The ReliaQuest Bowl travel guide: What to do in Tampa when Mississippi State football is in town

They say you can’t go home again, but this is twice now in the last four years that home has come to me. And the timing couldn’t be more appropriate, as we get the chance to honor the Pirate not only in a stadium with an actual pirate ship in the endzone, but in a city with more pirate history than perhaps any other in the SEC footprint. I’ll save the history lesson (though I imagine Mike Leach would’ve preferred I lead with it), but a quick google of Jose Gaspar and Gasparilla will give background to those curious.

Alas, I’m not here to discuss swashbuckling mutineers. I’ve been living in St. Petersburg and exploring the Tampa Bay Area since moving here from Starkville in 2018, and for the last 18 months it’s actually been my full-time job to write about all the best things to do and places to eat in the region. So my goal here is to help anyone coming to town for the game make the most of their time.

The entire area has experienced explosive growth over the last two years, so even if you came back in 2018 for the properly-named Outback Bowl, there’s plenty more to see and do. Just within a couple miles of the Tampa waterfront, there are two new multi-billion commercial developments that have opened since then.

By now, you likely have your hotel booked, so I won’t dive too much into where to stay. Though if you still have time, a quick note: staying by the airport or by the stadium is only convenient for one day of your stay. You’ll have to drive or uber anywhere else you want to go, though it’s only a short ride to several hotspots. If you’re making a longer trip, staying at a downtown hotel in Tampa or St. Pete will make the experience a bit more immersive.

Below are a handful of areas and some of their highlights that will be worth spending your free time in, as well as a few thoughts on things to do. And one more note: if anyone has any questions, no matter how seemingly simple or complex, please reach out. Send me a PM, email me, hit me up on twitter, yell at me on the street. I am beyond thrilled to have the Bulldog family in town and I want to help anyone get the most of their trip.

Water Street and Sparkman Wharf

The southern portion of downtown Tampa curves around Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River, and this area more than any other has exploded in the last couple years. Sparkman Wharf operates as sort of a build-your-own waterfront adventure, reminiscent of a less chain-friendly Disney Springs. The pedestrian friendly area has dozens of full-service restaurants, permanent food stalls, high end bars, and activities for the whole family.

You can make it classy with bourbon tastings and fine dining at Battery, or you can grab legitimately amazing hot dogs to-go from a Michelin-starred chef at JoDog and then take the kids to go bowling at Splitsville. While many of the options are housed in repurposed shipping containers, the food is to be taken seriously. Many of the area’s best chefs have opened fast-casual concepts in there (Dang Dude’s Asian-fusion is a good example). There is also plenty of outdoor seating along the water, and it is conveniently next door to the impressive Florida Aquarium.

Sparkman Wharf is part of the Water Street development in the same area, which has slowly begun to open fully over the course of 2022. Water Street, in addition to a handful of luxury apartment and hotel towers, is home to a growing list of high-end restaurants and shops. Jotoro is an excellent Mexican spot, Noble Rice serves popular Japanese fare, Anchor & Brine is a favorite for seafood and cocktails, and Garrison Tavern provides a more pub-like environment and menu.

And purely for aesthetics, the newly-opened Tampa Edition is the first five-star hotel in Tampa Bay, and it’s worth it just to stop by and walk around. Though it’s three restaurants and five bars are excellent (and admittedly priced like the five-star hotel they occupy). For sports bars in the area, Hattricks and Park & Rec are both solid options in short walking distance. Also a strong rec here for Big Ray’s Fish Camp, home of the best grouper sandwich I’ve had since moving to town.

Ybor City

Ybor is the Cuban-Tampanian version of New Orleans’ French Quarter, but with fewer beads and more cigars. Historically, the neighborhood was home to Tampa’s Cuban community and cigar factories. Now, it’s still home to some of the best Cuban food in Florida, but also a hopping nightlife, great shops, beautiful old buildings, and a handful of great breweries.

The Cuban sandwich was canonically invented at Ybor’s Columbia Restaurant, ironically created as a way to make Cuban food in a fashion local Americans would appreciate. 7th + Grove dishes up tasty southern cuisine, Barterhouse is a fun spot for small plates and cocktails, Bad Monkey is a more lively sports bar-style spot in a historic building, and three of the best breweries in the area are located in Ybor – Zydeco Brew Werks (New Orleans-themed with great food and cocktails too), Coppertail Brewing (beautiful space, and amazing food), and BarrieHaus (focus on German beers – no food, but fun spot with games in the beer garden).

Half the fun of Ybor is just wandering through the streets lined with historic buildings and stopping in wherever seems right.

Armature Works

Technically, Armature Works is one building, but the area around it, hugging the Hillsborough River, is a hotbed of restaurants, bars, breweries and shopping. Armature Works itself is a gigantic food hall with a mix of food stalls, cafes, and full-service restaurants and bars, complete with outdoor seating, games, and a beautiful riverwalk.

Just down the block, the popular Ulele was recently named one of the best restaurants in America, and while that may be a stretch, it truly is a great spot. They make some incredible cornbread muffins, brew their own beer, and have a menu full of Florida-style comfort food like alligator hush puppies, barbacoa-grilled oysters, and gouda grouper.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Rocca is a popular elevated Italian restaurant, Café Hey is a wonderful little café, and two great breweries are walking distance from the Armature Works parking lot – Magnanimous Brewing (considered among the best quality craft beer in town) and Hidden Springs Ale Works (specializing in funky sours and unusual creations).

