By Brittany Cravatta
On Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Oronzo Honest Italian opened its doors to customers in the New Tampa area. During the week of June 8th, owners Dan Bavaro and Bob Johnston held an open house event during specific times of the week, where locals were able to experience the new restaurant while enjoying some complimentary meals.
As an American woman with a large percentage of Italian in my blood (my grandfather hailing from Sicily and my grandmother hailing from Naples), I decided to check it out thanks to a good friend Sandy, who notified me of the event and hooked me up.
On June 11, 2020, my mother and I drove out to New Tampa at around 4:00pm to visit Oronzo, and both of us were extremely pleased with our experience. One of the workers greeted us and gave us guidance on how to order. They provided two touch screen menus for customers to order.
They had 10 categories of different meal selections. Everything on the menu was in Italian but translated into English: Insalate (Salad), Piadina (Italian Burrito), Piatto (Pizza Dish), Pasta (Pasta), Forza Bowls (Power Bowls), Bambino (Kids Meal), Zuppa (Soup), Dolci (Desserts), and Bevande (Drinks).
It took me awhile to choose what to eat. All of the selections were hard to choose between.
I ended up getting a Chicken Parmesan Burrito. I know it slightly sounds strange since Italians aren’t quite known for burritos, however the description sounded appetizing. It was basically a burrito stuffed with freshly cooked chicken, parmesan cheese, freshly made tomato sauce, and spaghetti.
My mother ordered one of the Forza Bowls – a protein bowl which contained farro, mushrooms, heirloom tomato, feta, spicy soppressata, grilled chicken, and pesto. Since the meal was completely free for us, one of the employees encouraged us to order a dessert. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, so we ordered the Nutella Piatto – a warm piatto stuffed with nutella filling and powdered sugar on top.
After we were done ordering, we got a personal tour of the kitchen! The employee who gave the tour informed us of all of the products that are used to make the food fresh, and exactly how it was prepared. All of the ingredients were natural and shipped directly from Italy. The tour didn’t last too long. It was around the same amount of time that it took for our food to be prepared.
During the tour, the employee showed us a large tank full of (what looked like) orange juice.
She said it was their specialty drink called Oronziata – Oronzo’s signature blood orange beverage made from scratch. She gave me a sample. It tasted pretty close to orange juice but with a mango aftertaste. She told us that it was made from a special recipe that Dan’s family enjoyed all of the time in Italy.
Oronzo Bavaro and his wife immigrated from Italy to Brooklyn, New York in 1939 with a handful of family recipes. Oronzo even owned a trucking company that delivered his fresh ingredients to local markets. Oronzo’s grandson Dan Bavaro is the founder of the Oronzo Honest Italian and carries the legacy of sharing his Italian heritage with his community. After spending many years in New Jersey owning his first business, Dan and his family moved down to Florida and opened their first restaurant on the corner of Twiggs and Franklin in Downtown Tampa.
The goal was to blend the Italian authenticity with the upscale environment of the city. Unlike the fancy dining stereotype that most people think of when they hear “Italian Dining”, Oronzo’s Honest Italian has a more relaxed and casual environment while still serving more authentic Italian dishes at a relatively reasonable price.
If you wish to access the menu to see for yourself, just log onto www.Oronzo.com and read more about the restaurant’s neat cultural heritage and delicious food selections.
(813) 730-0100
18027 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.
Tampa, FL 33647