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10 Best Romantic Restaurants in St. Petersburg, FL 2020

Best Romantic Restaurants St Petersburg FL 2020
Best Restaurants for Valentine’s Day & Other Romantic Jaunts

Whether you’re a guy or a gal, it never hurts to have a handy list of romantic restaurants at your fingertips. Valentine’s Day is one of the biggies, but there are also anniversaries, birthdays, Mother’s Day, and other holidays.

In general, it’s obviously the overall ambiance. One of the important things … Continue Reading

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Are You Ready To Rumble? “The Midnight Chef Fight” Series Begins This Saturday Night, May 4th

A take down in the ‘Burg…Spinning a take on the Esquire Network series, Knife Fight, IL Ritorno is bringing some Saturday night fun into our downtown culinary scene with their newest concept the “Midnight Chef Fight” series which will pit two Tampa Bay chefs against each other in an hour long, “after hours” cook-off to create the best dishes.

Not … Continue Reading

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What’s That You Say? IL Ritorno to Open on Sundays in the New Year…

That’s right! IL Ritorno will now be open on Sunday at 5:00, for dinner only (except for private events), starting on January 7th, 2019. So to thwart the inevitable question in advance, they will not be serving a brunch.

They have had such a high demand for Sunday reservations and are constantly having to turn away customers and parties on … Continue Reading

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Simmer & Sift with Chef David Benstock of IL Ritorno at the Museum of Fine Arts

Simmer & Sift Cover

Back by popular demand…Simmer & Sift brings to life culinary masterpieces by the area’s hottest chefs. Chef David Benstock will be cooking at the last installment of the third annual Simmer & Sift event of 2018 hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts on Wednesday, September 26 from 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Chef David’s experience has come from working … Continue Reading

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Meet the Chef St Pete – IL Ritorno with Candice Aviles

Here at St. Petersburg Foodies, our favorite new restaurant related TV Show is “Meet the Chef”, starring CBS Tampa Bay News Anchor Candice Aviles.

Meet the Chef is an online show where the first season of eight episodes focuses solely on St. Petersburg, FL restaurants—just like us! Nice!

Episode 1 features one of our favorite restaurants, not only in St. … Continue Reading

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IL Ritorno Does it Again: Tequila Pairing Dinner

There’s nothing wrong with doing tequila shots and munching on tacos, chips and guacamole … but that’s not what this tequila dinner was about.

Unfortunately, that’s how too many people solely think of tequila, but there’s more to it than that.

This spirit is strictly from the terroir of Jalisco, Mexico, and made from the Blue Agave plant. The best … Continue Reading

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The Return of IL Ritorno – Downtown St. Pete 2018

Rack of Venison

IL Ritorno is back!

Actually, they’ve been back since December 27th, but we finally got a chance to check out the new space on Valentine’s Day.

They closed during the last quarter of 2017 to expand, nearly doubling their size, adding two more dining areas, an open kitchen, chef’s bar, and full liquor. More details on the expansion can be … Continue Reading

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IL Ritorno Launches Spirit Pairing Series Starting with Tequila

Lunazul Tequila

IL Ritorno will host a dinner once a month with a five-course tasting menu created to pair with the designated spirit. (The series runs from February to May.) February’s dinner pairs with Lunazul Tequila. Lunazul means “Blue Moon”, and this tequila has a 250-year history. Joining Chef David is Lunazul’s master distiller, Francisco Quijano. He’ll be educating attendees on the … Continue Reading

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An Exclusive Inside Look at the Exciting IL Ritorno Expansion and Renovations

IL Ritorno Expansion

IL Ritorno announced earlier this summer plans to expand their existing space to double the size. Originally they planned to close for just a few weeks with hopes to be done by the end of September. Hurricane Irma, however, had her own agenda. The restaurant had to close for the hurricane and then decided to just stay closed until the … Continue Reading

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Seafood Brodetto at IL Ritorno Downtown St. Pete

IL Ritorno - Seafood Brodetto

Everyday the type of seafood incorporated into this dish changes according to what is fresh. On this evening, the seafood was Clams, Mussels and charred Octopus accompanied by Preserved Tangerine, Celery Hearts and a dash of Chili. Poured table side over the dish was the sauce which Chef Dave describes as, “almost like a creamless, flourless chowder, but we’ve thickened … Continue Reading

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IL Ritorno Ramps Up Their Spring Menu

IL Ritorno - Cappelini Nero

It’s no secret that since the first time we went to IL Ritorno in the summer of 2014 that I fell in love and that has never changed. Here is the first review I ever wrote about IL Ritorno. The quality of the ingredients and Chef David Benstock’s ingenuity with those ingredients keeps the ever evolving menu fresh and exciting.… Continue Reading

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IL Ritorno to Double Its Space: New Layout, New Services

There is no other restaurant in all of St. Petersburg, let alone Downtown, that can be compared to IL Ritorno. The closest we have ever come was to go to Rome and Venice Italy. Needless to say, IL Ritorno is one of St. Petersburg Foodies most favorite restaurants. They do their own modern twists on classic Northern Italian dishes, much … Continue Reading

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