ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It looks like Florida restaurants are leaving an impression on food lovers across the U.S.
Yelp recently published its Top 100 Places to Eat list for 2024, and three Tampa Bay-area spots made the cut.
The highest up on the list was St. Petersburg's Mio's Grill & Cafe, which was listed at No. 12.
Owner and Chef Bora Caliskan said he was "speechless" when he found out the news.
"I got super excited because as a small business with only, like, ten tables, this is huge for us. We are not like one of those big companies, we are just a small local business," Chef Bora told 10 Tampa Bay. "I can't find the exact words to express my feelings about it. I'm super happy."
While Mio's has plenty of regulars, the Yelp list has already brought in some new faces. But for Chef Bora, it's not just about making money.
"It's not just a business for me, this is like my home, my people," he said. "Most of our customers, they say they can taste the love in the food because I enjoy what I'm doing."
Chef Bora says he owes this accomplishment to his entire staff, including his 10-year-old boxer that the restaurant is named after.
"I named the place after him, so I have to make sure the restaurant is successful," he joked. "And this is teamwork. I couldn't do this just by myself."
Chef Bora recommends that newcomers try the grilled meatballs, the baba ganoush, hummus and award-winning falafel. You can book a reservation on the Mio's website.
Food from Mio's Grill & Cafe
The second Tampa Bay-area restaurant on the list was Bayshore Mediterranean Grill at No. 75.
This Mediterranean food is made fresh daily by Turkish chefs. The restaurant takes pride in not only its "delicious food" but also its "hospitable culture."
"Reviewers recommend starting with the Oven Baked Hummus with melted mozzarella cheese and lavash, which Yelp Elite Krista H. calls 'out of this world,'" Yelp wrote.
Rounding out the Tampa Bay area mentions is Oldsmar's Shaker & Peel at No. 80. This “one-of-a-kind taco concept” is on a mission to reinvent the humble taco with "chef-driven food and crafted beverages in a unique & funky setting."
Ten other Florida restaurants were featured on Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat:
- No. 5: Fratellino Ristorante (Miami)
- No. 34 Amy’s French Bakery & Bistro (Pompano Beach)
- No. 44: Edoboy (Orlando)
- No. 56: Bunbury (Miami)
- No. 70: How Ya Dough’n (Boca Raton)
- No. 71: Abstrakt Filipino Essence (Jacksonville Beach)
- No. 71: Bulegreen Cafe Yard (Oakland Park)
- No. 84: The Tiny Turtle (Cocoa Beach)
- No. 86: Twice Removed (Fort Lauderdale)
- No. 97: KUBO Asian Fusion and Bar (Fort Lauderdale)
To create the list, Yelp's data science team analyzed data generated from community restaurant submissions. Community managers and trend experts narrowed down the submission to curate the final selections.
