Restaurant Review: Forbici Modern Italian (Tampa)

by Anthony Losanno
Forbici Outside

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Forbici means scissors in Italian. I’m not sure why it has this name, but it’s worth coming for the relaxed atmosphere, fun art, reasonable wine list, and tasty dishes.

Anthony’s Take: Forbici Modern Italian  is a casual spot with a menu offering modern takes on Italian food. It’s vibe is fun with a young crowd feasting on pizza, pasta, and other dishes. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the people watching as much as the food.

Forbici Interior

Decor & Vibe

Forbici is playful and casual. There was a musician playing live when we visited on New Year’s Day. The huge bar was packed and the art around the dining room was intriguing.

Forbici Heart

I was drawn to the heart sculpture even though I was seated on the patio. It caught my eye and I had to go in to take a picture.

Forbici Bathroom

The art painted on the walls and door of the bathroom is also well done.

Food

The menu has a mix of apps, salads, pizza, pasta, and mains. Lots of familiar favorites can be found here.

Forbici Menu

We ordered the Artisanal Baked Bread, Pesto Rigatoni, Tortellini, Florida Grouper, and Veal Parmesan.

Forbici Bread

Good bread is a rarity in Florida. We’re spoiled with great bread in NYC and some decent bread in Chicago. Florida is generally not able to deliver bread with a decent crust (I’m not sure if it’s the humidity or what). Forbici delivered a satisfying bread basket.

Pesto Rigatoni

The Pesto Rigatoni was creamy and flavorful. It was served with pine nuts, capers, and pecorino.

Rogatoni Forbici

The Tortellini was served squash, zucchini, onions, and a vodka sauce.

Florida Grouper Forbici

The Florida Grouper was served over wilted spinach and cauliflower puree. The fish was light and flaky. A solid dish.

Forbici Veal Parmesan

My husband ordered the Veal Parmesan and loved it. This was a generous cutlet and it was juicy and flavorful.

Forbici Soave

Drinks

We ordered a bottle of Pieropan Soave Classico. It was slightly sweet and refreshing.

Forbici Bar

Forbici is fun. It draws a young crowd, but offers a menu that will make diners of all ages happy. Service was a little odd. Our server started by greeting us with a list of soft drinks and other “adult” beverages. This was unsolicited and felt weird. She forgot what we ordered and struggled with the wine and check. She was friendly and well intentioned, but seemed a bit thrown even though she said she was not that busy. We enjoyed our meal and will be back (it’s a ten-minute walk from home).

Overall Impression:

We live about ten minutes away from Forbici. We liked everything that we tasted and felt that the meal was a good value. It’s a good option to be able to order a half portion of pasta as a first course and we enjoyed our table on the patio.

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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

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