We all have those Tampa restaurants on our list we keep meaning to cross the bridge and try. This seems to be the year that we’re getting lucky and so many of our bucket list spots are coming to us instead. They must have gotten tired of waiting.
Cheeky’s in the Grand Central District has been at the forefront of the movement, and they’re going big again with a Bastille Day collab with Tampa’s French star Bar Terroir. Hosted at Cheeky’s, the one-night-only crossover event’s menu will meet in the middle of the two restaurants, with a seafood-forward experience built around the summertime flavors of the Southern French coast.
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The special dinner takes place on Tuesday, July 14, which is Bastille Day proper, the French holiday celebrating the storming of Bastille and the start of the French Revolution. Tickets are $10 and seating times are available here. The ticket costs go to support Feeding Tampa Bay, and guests can then order from the specialty menu. If either France or U.S.A. are in the World Cup that afternoon, they will open at 3 pm ahead of the dinner.
Bar Terroir is a relative newcomer in Tampa’s dining scene, but it became an immediate star after opening last summer. The space is an homage to the classic French bistro and it has been a favorite of the team at our sister site That’s So Tampa. Led by a Michelin-Starred team of chefs (Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality Group is also behind Rocca in Tampa), they’ve quickly earned a sterling reputation. Now, we get them for a night in St. Pete without having to leave the neighborhood.
Cheeky’s Executive Chef Philip Cleary and Bar Terroir’s Chef de Cuisine Max McKee collaborated to create the special menu, “blending French bistro classics with Gulf Coast seafood and raw bar favorites,” as well as special wines and cocktails to pair with the dining menu.
Highlights from the Bastille Day menu include:
- Beausoleil Oysters & Seafood Tower featuring Beausoleil oysters with rose granita, pickled pear & fresh horseradish; clams with Bloody Mary mignonette; tuna tartare; and shrimp cocktail with sumac cocktail sauce
- Chicken Liver Mousse on Leidenheimer baguette
- Grouper Cheek Sliders with gribiche
- Niçoise Salad with lobster, anchovies, haricot vert, fingerling potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, niçoise olives, butter greens & basil
- Moules Frites with shallot, garlic, thyme, white wine, butter, cream, fines herbes & rouille
- Foie Gras Burger with red onion marmalade & frites
- Escargot Bourguignon with pommes purée
- Peach Melba with Chill Bros. Ice Cream
Cheeky’s also had collaborations with Tampa’s Lucky Tigre (one of my personal favorites in Tampa) and Supernatural Food & Wine, which was just featured on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives this spring. The crossovers are natural, with Cheeky’s owner Nate Siegel having cut his teeth in Tampa’s hospitality scene. Now that he’s in St. Pete, he’s inviting his friends to join him, while the rest of us get to reap (and eat) the rewards.
“I’ve been friends with the team at Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality Group for years, and we opened our restaurants right around the same time,” Siegel said in a release. “We’re thrilled to throw a great party and collaborate with the Bar Terroir team on a killer menu inspired by their French roots and our seafood favorites here in St. Pete!”
“Can’t wait to toast our friends out in St. Pete and celebrate Bastille Day with the Cheeky’s team,” McKee added. “We’re really looking forward to cooking alongside them. Cheeky’s has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in St. Pete. The opportunity to showcase our French-inspired menu at such a cool space alongside some of the industry’s most talented people is incredibly exciting.”
