Anise Global Gastrobar Opens In Downtown Tampa

Offering fresh, globally inspired Korean, Thai and Spanish cuisine, Anise Global Gastrobar is now open on Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa.

Located on the bottom floor of Skypoint Condos, at 777 N. Ashley Dr., Anise is on the opposite side of Taps Restaurant Bar & Lounge, occupying the 2,500-square-foot former site of the Point Bistro & Lounge.

"If you look around, we seem to have a great influx of ethnic restaurants in the downtown area,'' says Angela Ruth, director of marketplace development at the Tampa Downtown Partnership. "There's a lot of people of different ethnicities traveling, finding food that they like and bringing it back to Tampa to share with residents and visitors. It's really a neat thing.''

Owners Kevin and Xuan Hurt say they plan to play with global flavors and recipes, offering an eclectic menu of rice bowls, salads and a variety of steamed buns including pork belly with kimchi and shrimp with spicy green papaya slaw and ginger aioli. The Hurts plan to offer craft beers, boutique wines and both traditional, as well as innovative, cocktails at their new concept.

Featuring indoor and outdoor seating, the approximately 90-seat restaurant includes Parisian influences in the interior décor by Doxa Home designer Jaime Rogers. The plan is to serve lunch and dinner Monday through Friday with brunch, dinner and a late-night menu offered on weekends; to-go picnic baskets will be made available for customers to enjoy at open-air spaces in downtown, such as Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

"It seems just as one restaurant opens up in downtown, there's another and another,'' Ruth says. "It's almost like clockwork, which is wonderful.''

Prior to Anise, Xuan previously partnered with downtown Tampa's Bamboozle Cafe for more than two years, worked as manager of Ciro's Speakeasy and Supper Club in South Tampa and ran local Tampa Bay area food truck Stinky Bunz.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Angela Ruth, Tampa Downtown Partnership