Date Night: Fine-Dining Restaurants

The Salt Rock Grill is a landmark restaurant in Indian Shores that offers lovely views of the Intracoastal Waterway. For locals, it’s a go-to spot for special occasions. It's known for hand-cut USDA prime and choice beef, seafood caught daily by boats docked at the restaurant, a raw bar and a top-notch wine cellar. Come here for beef that's been aged then grilled over a natural oak-and-citrus-wood pit fire. The wine list, a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winner, features some familiar labels as well as limited-run bottles oenophiles will love. Bonus: After your meal (or before, depending on when you go), beach views of romantic Gulf sunsets are nearby.

When you walk into this Dunedin spot, the first things you might notice are the subdued lighting and the intimate size. With most of its 12 tables seating two, The Black Pearl's French and New American menu is perfect for a fine-dining date night. Thanks to Executive Chef Christopher Artrip, dining here is a sumptuous affair featuring the likes of escargot en croute or white truffle lobster risotto – a perennial favorite. From amuse bouche to dessert, the food here is hand-crafted fresh to order and presented beautifully. Pair with an expert-chosen glass of wine from the onsite sommelier for even more refined indulgence. Bonus: you’ll be in the heart of walkable downtown Dunedin, steps away from the perfect nightcap.

Come early and come hungry to this tiny, locally loved steakhouse in St. Pete Beach. 1200° Chophouse doesn’t take reservations, so you’d be wise to plan an early dinner or prepare to relax with a drink while waiting for a table. Order the Angus ribeye, New York strip, filet mignon or a porterhouse steak for two – no matter what you select, your cut will be perfectly cooked in its signature 1,200° broiler. Dining out with a pescatarian? A variety of seafood offerings are available, including pan-seared sea bass, shrimp in Creole barbecue butter and twin Caribbean lobster tails.

Sophisticated Italian fare, exposed brick walls and a business-casual dress code elevate your date night at this small-yet-popular downtown St. Pete spot on bustling Central Avenue. Il Ritorno owner and Executive Chef David Lazer Benstock strives to create rustic dishes with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Dishes, all plated elegantly, are subject to change based on the freshest ingredients available. However, you can expect indulgent appetizers like black garlic octopus and caviar doughnuts, as well as entrees creations such as Short Rib Mezzaluna, featuring truffle fonduta, and Koji Aged Elk, featuring truffle espuma. The wine list is quite lengthy – especially the reds. To really step things up, opt for the chef’s six-course tasting menu with wine pairings.

If you love Mediterranean cuisine, you’ll adore Allelo in St. Pete, the perfect spot for two to share a tasty selection of small plates, flowing wine and plenty of romance. Sample octopus, beef tartare or Greek salad; order oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktail or a tower from the raw bar; and wrap it up with baklava cheesecake for dessert along with a truffle-infused spirit. Even the cocktail menu brings out romance, with playful drinks like "Bay Got Me Sippin" and "No Smoke Without Fire."

Set within the historic Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, enjoy a sophisticated culinary experience at Elliott Aster restaurant, a refined take on New American cuisine with chef-driven flair. Its cocktail program ranges from a mastered dirty martini to a Montegrenita and Old Havana creation that tastes like luxury sipping. The restaurant’s chic interiors pair beautifully with thoughtful menus featuring antipasti, housemade pastas, artisanal salads and signature mains that highlight fresh flavors and elevated technique. Whether staying at the Vinoy as a guest or coming strictly for dinner, Elliott Aster is a standout choice for date night or celebrating a special occasion. Afterwards, enjoy the walkable charisma of St. Pete’s bayfront park and marina together.

Expect a seasonally focused menu, with ingredients sourced locally, when you dine at Grace Restaurant in tiny, historic Pass-a-Grille Beach. With the restaurant's focus on using the freshest local foods, you'd be wise to take advantage of the chef's weekly specials, but there are some other popular mainstays on the menu, too, such as pan-seared sea scallops in citrus brown butter and the filet mignon with gorgonzola butter. If you're looking for a spot to celebrate a birthday or other occasion, Grace offers a private dining room.

This stylish spot right on Beach Drive offers café seating outside with views of North Straub Park and the sparkling Tampa Bay waterfront. Inside, expect cozy lighting along with rich colors and textures. The Maryland crab cake with Dijonaisse foam is a worthy appetizer; consider following it with any of the restaurant's seafood dishes, such as the crab-crusted grouper. Adjacent to Juno & The Peacock restaurant is its opulent sister concept, Pluma Lounge, where you can enjoy craft Latin American-inspired cocktails (On weekend afternoons, book "Tina's Tea & Bubbles" for a new take on the tradition of afternoon tea.)

