Best Restaurants for Birthdays in Palm Harbor

I can’t believe we’ve lived in Tampa and haven’t been to timpano until last night. What a great restaurant! Food was great, service was great, atmosphere was great and everything is at a price point that won’t kill your wallet.

Our 4 person group started off at the outside bar while waiting for out table. The cocktails were just ok. Nothing outstanding but they also had a good wine selection. The baked oysters were very dry and hard to remove from the shell. Not juicy at all but very dry. The fried green tomatoes and pork belly were a big hit. The dinner selections were tasty. I had the pompano dish and it was great. The native chili was dry as well. It was meaty but also very dry and lacked moisture or sauce. The desserts were good except the whisky butter cake with blackberries came with 1 blackberry and it was cut in half. I wish it had more berries or some blackberry compote to go with it. Overall nice meal with some improvements to be had on some dishes. I would recommend this place especially with the nighttime ambiance.

Charley’s is our go-to when we are in Tampa. The food is ALWAYS amazing. The Bison Ribeye was perfectly prepared, the baked potato was one of the best we’ve ever had. We sat at the bar, and were somewhat disappointed with the service. We typically choose to sit at the bar when we go to Charley’s because the bartenders are always great—super informative, friendly and helpful. Last night something was missing with the service we received. Again, the food was remarkable as always.

Mystic Fish is our favorite restaurant for special occasions, but it's great for just a night out (especially the day our house cleaners do a deep clean on our kitchen!). Last night we dined with another couple. I had made reservations ahead of time, but forgot to request our favorite server, Tom. For the second time, "someone" checked our past dining history and knew that we usually requested him. I was very happy to find that Tom was our server, and that we were assigned our "usual" table. He's the best! Very professional, but also friendly and knowledgeable, and anticipates his customers' needs. We each ordered different entrees. The pan-seared scallops, Asian-style short ribs, and bronzed tripletail were all raved over and thoroughly enjoyed. I got the crab-stuffed flounder, which was a bit disappointing. The flounder was tender and flaky, and very tasty. Unfortunately, the crab stuffing was seasoned with Old Bay or something similar -- a taste I do not enjoy at all -- and overpowered the flounder. The beurre blanc was a bit runnier than I expected, but had a subtle lemon flavor that went well with the fish. It didn't go as well with the green beans or mashed potatoes that ended up swimming in it. I ended up eating a good portion of the flounder, and my husband finished the rest of the fish and the crab, which he thought was very good. Three of us had dessert. I love the small portions for a very reasonable price. There's just enough to enjoy without getting over-full. We had the creme brulee, espresso pots de creme and Key lime pie. Each one was perfect. This is the first time in dozens of visits that I've ever not completely enjoyed my meal. Everyone else at the table enjoyed theirs immensely. We'll definitely be back, but I'll know better than to have any crab-stuffed entrees in the future. (This account is under my husband's name, but he did not write the review,)

My wife and I dined at Juno & the Peacock for our wedding anniversary. We had an amazing experience, thanks to Patrick’s (our waiter) excellent service and recommendations. Starting with our cosmopolitan and Moscow mule, the Ahi Tuna Tartare and Pork belly were exquisite. The crab-crusted grouper and winter squash campanelle were delicious. To top it off the key lime tart was to die for. We will definitely be back!