Bistro 118 is located at the Hillsborough Community College next to Raymond James Stadium. It's been almost ten years that I've been here, & it looks quite different. This is where the culinary arts students study, and make their food for part of their grade. They have different menus each week during the semester. People reserve their meals way in advance since there is only so many groups that they take. Thanks to my friend Grace for this invite. We enjoyed great conversations, great service, and great food. This was an Asian menu. We had hibiscus ice tea, mandarin orange salad, Thai butternut squash soup, red bean bun, Korean pulled pork tacos, cucumber saladC coconut rice and toasted sesame ice cream. All of this for a price that can't be beat! $12. So happy I got to try it out again. I'd love to go back again next time in the Fall for the new semester! What a great deal and such extraordinary options. The decor is more intimate, modern and clean with booths and some tables in the middle. It's closer to the social science building. read more

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Hillsborough Community College Culinary School "Gourmet Room" is getting it name with beautiful and sensual dining. This is the perfect academic and restaurant to close my 300th series review. Thanks to students and teacher who serve the good food. If you like to know the website to joint in, please go to Grace H review. We have a pleasure to celebrate a friend be late birthday here. The setting is nice with beautiful art on the wall. It is a table cloth serving if you want to have a nice diner with your love one with very good cost. I would encourage put more tip money in the plate to support the scholarship for the school since they are not for profit. Come and try out their food since each week is different country until their semester ended of their serving. Tonight we have the Greek theme since I miss the season opener last week. The first course is the Greek Salad and The Lentil Soup. The Greek salad is a classic dish in many Greek restaurant. I like the pita bread on top of the salad. It is crispy and top with few pieces of sea salt. The lentil soup is garnish with spinach. The flavor has a twist mixture of the fragrant of food. The main course is the Pork Tenderloin serves with Orzo Pasta. The orzo pasta shape like rice cook with olive oil tomato with a bit basil leave. The pork tenderloin is seasoned and baked in oven. The exterior was well salt and the seasoning that went into the meat. Then it is sliced and served to the customer. My favorite is the dessert. Tonight it end with Baklava. I have eat many of baklava and never like it because many of them are sitting too long or wrap in the plastic before it serve. The different of this baklava is freshly prepared with crispy layers of crush. The infill of nuts are crispy and perfect to enjoy. They still have four weeks left before the semester run out. Come and try the good cooking and support the students. read more

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OPA!! Definitely 5 stars! Who knew Hillsborough community college had a mini restaurant tucked inside the school?! Yelpers, that's who! The Gourmet Room is in the first floor of the Humanities building of the Dale Mabry HCC campus. Thanks to our trusty noses, we found the room with ease. Every Wednesday and Thursday at 7pm, the students take us on a journey through the culinary arts from different parts of the world. Did I mention they serve 3 courses for $7!! Not much seating, maybe 8 tables inside and no outdoor seating. You can view the menu online and reserve a spot thru their website. Reservations are not needed but I would definitely recommend it. Last night was Greek, my favorite. OPA!! We started with the mini Meze platter consisting of Dolmades (grape leaves), Spanakopita (spinach and feta crisp), hummus, tsatziki (yogurt sauce), pita chips accompanied with a cup of warm lentil soup. Everything was fantastic except for the pita chips, they were bit stale. For our main entree, we indulged on Moussaka on a bed of orzo pasta. Moussaka is a Greek style lasagna, layers of ground beef, roasted eggplants, feta and bechamel sauce. It was very good, also loved the pasta. For dessert (drum roll please), we had Baklava, one of Greek's well known desserts. Layers of crispy buttery phyllo, honey, aromatics, crushed nuts and did I mention honey. My friend said this was the best Baklava she had ever had and I think they knocked it out of the park. It was well executed meal. Thanks to all the students and staff for welcoming us to their abode and cooking an amazing meal. We are definitely coming back for more. read more

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The Hospitality and Restaurant Management School of Hillsborough Community College operates a 'Gourmet Room' and opens the doors to the general public a few days each week. The Gourmet Room provides hands-on experience in a real working restaurant environment for the students. They learn culinary management and customer service skills by preparing all meals, serving guests, and handling management duties. The menu changes frequently, so that you'll never experience the same style of cuisine each time that you visit. Check the www.hccfl.edu/GourmetRoom for the latest dates, times, menus, and the ability to make your reservations. The meals are $7 a piece which includes iced tea. Since the restaurant does not have a liquor license, your only other option is coffee which is available for an extra charge. Unless you are a total penny pincher, you'll throw down a total of $10 since the extra $3 goes towards the Student Scholarship Funds, and that seems only fair for the quality of the food. On the night that I visited, a group of Yelpers led by Boon and Grace, descended on the Gourmet Room for Moroccan night. We shared a long table and a lot of laughs as well enjoyed the three-course meal. Moroccan cuisine is influenced by the interactions and exchanges with other regional cultures and nations over the centuries. It is typically a mixture of Mediterranean, Arabic, Andalusian, and Berber cuisines. A typical meal begins with a series of hot and cold salads, followed by a tagine (dome-shaped, traditional earthenware cooking pot) filled with lamb or chicken, and served over couscous. Our three-course meal started with a sampler of lentil soup; a salad of watermelon, feggous (Armenian cucumbers), feta cheese, and red onion slices, with fresh herbs; and a pita wedge. After some chuckles with Nick about the "sweet tomatoes" in the salad, we set to work polishing off our little appetizer trays. Next was the main course, and this was a chicken tagine made with sliced chicken breasts, garlic, onion, turmeric, vegetables, tomatoes, and lemons, which are all cooked in these earthenware pots, and then served over a bed of couscous. Our dessert was a piece of milk bastilla, which can best be described as thin sheets of a phyllo-like pastry dough with a milky cream put between the sheets of dough, before the whole thing is baked. The result is a sweet dessert, not unlike a baklava. As Boon had prepped us, we were in and out in an hour, as the students had to clear the tables and wash the dishes before they were allowed home for the evening. We did manage to sneak in a tour of the working kitchen, and had the chance to visit with the head chef / culinary instructor before leaving. It was a most enjoyable evening, and I look forward to going back and trying a different cuisine. read more

