Sparkman Wharf — Attraction in Tampa

Sparkman Wharf was a great time! I was planning a trip to Florida to visit a friend, and I HAD to do some food vlogging while I was there! I asked him about some good food spots that I could film at, and he highly recommended Sparkman Wharf in Tampa! After his recommendation, I logged onto IG to check out their page. I was intrigued by the number of restaurants and outside space, so I was totally on board!

I landed in Tampa in the eveving, so I got to see the cool Sparkman Wharf sign nicely lit. It was quite exciting lol. We went to a few of the restaurants there, and decided to start with the Biergarten! It was just exciting lol. The beer list was ENDLESS! Luckily, I know that I’m more into porters and stouts, so asked if they could recommend any. The woman who took my order suggested the Mexican hot chocolate stout, as well as the espresso one. That Mexican hot chocolate stout was sensual......yes, I said sensual. It’s the best adjective I could come up with to properly explain what I tasted/felt when sipping this stout. It was perfectly chilled, rich, and flavorful. It truly gave hot (but cold) chocolate vibes. It was so refreshing and done so well. The espresso stout was also well done. It gave that bitterness that you expect with espresso, and even offered a bit of a chocolatey flavor. I really enjoyed it.

Next, we went to Corners Pizza. Pizza isn’t something I’d normally go to Florida to try, but it was a part of the food court, so I was down to give it a try, and glad I did! I honestly did not expect it to taste so good! The edges were nicely crisp. The cheese pull was endless. The sausage and pepperonis were nicely browned. I expected lackluster, but Corners said, “no ma’am”! They delivered a solid tasting pizza and I must commend them for that!

Next up, was a fun-named restaurant called Edison’s Swigamajig Dive bar and fish kitchen. I didn’t know what to expect from here at all lol. I ended up ordering their conch fritters, which were served with this orange blossom honey mustard. The conch fritters themselves were good. Conch in general is interesting in texture, and these fritters were no different. They were nicely seasoned, and the orange blossom honey mustard complimented them nicely. We also got the jerk chicken sandwich which....listen, I just wasn’t expecting it to be so delicious. They really did capture the jerk flavors. The chicken itself was a breast, and it was cooked perfectly. You know breasts can be easily over cooked. This breast was moist and succulent! I was thoroughly impressed!

Sparkman Wharf in Tampa Florida is fun, and truly is a good time. They offer some surprisingly great food options! I was more than happy with the...

After a great visit to the Florida Aquarium, it was around lunchtime so as we were about to walk out, we passed by guest services and asked for recommendations on where to eat. Initially, we had looked at downtown St. Petersburg, but an Uber there from where we were would have cost $35 and we would not have been sure if the trip and the food in that area would have been worth it. Luckily, the Aquarium guest services said there were restaurants walking distance in the area and some that had been converted from shipping containers. It certainly was worth checking out. The walk was about 5 minutes and one would notice the outdoor restaurants area right away. There were more than a dozen places to choose from, places like Fit Bowl, Gallipoli Taqueria, Jesus Splendid Ice Creams, Flock & Stock, Jotoro, LightHaus Beer Garden, Murph's Barbecue, Naked Farmer, Splits illegal, Edisons Swigamajiig, Whatever Pops, The Battery, BurgerFi, Wichita, Please!, Hampton Chocolate Factory to name a few. At first, we were overwhelmed with the choices, though as we got to visit each of the food retailers, we then narrowed down to what we wanted. We selected Philly cheesesteaks (two different kinds, Philly with shaved Riley, provolone, mayo, shrooms and onions with additional lettuce, tomato and avocado mash and Chipotle Cheesesteak with additional pepperjack on a hoagie)at Flock and Stock and freshly squeezed lemonade from Murph's BBQ. We then looked for an open spot with an umbrella cover. It was midday but the weather was nice and pleasant. So, how was the food. Wow, the Philly cheesesteaks were amazingly delicious, possibly one of the best we have had. For dessert, we tried the Frozen S'mores and molten chocolate lava shots on a cone. These were amazing as well, the smores normally would be melted but as they were frozen, didn't crumble when you bit into it. My wife loved the molten chocolate lava shots, described as a waffle cone filled with pure molten chocolate fillings and whipped cream. Even just typing this made me crave for more. Definitely, Sparkman Wharf is a great place to have a meal and it's nearby in downtown Tampa....

I am super excited for Sparkman to be open. An open-air concept full of music, a variety of places to eat and I am sure that events like yoga and markets are bound to be coming soon.

I headed over a little after the opening ceremony and the place was pretty packed. With everything painted grey with the shops in shipping containers very bright, the space felt very open and edgy.

Grabbing food from the various restaurants is easy, there are a few smaller tables out in front of each restaurant, with the main seating areas being towards the middle and out along the water. There are several tables and chairs along with bigger lounge chairs. Some of the tables along the water have umbrellas. Hopefully, more umbrellas and maybe even some awnings for the restaurants will appear. Everything was super clean, They do need to add a few more trash cans.

Make sure if you are going on a sunny day to apply a lof of sunscreen. You will be spending lots of time in the sun!!

There is a small stage and live music was playing both times we were there on the weekend which was awesome. It wasn't super loud and overpowering. There are several games to play on the lawn.

There appear to be several shops that are waiting for tenants or maybe not open at all. The current tenants are all different and really a true sampling of all Tampa has to offer.

Parking is definitely an issue. People should try to take the streetcar or the downtowner. There are lots of spaces to park bikes and Coast bikes has a stand there. They do offer parking validation to an extent if you spend $10.00 there. Look for a table at the front.

The planning has made sure that everything is environmentally friendly and sustainable. People are allowed to walk around with drinks and there are signs that warn people not to take alcohol beyond Sparkman.

I can see there being issues on nights there are events at the Arena and even the weekends with long lines and space. Hopefully, there has been some consideration and planning in that area.

Overall, it's a lot of fun and lots of great food. Expect to see lots of families...