Great flamenco show
Great place to eat and I see the flamenco show once a month. The guitar and dancing is the best I have ever seen anywhere!!!    [11 Jul 2003 11:20:21]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: all their specials

     ­Anonymous   

Not up to Hyde Park standards
My wife and I went to the Cafe European to see the Flamenco show on 11/1/03 and have dinner. I have to admit to music was excellent and a true pleasure. Which is more than I can say about the food and service. The table which we had reserved weeks in advance was occupied by someone else. Despite the fact that we arrived on time. We orderded the special, which was Chicken Dijon. The food took over an hour to arrive at our table. When our dinners finally arrived the food was all skin and bones and no meat.I have never been to a restaurant (other than the Cafe European) that serves chicken with bones and skin. Who wants to pay for something they can't eat? The rice was also undercooked. My advice would be to eat somewhere else and then go to the Cafe for the Flamenco show. In addition the only thing that has changed on their menu in the last five years is the prices.    [03 Nov 2003 08:46:30]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: n/a

     ­Solearies   

Ambiance and Desserts!
Where else on a Friday or Sat. night can one find an intimate table with service by the owners, and no wait?!!! I hesitate to tell others about this place - so I can always have my secret 'no waiting place' to myself!
The weekly specials (weekends only) are usually exciting. The fish and chips are especially good. Stay away from the pasta dishes though. The desserts are a REAL treat. My friends enjoy the bread pudding (warm and creamy). I enjoy the 'icky sticky' - warm chocolate cake soaking in warm melted toffee. The mousee is also tasty - although a little small. I hear lunch is their most popular time.    [10 Nov 2003 13:56:48]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Cheese parcels - appetizer. Icky Sticky - dessert

     ­Mark Howard   

Don't Bother Driving to this Restaurant EVER!!!
At first, I was very pleased with the atmosphere of the restaurant. The decor is sparce but quaint and the owners greated you at the door. HOWEVER, that is where the enjoyment ended. My first clue should have been receiving a glass of red wine that was COLD, not even at room temp ... COLD. "Fresh" rolls arrived at our table but felt and tasted like they were a least a week old. We ordered appetizers hoping that things would improve. The cheese parcels were the best thing we had all night, and they tasted like they were left under a heat lamp. The pate was dry and crumbly and the clamari was like eating bland rubber bands. Salads arrived and were ok. We tried a variety of their menu including the salmon in puff pastry, beef wellington, grilled tuna, and chicken chilondron. Lets start with the tuna which arived with DEEP chared grill marks, making the entire piece of fish taste like burnt wood. The side of potatoes (1 1/2 small red potatoes) were bland to say the least, garlic, salt, pepper, or even butter would have made them edible. The Chicken, well as my friend put it, "baby chick", was so small my friend resorted to picking up the bones and chewing on them. The rice was dry and boring. The beef wellington was soggy, and tasted like it had been left out for days. I am still waiting to see if I get sick from it. The mushrooms were over done and also bland. The veggies were over cooked and also bland. The service was appalling and when complaints were made, the owner acted like it did not matter, and that the customer had no business telling him what was wrong with his food. If you still feel like you must go, have the salmon, it was the only thing edible on the table that night. I give this restaurant a D- and will never return. I highly recommend you avoid it at all costs.    [07 Dec 2003 09:07:51]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: NONE

     ­jim, Tampa Tribune   sailmejy15 at aol dot com

Don't EVER believe everything you read!!!
This is in response to the above comments by Jim (07 Dec 2003).
As owner of Cafe European, and there on the night of his visit, I'd like to set the record straight:

The red wine served at his table was Beaujolais Nouveau, which you will know is SUPPOSED to be served CHILLED - that's number one.

The fresh rolls they got were just that- FRESH - heated up less than 1 HOUR before they arrived! That's number two.
He's entitled to his opinion of the appetizers; suffice it to say, we don't have a heat lamp.

Their entrees were a cross section of our most popular dishes, and when one of his party complained in a brusque manner about the tuna, I immediately took it away, accepted it wasn't up to our usual standard, and asked if he'd like something else. He dismissively ordered a salmon in filo, which was immediately put in the oven. Ten minutes later, he cancelled the order citing the rest of his party had finished eating. I explained that it takes 15 minutes to prepare, as he must realize and it clearly states on the menu: ALL DISHES PREPARED TO ORDER. I then offered him one of our main salads, something quick, to which he rudely responded he'd already had a salad.
One of the 2 Beef Wellingtons ordered was finished, the other mostly left. Again, it's a matter of taste, but perhaps the author just doesn't like the dish. We sell tons of them, and very rarely get any complaints. The table next to this party had 2 of them at the same time, and confirmed to me they were 100% - they have the same dish every time they come in.
The mushrooms inside the pastry are very finely chopped, so maybe he thought that was the meat, ergo, soggy.
After the returned tuna, I had asked if everything was good, to which they said yes. They only complained when they received the check.

