by the glass. love it!!

delicious food. we had a really good experience here. the food was nicely done and the service was quite good.

we had the wood grilled vegetables with goat cheese ($11) it was delicious! also tried the pork cheeks with corn bread pudding and balck eyed peas ($11), that was the best pork dish i've ever had.

fordinneri had the pan seared scallops with potato annd chorizo, i love chorizo with any shell fish and it was very good ($26) hubby had the braised short ribs with truffle potatoes and rapini, ($25) and he even loved the rapini!

they have a decent wine selection as well. all in all a very enjoyable meal, at a leisurely pace. definite a go back place.

not as bad as you would think!. at first, i was unaware of how fancy this restaurant is. to say the least, i was quite under-dressed! despite that, me and my boyfriend were greeted warmly by all the staff standing near the door. they noticed our uncomfortableness and made us feel welcome. they said the wait was 45 mins but then mentioned that a table just became available as a reservation was just canceled. we were pleasantly surprised :) our waitress was very happy, one of the happiest i have ever seen honestly, and it didn't seem fake at all! ourdinnerwasn't that expensive either, and we left a nice tip. i loved my crab cakes!!! the bread and hummus was delicious too :)

overall, don't be intimidated to come here by anything. by it's fancy looks, by price, or by it's location. just go!

this is a great place to go for lunch. they have a variety of fresh bread, salads, sandwiches, and crispy flat bread pizza to choose from. i have been there fordinnerand their menu is completely different (i would have to note that it was expensive!) bu

best all-around restaurant in tampa. and i've eaten at a lot of them. the menu constantly changes, is always creative, and i typically am torn between delicious sounding choices like a blackened amberjack sandwich on olive loaf vs. chicken salad with grapes and walnuts in a half butternut squash or piano-key 5 mushroom ravioli. my review does it no justice, it's spectacular and worth every penny. i've eaten there literally dozens of times, never disliked anything, and 9 times out of ten your food is cooked perfectly and delicious. the pizza is some of the best thin crust in tampa, the burger beat 63 other restaurants for the #1 spot according to a local newspaper, the wine list is pretty good and reasonably priced,dinneris even cooler than lunch (a tad more expensive though).

oh and the pastries are unbelievable. i've had a blueberry tart, giant cupcake, etc, etc that would continuously set the bar for that particular pastry.

just go. stop reading reviews and go.