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Flavors Collide At Stylish Bistro

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By KURT LOFT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - A glowing restaurant review generally enhances an eatery's reputation and success. When people read a positive write-up, they follow the good word, and the owners reap the rewards of their labor.

A negative review, however, can do some serious collateral damage, especially when more than one torpedo strikes the bow. Everyone cringes and hopes for improvements at the table.

So tongues are wagging over the newly revised De Santo Latin American Bistro, which recently weathered salvos in rough seas. Some diners felt the kitchen already was slipping when the doors opened in December, and the food didn't match the prices on the menu. Dutifully, the owners shut down, regrouped and reopened.

They brought in chef Jeannie Pierola, formerly of Bern's Steak House, who revamped the menu. She also will serve as culinary adviser through the rest of the year. De Santo isn't cheap, and the kitchen still appears to be tweaking its product. But the restaurant displays lots of promise and enough pizzazz to match its stylish atmosphere.

That atmosphere is a plus. De Santo spent $2.5 million to renovate the historic McNulty fire station on Third Street, and the result is a space of visual splendor that underscores the restaurant's buzzwords: rhythmic, urban, rustic, Latin. With lots of brick, barrel vaulted ceilings, an open-air kitchen, spacious bar and soft accent lighting, the dining room immediately sets patrons at ease and entices them to explore the menu's myriad colors, textures and flavors.

A central fountain, as well as water trickling over a staircase of bricks, anchors the outdoor mosaic patio, where diners can enjoy cocktails and food on cool nights. A large bar inside becomes a magnet for the happy hour crowd on weekends, and the rooftop Push Ultra Lounge offers breezy views of the city.

With a pair of excellent signature margaritas starting off our meal, we tried the hand-crushed Hass avocados and tortillas, the fresh-tasting guacamole enhanced by the tart salt of the chips. We enjoyed the smoky taste of the Chorizo Anticuchos (diners have the option of lamb or shiitake mushrooms on their skewers). A hint of almond lends flavor to a very good white gazpacho, a perfect match for an order of sweet dates wrapped in bacon - one of our favorite appetizers.

For delectable nibbling, be sure to order the goat cheese corn cakes. A big-ticket appetizer is the Kumomoto oysters with horseradish horchata, as well as the local shrimp chicharron, framed by guava, Cara Cara orange and chipotle. Not many local restaurants serve mamey sapote - a melon similar to firm sweet potato - so we delighted in our Daikon Tacquito with avocado and jalapeno, a perfect starter with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

We enjoyed the marriage of flavors of our Wild King Salmon, particularly the butternut and pistachio, but the fish was overcooked. Nor were we happy with our bland Hog Snapper and Lump Crab with artichoke, chorizo and tomato, as the potential flavors were curiously subdued. Avoid the New York Strip with salsa verde - ours was an average cut of meat with far too much fat for its $32 price tag.

A better bet is the beautifully presented Poulet Rouge Chicken, bone in and skin on, framed by red chili, saffron and a pungent Mexican herb known as epazote. Anyone who loves the earthy taste of oxtail should indulge in the kitchen's original treatment of this magnificent meaty bone, decorated with carrot humita, black mole, figs and jicama.

Service on our visits was polite and efficient, and we found a number of bargains from the wine cellar.

DINING REVIEW

De Santo Latin American Bistro

BOTTOM LINE: Latin-inspired dining in a richly appointed atmosphere

WHERE: 128 Third St. S., St. Petersburg

HOURS: 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

CREDIT CARDS: All major

RESERVATIONS: Yes

CHILDREN'S MENU: Yes

ALCOHOL: Full bar and wine list

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

PRICE: Entrees range from $23 to $37

CALL: (727) 895-6400

Tribune reviewers eat anonymously. Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.

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