Hyde Park Village

This is a trendy area in the middle of a nice neighborhood that packs a ton of desirable eating, shopping, and drinking into a nice and compact area. Favorites include Buddy Brew for coffee, Forbici and Timpano for higher-end Italian, Bartaco for Mexican, Babushka’s for a wild and incredible Russian culinary experience, and the highly-rated On Swann for upscale American eats.

There are a dozen-plus shops sprinkled among the restaurants, as well as an enjoyable park and garden in the middle of it all, creating an open-air mall vibe that’s an enjoyable experience. You probably won’t spend an entire day here, but if you’re making a longer trip, it’s worth the visit.

St. Petersburg

All the other areas listed are close to each other and centrally located in Tampa, even though you’ll need an Uber (or really good walking shoes) to get from one to the other. But, if you have time, I can’t strongly enough recommend coming to the other side of the bay and checking out St. Pete. I am admittedly biased, considering I live here. But as a born-and-raised Mississippian, I find St. Pete to have much more of the laid-back vibes and warm hospitality that I miss from home.

The other plus to St. Pete: 90% of the places you’d want to go are in within walking distance, there’s free public transit along the main corridor, and there are rentable scooters on every other corner. The waterfront Beach Drive is the higher-end side of downtown (visit Cassis for great French-inspired dining, or The Canopy for rooftop views over the water), and as you walk westward along Central Avenue, the city gets more and more local and laid back.

Near the water (and near the Tampa-to-St. Pete ferry dropoff spot) Red Mesa Cantina has great Oaxacan Mexican food and drink, Mandarin Hide and Copper Shaker both churn out creative craft cocktails, Mary Margaret’s Irish Pub is a personal favorite for watching games with good food and drink, and Bonu Taverna is my go-to spot for Italian. Hit up Kahwa Coffee for all your caffeine needs.

A little farther down Central Avenue in the EDGE District, it’s all local. Bodega is home to the most popular Cuban sandwich in Tampa Bay, Ferg’s is the biggest sports bar you’ll find maybe in the entirety of Florida and is a ton of fun, Intermezzo is a cozy spot for coffee or cocktails currently decked out a la The Guest Room for Christmas, and Green Bench Brewing has a huge beer garden to pair with great IPAs, sours, and barrel-aged goodness.

The west end of the main Central Avenue corridor is the Grand Central District, home to eight breweries, low-key restaurants, and a big arts scene. Par Bar is a mini golf sports bar owned by a Bulldog, 3 Daughters Brewing is my favorite brewery in the area (huge, tons of games, good food, live music, and very family-friendly), and Trophy Fish is an incredible spot for fresh catch seafood dishes and tropical cocktails (also with a Bulldog in the kitchen).

If you’re making a longer trip, I’d highly recommend staying in or visiting St. Pete. If you do head over, shoot me a message, I’ll send you my number, and I’ll make sure you find great spots.

More Tampa activities

Obviously, it isn’t just all food and drink. There are a plethora of activities for families or adults that don’t [exclusively] involve pouring calories into your body.

Family-friendly: The Florida Aquarium and ZooTampa are both a ton of fun, and serve as an excellent way to spend an afternoon with kids. Busch Gardens is the biggest theme park in the area (unless you want to drive the 90ish minutes to Disney). Splitsville is a unique bowling alley (also in Disney Springs) with tons of lanes, a big food menu, and drinks for kids and adults alike. And Laser Ops Extreme Gaming Arcade is a gigantic indoor arena with laser tag, arcade games, and a restaurant and bar for weary parents to relax.

Beaches: We’ll see what the weather does the next two weeks, but the beaches are still very much worth a visit if it’s warm enough. In fact, two of the last three New Year’s Day I’ve gone for a (somewhat chilly) swim. But if you just want to put your toes in the sand, hear the water, then grab some food, there are good options.

Head to Madeira Beach for a Destin-style area that has a ton of restaurants, shops and a boardwalk packed into a walkable area. St. Pete Beach is a bit more spread out, but is great for a long stroll past historic hotels and walk-up beach bars and restaurants. And Fort DeSoto is perhaps the most beautiful stretch of beach in the area, a state park with great camping, fishing, kayaking, wildlife, and easily-reachable sandbars.

Museums: Most of them are in St. Pete, but the area is home to some great ones. The largest Salvador Dali collection outside his home country of Spain is at The Dali in St. Pete. The Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa offers a great look at the area’s past. The Florida Holocaust Museum is a sobering and inspirational experience that’s more than worth it for those interested in World War II. Oddly, the world’s largest signed baseball collection is at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. And The Glazer Children’s Museum is a fun visit for families.

Breweries: OK, technically this is food and drink, but it deserves its own section. There are close to 400 breweries in the state of Florida, and nearly 1/3 of them are in the Tampa Bay Area. There’s no good reason for this to be such a hub for craft beer, but here we are. Cigar City in Tampa is the brand everyone knows, and they’re worth a visit, but I’d recommend checking out one of the 150ish independent breweries instead. Luckily, I’ve already written guides for that:

The best breweries in Tampa l The best breweries in St. Pete

New Year’s Eve: It’s going to be a 17-ing madhouse anywhere you go. Not great, but that is what it is when there are more people in one metro area than the entire state of Mississippi. If you want to class it up and try out some bougie nightlife, there are tons of options in downtown Tampa. I’d of course recommend joining the Alumni Association for their NYE party, as well. Otherwise, you’ll be safe finding a comfortable spot along the water for fireworks, or checking out something low key in St. Pete.

These aren’t all the NYE options, but this is a good list from my website, ThatsSoTampa.com.