I'm not going to carry on about all the other comments made by them - the service WAS good, and I DO take any complaints seriously. However when someone wants to complain about everything possible (the ice not cold enough?), and on their first visit, I start to get wary & wonder why they have come. Maybe just to trash the place for some malicious reason.

We've been open over 9 years, with an army of regulars, many from the Tampa Tribune across the road, and walls full of great reviews from the Tampa Tribune, New York Times, Weekly Planet and other publications. This fellow didn't seem to want to read those when I mentioned them to him.
Thanks for this opportunity to give my side of the story.



--- Editor's note: ChefMoz posts are meant for restaurant reviews only (not a discussion forum) and does not normally accept rebuttals, this case is a rare exception.    [08 Dec 2003 22:21:27]

Food: -   Service: -   Ambiance: -   Overall: -
Recommended Dishes: ALL

     ­Anonymous   

I would travel half way round the world to eat at Cafe European
I was amazed to see a couple of the reviews of the Cafe European on your web page. At the moment I am living in Dubai, in the Middle East.
I long for the warmth, friendliness and delicious food, not to mention the outstanding service, of the Cafe European. Dubai has some wonderful restaurants and the service is excellent. Still, there is nothing quite like coming home to the Cafe European.    [24 Jan 2004 15:37:46]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Fish and Chips, bread and butter pudding.

     ­Jeanie Ough, Dubai, UAE   

Former day chef thinks foods great!!!
My name is JOHN NAULT, and I was the day chef at Cafe European for almost 2 years.

The food is made from the best possible stuff; the wine is well thought out, and the service is like having a 5 star staff of your best friends wait on you. Anyone who says the food's old or heat lamp kept is probably unable to tell the difference between a BigMac and a fine meal.    [11 Feb 2004 11:27:28]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Fish and Chips, Salmon salad

     ­John Nault, Tampa   Naultjr at tampabay dot rr dot com

15 Years, and still visiting monthly
I followed these chaps for close to two decades, visiting monthly for the Flamenco show.

Needless to say, I have sampled most of the menu and look forward to my favorites du jour - Beef Wellington (ordered med.rare), fish and chips (crispy and light), spinach crepe (fantastic), the house salad (with one awesome choice of house dressing), and of course, the ickey stickey dessert with extra sauce.

When the food is this yummy, I would dread seeing the menu change. In fact, the cafe is a place full of tradition, looking much like it did years back when it first opened. The only thing you can count on changing is the special, which does sometime run out.

A word on the flamenco show. Jose Maria Moreno and his wife, Esther Suarez peform the first saturday of each month. Reserverations are required to get a seat with a good view. Both are considered at the top of their art here in the US and and Spain, where they perform and conduct seminars yearly. This show is a must see.

Kudos to Mike and Susie of Cafe European!
Keep up the good show.    [12 Dec 2006 01:05:36]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Beef Wellington, Spinach Crepe, Fish & Chips, Striploin Steak, Ickey Sticky

     ­Dan Gerson   

Horrible Experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
I've never in my life complained about a restaurant publicly on a thread, last nights experience compelled me to.

I have to TOTALLY agree with Jim in regards to the service. My friend and I waited 30 minutes to be asked if we wanted something to drink. We waited over and hour and a half to eat and people who had arrive after us were served first and were given much more attention. The only reason we put up with such offensive service and behavior was due to the upcoming wonderful show performed by a husband and wife duo. This made the entires night experience temporarily vanish.

By the way, the owner was extremely rude, miserable and lacking some serious manners. I wish Gordon Ramsey was in Tampa to experience the horror of service himself. By the way, and this is to the owner if he reads this, be a little more appreciative of people who come to experience your restaurant. You never know who you are serving and what they can do for you and your business.    [03 Feb 2008 20:03:52]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Salmon

     ­Anonymous   

Cafe European stole my heart
I have never been so in love with food - you might think I was a big fatty! Let me just say that I don't live in Tampa anymore but I still can smell the vinaigrette dressing, and I crave the mushroom soup and matzo ball soup... and the fish and chips... and the salmon salad... and the list goes on! OH AND THE CHEESE PARCELS!!! HOLY CRAP THEY ARE DELICIOUS I could sing a song about them! Don't even get me started on the dessert because I could weep for days knowing I can't have one RIGHT NOW!


The service... is spectacular! There are a bunch are tard lards writing about the SERVICE.... and I know they were all there on flamenco night.... which means if you don't order before the show you won't get helped until afterward because as a common respect the servers aren't going to go running about screaming about refills and orders and such! DUH! Some people are so rude - I happen to have gotten to know the owners of this restaurant after my frequent ( cough ::daily:: cough) visits and they are two of the nicest people on the earth! Their daughters are splendid and bright as well!


Anyway enough blubbering! I just had to let everyone know they they are complete idiots if they ever complain about Cafe European - and they may as well eat cardboard( since they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and real delicious succulent food like Cafe European obviously anyway)    [18 Jul 2008 21:14:20]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Fish and Chips, Chocolate Mousse, Creamed Spinach, Mashed, Salad WITH the dressing, mushroom soup, etc.

     ­Merf