Can we talk about the cheese room? it's one of the largest in Florida and also my favorite place…read moreever! They have over 300 artisanal, imported and domestic cheeses, I find something new every time I go! The ambiance is what makes it special to locals, it feels like stepping into a traditional Italian market and it's hard to find elsewhere in Tampa. Definitely a staple for St. Pete! The market is almost always busy, so go right when they open or later in the afternoon on weekdays or you'll be standing shoulder to shoulder and wait 15 to 30 minutes, but honestly that time is perfect for browsing everything! My go to orders are the Mortadella Pistachio and the Fig & Pig. They are $12 each, and yes a bit pricey but the freshness and quality make it worth it.

Wow! What a fun place to check out. There's ample parking. A lot of photo ops outside, some picnic…read moretables. So much bustle. So many people. You walk in and Theres a check out area. A fresh produce, meat, fish, sausage, pickled olives, section. You walk further down and Theres the grab and go food section. Then to the left you have wine and cheese. You go further in, and Theres a fancy cheese section. Unfortunately they don't give small amounts of cheeses and cut it for you. But you can buy some really good cheeses here. Then you go back to the very narrow hallway, and Theres a ton of coffee on the left. I just got into coffee and am a coffee snob. I noticed there was a "greasy" looking bean. Which just means it's well past its freshness. The price of bean actually isnt that bad. And they offer a lot of varieties. We bought two, Guatemala and organic Mexico. I wanted to try it out before writing this review. The Guatemala one was light, faint. The Mexico was a bit deeper flavor. I would recommend to management to better advertise the coffee bean so the product moves and stays fresh, or maybe move it to a different section where people can feel comfortable getting it. It gets so crowded in the hallway. I would leave the hallway was a grab and go area. You keep walking down and you have the coffee shop to the right, and a small bread stand to the left. Of course we got coffee. Theres a small area of seating to get coffee for there. Theres a big roaster to give the appearance that they roast their own coffee but I believe it's just for decoration. Fiancé got a cappuccino. It was okay. He normally doesn't get coffee with too much milk but the waitress said there was 3 shots of espresso in there. I would say it didn't taste like 3 shots. It taste like coffee with 90% milk. And it should be told to customers that a cappuccino there is more milk with coffee. I got the con panno. Which is espresso with whipped cream. I'm not sure if the whip cream they use is fresh, or if it's super sweetened, but my coffee was sweet. It was thick which I like but I didn't like whatever sweetener they used. But I'd probably order a macchiato if I ever came back so I could taste the coffee. On the other side of the coffee shop is the sandwiches and prepared food that you order. Sandwiches are HUGE. Fiancé had the #1 with all the fixings. It was nice but if you don't like soggy sandwiches, you can ask for no veggies. Which we would do next time. I had the 7, no sun-dried tomatoes and no veggies. It was so good. The mozzerella was very fresh! If you walk past that you have the dried cured meat, and down a hallway to the right you'll find dried pasta and fresh pasta. The fresh pasta looked so good. I wished we lived in the area so I could try. You head back the other way and pass the outdoor seating and Theres also a place for you to check out you grocery/sandwiches. Right next to that section you have the pantry area of canned fish, pickled things, olive oil. Then Theres the bread and pastry area. We only had time to see these and no time to see what other stores they had or walk around. But I'd definitely come back to check those out.