pane rustica
mattPane Rustica started out in a small space on MacDill where the bakery developed a strong following. After moving down the street into bigger digs, Pane Rustica expanded last year beyond bread, coffee and sandwiches into a full dinner menu with table service.
While Pane Rustica is nondescript from the outside, inside the place is deep and open with hints of trendiness (but not over the top where it would turn me off). After taking in the menu and surroundings, Traci and I both ordered a bowl of gazpacho (a chilled tomato based soup) as a starter and split a mixed green salad with apple slices, pecans and a sweet vinaigrette dressing. For our main course we shared a flat bread pizza topped with sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers and mozzarella. We gobbled up the complimentary fresh bread with olive oil and a creamy hummus as we waited on our order.
The pizza and the salad were both enjoyable. The gazpacho was solid, but the taste was a little on the bland side. Our favorite gazpacho is at The Columbia. My only other minor gripe was that, in the area where we sat at least, the other tables are practically on top of you. A little more privacy would have been nice. The couple next to us bickering got annoying very fast.
I’ve read some comments about Pane Rustica’s servers being slow and disorganized, but at least on our visit last Friday the server was friendly and attentive. My favorite meal over the past few months remains Red Mesa on 4th St. N. in St. Pete, but Pane Rustica comes in a solid second. We definitely plan to eat at Pane Rustica again and explore more of its menu.
Bottom-line: We had an enjoyable meal on our first visit to Pane Rustica last week and look forward to going back. Prices are reasonable for the food quality and we didn’t run into poor service.
Inspection Scorecard: Last Inspection- June 2006 violations - Critical (6), Non-Critical (7).
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August 23rd, 2006 at 8:52 pm
the grub here is pretty good - once you actually get your hands on it. the set-up leaves a lot ot be desired. for one thing, the menu is on a board over the food prep area which you cant really see as you wait in line trying to order, craning your neck, especially at lunch when its very busy. then, the tables are a bit haphazard and can be difficult to acquire when busy. you face the distinct possibility of ordering food, finally having it arrive and then having no place to seat and eat it. the servers can be a bit out to lunch. you cant really tell everything they have on the menu because of the self service, stand in line ordering system.
which is too bad because the food quality is quite high. the bread is among the better efforts you can find in tampa, for what that’s worth. i dont go here very often because of the seating and ordering hassle, and its packed at lunch with so tampa ladies who lunch.
August 23rd, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Nice meeting you last night, too, Matty. You make everything sound so yummy…except the sausage.
August 24th, 2006 at 7:42 am
pane rustica is good stuff, one of the first places i ate at when i got here. i especially dig those almond croissants… mmmmmm.
August 24th, 2006 at 10:59 am
For a great dining experience try Cafe Alma in Downtown St. Petersburg
August 24th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
The owner (husband) was a real d*ck to my dying spouse, but I guess that’s a personal grudge rather than a restaurant critique.
August 24th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Meredith-
I’m very sorry to hear about your husband. I haven’t had any interaction with the owners- which sounds like a good thing.
August 24th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
james- We tried Cafe Alma once for dessert and coffee last year. I know a lot of people are fans of the place, but we waited forever for a server to come to our table, the coffee was disorganized and dessert (I don’t even remember what it was now) was just ok. Granted it was getting late, most people still there were winding down dinner, and the servers wanted to go home. We’ll probably try Redwoods before we try Cafe Alma for a nice meal in downtown St. Pete.
kate- re: the sausage flat bread pizza- my fiancee, then girlfriend, started out as mostly a vegetarian when I met her (no red meat or seafood, chicken occasionally). With slow baby steps I now have her fully over to the carnivorous dark side
dreaming- Sounds like I will stick with the table service they offer for dinner ha. When I walked in I thought this might be a place with snobby, clueless servers but ours was very nice and on top of things.
August 24th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
I love me some Pane Rustica chicken salad.
They could be a little more generous on the Greek potatoes though.
August 25th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
Matt,
Redwoods is very good ! Also try the Vinoy Hotel for a very good dining experience. I do like Cafe Japan at International Plaza. Good food.:)
August 25th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
james:
We’ve had drinks before at the main bar inside the restaurant at the Vinoy, need to try them for a meal, I know it’s well regarded. Have been to Cafe Japon at Intl - not the best sushi I’ve ever had, but we had a good time, my only gripe was the pieces of sushi were small (ok, I know I can be tough and picky). The couple we were with spoke highly of it - one of their faves.
February 21st, 2007 at 4:06 pm
[...] Market. We still plan to give Mott & Hester Deli a try one of these days. We’ve also done Pane Rustica before for dinner, but not lunch. What good local sandwich places am I [...]