Since it first opened in an unassuming Dunedin storefront in 2017, food critics have been writing near-sonnets praising the fare found at The Restorative. This casual-but-sophisticated restaurant offers an ever-changing list of innovative dishes crafted with precision and plated in kaleidoscopic arrays that rival fine art. The New American menu changes two to three times a week here, taking advantage of the freshest seasonal offerings. Expect both large and small plates featuring house-made pastas, a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and freshly caught fish (see a sample menu). The wine list isn’t massive but it’s as meticulously curated as the food. And the dessert menu? Words don’t suffice. The limited seating lends itself to an intimate meal, and the clean, simple décor and open kitchen create an atmosphere that’s classy but far from stuffy.

This elevated Pan-Asian restaurant was recognized by the 2025 MICHELIN Guide Florida. A raw bar features Kampachi as well as Wagyu Ttartare with Japanese milk bread. Order the Miso Black Cod, a signature dish, for that umami experience you've been dreaming of, and pair with hot or cold sake from its lengthy selection. Save room for one of the restaurant's elegant desserts, including ube cheesecake and lychee panna cotta.

This elegant restaurant at the opulent SandPearl Resort in Clearwater Beach has its tables draped in white cloths, but Caretta on the Gulf isn’t the type to require jackets. Opt for outdoor seating for Gulf breezes or sit indoors by the floor-to-ceiling windows – either way, if you time it right, you and your date are in for a sunset show. There’s plenty of fresh seafood on the menu, from Gulf grouper to Chilean seabass. Organic herbs and vegetables inspire the menu here, and the wine list is worthy of its Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

Renovations in 2022 have given this seaside restaurant in St. Pete Beach a grand makeover to make dining at award-winning Maritana an even more sophisticated affair. Located at historic The Don CeSar (aka the "Pink Palace"), Maritana’s menu has a wow factor in keeping with a landmark setting perfect for popping the question or celebrating an anniversary. Expect fresh snapper and grouper with Mediterranean and Floribbean touches, mouthwatering desserts and an excellent wine list. The aesthetics inside are pretty spectacular, but you're also just steps away from the stunning Gulf sunsets outside.

Stay at The Birchwood, a boutique hotel in the heart of downtown St. Pete, and you won’t have to wander far for a great meal. Birch & Vine offers an intimate dining room as well as covered sidewalk seating. Dinner here is a showstopper, with entrees such as Baked Lobster Mac & Cheese or Open Waters Oscar, featuring the chef’s featured cut. Choose from more than 450 wines in a collection that made Birch & Vine one of only three St. Pete restaurants to receive Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence. For one of the best views of Tampa Bay in the area, head up to The Canopy, Birchwood’s rooftop lounge. Enjoy cool bayside breezes, frosé or an old fashioned and tasty bar bites such as elevated tacos and flatbreads.

For one of the most elegant dining experiences in the area, head to Rococo Steak on the south end of downtown St. Pete. A far cry from the stuffy steakhouses of yesteryear, the new-age American steakhouse menu here is as imaginative as the art on the walls. The sensory experience begins before you walk in. Rococo is housed in a 1926 former YWCA that was renovated with a certain grandeur. The menu lists great Allen Brothers cuts of beef, but the variety of meat and other dishes are sure to please everyone. Ask your server about Chef’s Daily Caviar Service Selection to pair with one of the hundreds of fine wines that helped Rococo Steak garner Wine Spectator’s Best of Awards of Excellence.

Urban Stillhouse demonstrates that fine dining doesn’t have to be a stuffy, formal affair. Instead, this industrial-chic restaurant in St. Pete’s growing Warehouse Arts District offers an ultra-cool cocktail menu to match its uber-cool setting, with a three-story-tall ceiling and windows overlooking the Horse Soldier distillery. Bourbon-inspired entrees and seasonal menu items are crafted on the wood-fired grill using locally sourced ingredients. From a “crispy” whole fish and lobster bucatini to braised Wagyu beef cheeks and a half Peking duck, there is no shortage of indulgent dishes here. (Tip: Bourbon-lovers will want to make a reservation for their Tasting Room experience that includes a bourbon flight and an appetizer.) While not formal, this is a place where folks celebrate special occasions, so no beach attire, flip-flops or athletic wear, please. Reservations are required for table service.

At Latitude 28, the tantalizing aroma of fresh herbs and spices welcomes you, setting the stage for a lovely meal overlooking Clearwater Pass visible through floor-to-ceiling, linen-draped windows. This restaurant in the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa is perfect for a dinner date in a grand, elegant setting for both guests and non-guests of the hotel. The menu highlights local seafood like Florida Black Grouper alongside global influences, creative salads, steaks and craft cocktails that echo the flavors of the coast. Be sure to ask your server what the Chefs Signature Dessert is for a sweet, sweet finish.