Who’s behind it: In the Historic Ybor area of Tampa, Fla., Ten Rooms is a new concept from local hospitality professional Ro Patel (formerly of Ciro’s Speakeasy and Anise Global Gastrobar in Tampa) and restaurant COO Zach Pace, previously of Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winners Aphotic and Lazy Bear in San Francisco.
The kitchen team is led by executive chef Parker Brown, an alum of Aphotic and Michael Mina’s Mina Group; chef de cuisine Vincent Brisotti; and pastry chef Lorena Idrovo.
[article-img-container][src=2024-05/restaurant-news-ten-rooms-tampa-interior-051624_1600.jpg] [credit= (Jordan Wise Photography)] [alt=The interior of Ten Rooms’ Bar Martinez, with wood tables, blue cloth chairs, white columns and modern sculptural art pieces on the wall][end: article-img-container]“We hope our commitment to terroir and quality partnerships continues to push the standard of what the city expects from its chef-driven restaurants,” Brown told Wine Spectator via email.
The culinary approach: Ten Rooms offers multiple dining concepts, anchored by Bar Martinez, named for Ybor City founder and cigar maker Vicente Martinez Ybor. Its contemporary-cuisine menu incorporates European and Southeastern U.S. influences, with dishes such as duck confit with “dirty” farro and Swiss chard, smoked eggplant with lentils and pickled squash, ricotta gnudi, charred cabbage with scallions and Calusa Oyster Company oysters with candied ginger. The Bar Martinez team also makes its own brioches, served with cultured butter and fennel pollen, and dry-ages meat and fish in house.
“Our intentional cuisine is meant to be both a tour of European influence, especially considering the local heritage of Ybor, as well as a concerted focus on the abundance of our own backyard,” Pace added, highlighting the restaurant’s regionally sourced caviar.
[article-img-container][src=2024-05/restaurant-news-ten-rooms-tampa-parker-brown-051624_1600.jpg] [credit= (Jordan Wise Photography)] [alt=Parker Brown preparing a dish at the kitchen window of Ten Rooms’ Bar Martinez][end: article-img-container]Also at Ten Rooms are Genevieve the Cat, a bar space; the Café at Ten Rooms, a coffee shop and bakery, and a boutique shop and art exhibit space, the Shop at Ten Rooms.
What’s on the wine list: Pace has selected around 125 labels, starting with about 20 sparkling wine picks, including bubblies from California’s Roederer Estate and Champagne’s Egly-Ouriet. Diners will find Sonoma Chardonnays, Provence rosés, Burgundies, Riojas, Tuscan reds, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons and older and standout bottlings from leading wineries like Bordeaux first-growth Château Margaux, Spain icon R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, Napa’s Corison and a magnum of the Oddero Barolo Brunate 2004.
“Our hope is that the wine will mirror—and complement—the cuisine and the guest experience. Refined, yet approachable, serious but fun,” Pace explained. “We don’t want guests to have to read an entire tome to find the perfect bottle, and the format is oriented toward readability and easy access.”
At Genevieve the Cat, guests can also enjoy a range of wines by the glass, as well as 20 cocktails curated by Patel. “I’d like to show the world the Tampa Bay area has a devoted demographic of hardcore wine lovers with very sophisticated, urbane tastes,” said Pace. “We want more grower Champagne, more organic options, more vintage depth and more sincere, sommelier-led experiences.”
[article-img-container][src=2024-05/restaurant-news-ten-rooms-tampa-exterior-051624_1600.jpg] [credit= (Jordan Wise…Source : https://www.winespectator.com/articles/restaurant-news-ten-rooms-opens-in-tampa-bay-florida
