Reviews for Esposito's Italian Restaurant And Bar in Tampa, FL

The wife and I decided to venture out and I was in the mood for Italian. We?ve gotten takeout from here a number of times but... restaurant food is so much better eaten on site. We had amazing fried Artichoke Hearts as an appetizer. I had the GrouperPuttanesca and my wife the Fiocchi. Everything was delicious. Salad and Garlic Knots included. Too full for dessert, maybe nexttime. Read more

Esposito's hits every single mark of what I think most people are looking for in local Italian restaurant. Old-school, authentic... classic recipes? Check. Interesting new recipes? Check. That welcoming neighborhood atmosphere where they treat you like family?Check. Long, endearing family history? Check. It quite literally checks all the boxes. I came with a big group of friends andevery single dish that hit the table was to-die-for down to their house salad. Delicious! & you can tell each dish was made withcare. (The scallop cupcakes were my absolute favorite! The sear on those scallops speaks for itself.) Do yourself a favor andcheck them out! You won't be disappointed!! ?? Read more

After passing this restaurant many times we decided to finally give it try for dinner. We arrived around 5:30pm on a Friday and... were seated right away, though the tables filled up within 20 minutes with a decent wait by the time we left. Our server wasvery friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is nice, though the low lighting with reflective menus forced me to tilt the menu atevery angle to read it. Prices are a bit on the higher end. We had baked clams for an appetizer and main courses of tortelliniand sea bass. The baked clams were a bit disappointing, with very dry, salty and flaky breading. The tortellini was much betterwith a rich and creamy sauce. The sea bass was decent though nothing exceptional. Probably worth another visit, though wewouldn?t order anything the same. Read more

My boyfriend and I, along with another couple went here for dinner on a Saturday night. We heard so many great things about the... food and it was everything we expected and more. Our service was a tad slow, we were seated and waited 15-20 mins for ourserver...beside that everything else was great. The lighting and the music really set the mood. The menu had a large selectionof truly authentic Italian food. The food was so flavorful and rich. My taste buds were doing quite the dance over thefiocchi! Highly recommend. The don't do reservations for parties under 6 I believe, our wait at 630 on a Saturday was 30minutes for a party of 4, which isn't bad at all. Read more

Esposito's Italian is proudly serving up top-notch italian food influenced by family recipes and with great attention to detail.... I'm not big fan of italian cuisine but I can myself frequenting Esposito's because their dishes have truly authentic anddiverse flare. The interior is softly lit with spacious seating throughout the restaurant. I was quickly seated upon arrival(I went for early dinner on a Saturday). Very soon after seating, I was greeted by a very courteous wait staff. In factthroughout my visit there were three wait staff ensuring I had everting I needed as well they (as a team) ensured my experiencewas top-notch. I don't know if this is usual but it was a very refreshing change to have such great attention (a rarity thesedays). The house-made garlic rolls were warm, fluffy, with just the right amount of garlic and crumbles cheese sprinkled on top- you can't put these down once you start. They are addictive so proceed with caution =) The house salad contains chick peas,beets, tomato, lettuce, and red onion. The salad comes pre-dressed and you toss upon serving. The texture and freshness madethis salad crunchy and delicious. My only suggestion is to go light on the dressing or ask for the dressing on the side, toavoid overly pre-dressing. My main entree was the Black Seafood Risotto - perfectly done risotto with squid's ink that enhancesrichness and flavor and served with mussels, clams, and octopus. If you are a seafood lover this dish is as beauty to look atas it is to the tastebuds. The octopus stake server atop risotto pairs perfectly with the creamy risotto while the mussels andclams add texture and balanced saltiness. The squid's ink adds the rich black glistening color to the risotto. This item is atrue exploration of a popular traditional Italian dish from the Adriatic Coast. I finished my meal with a perfectly portionedslice of Limoncello cheese cake with raspberry drizzle. This sweet concoction blended with limon Read more

Took the family. We enjoyed the appetizer, fried calamari. I recommend the lasagna. The kids had plain cheese tortellini, and... ordered peas with it - girls did not care for it - I would steer young kids to spaghetti and meatballs. My wife tried thelobster ravioli, it was good. We brought our own bottle of wine ($25 cork fee). Dessert we tried the tiramisu was good. Read more

it?s Saturday night around 8pm and we arrived to Esposito?s to place an order to go. The outside was packed with people waiting... to get inside and/or finishing off the night with a conversation. Needless to say, we looked at this as a really good sign ofthings to come ? as it?s our first time ordering from this restaurant. After 30-minutes our food was finished and ready for pickup. We arrived home and split a Lasagna and Spaghetti & Meatballs between three of us. The meal also came with garlic knots anda salad. The salad (to be honest) caught us off guard as we didn?t expect the variety of items. We know for next time. Overall,the food was great. The three of us praised the food, while clearing off our plates to the last bite(s). I highly recommendEsposito?s to those looking to spend a fantastic evening together over delicious food. Read more

We've been here twice. The by-the-glass wines and the handcrafted cocktails are pretty good. My guest JB loved the scallop... cupcakes. They weren't my favorite but no issues (I do not have a sweet tooth). We enjoyed the bowtie sausage and chickensaltimbocca. Our experience with the service has been hit or miss but that could be general staffing issues experienced by mostrestaurants, although one person on our first visit was fairly rude. I'm not a fan of the atmosphere. The bar area looks greatand by contrast the dining areas do not. Lighting is way too dark for me. Read more