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Hillsborough Community College Hospitality and Restaurant Management schools have a lovely gem called the Gourmet Room. Each evening that they are open has a Country of origin theme. Tonight was Moroccan night and they did it up right. Starting with the music all the way to dessert. This is a quaint setting with limited space so even though not required I highly recommend having reservations. Keep in mind that other than the faculty, you are guests of the students and they are there to learn. They do an excellent job. I'll start by saying I'm not very familiar with Moroccan cuisine so I have nothing to compare it to. They started with a Ferro and lentil soup that was paired with Feggous and watermelon salad. The soup was very good but not exciting while the salad was a party of flavors. The main course was Chicken Tagine and couscous. The flavor was interesting. Very good. Dessert was a nice piece of milk bastilla. This is very light phyllo dough with a milk, sugar and lemon peel sauce and toasted almonds. Nicely done. Very elegant and simple. The best part is it only cost $7 for a three course meal which includes ice tea and water. I got to experience flavors I've never tried before at a very reasonable price in a lovely setting and with great company. read more

Bistro 118 - Tonight's menu - Diners Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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The Gourmet Room, located on the Dale Mabry Campus, in the Humanities Building in room DHUM 118, is a fine dining restaurant experience run by the Culinary, Hospitality and Restaurant Management students. This week the menu was "vive la france". Prix fix dinner offered bread and butter, potato soup, salad, chicken in wine and crème brulee. All for $7 including tax. We left tips for the student waitresses because they did such a good job serving us. The food were delicious. The room was well decorated with soft background music. It was a pleasant experience. Good meal+good friends= fun time! Check out gourmet room's website www.hccfl.edu/gourmetroom for the future menu and make reservation by e mail. They only accept cash (or check, I am not sure), no credit card. If you would take the leftover home, bring your own container/ topperware. They don't have box. They start sitting and serving at 7 pm for dinner. Don't be late, give yourself plenty of time to locate the room and find parking spot. By 8 pm, you will be done with dinner, pay the check and on your way out. read more

Bistro 118 - Diners Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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This place is a find and a steal. Who knew that there is a fully functioning restaurant in HCC's Dale Mabry Campus? Only tell your really good friends, because seating is limited and I want to always be able to get a table. There are very narrow windows when this "restaurant" is open. It makes sense, because these are students getting experience, not workers making a living. Look on their website for the hours. We went on a Thursday and it was open from 7 - 8 p.m. That meant that by 8 p.m. everyone was done and getting out of there (though that could be because we were all there at 7 p.m. On the website it says they seat people at 7:45 p.m.) I thought this might end up feeling rushed, but since it is a set menu, food is out quickly so you don't feel rushed at all! You can go to their website to see past menus and upcoming ones (for the upcoming dishes, they usually only post the next one). All their menus are themed by country. We were there for Moroccan night. This included Moroccan Farro & Lentil Soup and Feggous & Watermelon salad with Pistachio, Chicken Tagine served over Moroccan Couscous, and Milk Bastilla. Obviously, I just looked at the menu because there is no way I would have remembered all that. The highlights for me included the watermelon salad, which was wonderfully sprinkled with feta. I also enjoyed the Milk Bastilla. It wasn't overly sweet. There are no substitutions so make sure if you have allergies you check the menu ahead of time. Our waitress was a hoot and a holler. She was super friendly and if she wasn't going to be a chef (which I'm just assuming based on what she is studying), I would suggest she choose a job where she interacts with people on a regular basis. You get all of this for only $7! That is insane to me. Bring a $10 bill (they only accept cash or check), leave the change as tip, because honestly, you know it is worth it, and pat yourself on the back for finding this place. You won't regret it. read more

A wonderful weekly adventure in culinary arts prepared by HCC aspiring chefs. The room is quite loud and needs cushioning,.but the food and company (especially if you're here with me) is fantastic. Set menu. Prix fixe. See Boon for more info.. read more

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I was excited to join a group of Yelp friends for dinner at HCC's Gourmet Room on a Thursday evening last fall. Culinary students prepare, cook & serve the meal, plus clean up everything afterward. For $7 (cash or check only), we were served an appetizer, entree, dessert & soda... and of course I brought extra cash to tip! Moroccan cuisine was featured that night, with which I was completely unfamiliar but curious to try. The flavors were very unique & delicious! Remember how picky I am? In fact, I enjoyed myself so much that I stalked their website for the rest of the Fall semester, as well as Spring. Unfortunately, no other dinners (Thursdays only) were available when I was - due to popularity & a very small dining room, reservations seem to be required well in advance. Since the Fall semester has begun already, I wanted to finally post this review to share my experience and encourage others to try HCC's Gourmet Room. read more

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I have been here several times for dinner and lunch. The food is generally very tasty and well prepared. The themes vary and I like being able to try different cuisine from around the world. You meal includes an appetizer, entree, dessert, and ice tea or soft drink for $7! You can't beat that price! Make sure to tip well since proceeds go to help the hospitality students that are your chefs and servers for your meal. I can't wait for next semester to start! read more

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For a unique dining experience this is a must. For starters the price is right. The menu is set in advance. Check it on their web site. If you like what you see, make a reservation. Dinner is prepared and served by the culinary students. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor profile and rapid service. I'll be back! read more