Find the Best Things to Do in Hyde Park
About Hyde Park
Photo courtesy of By Ebyabe (Own work)
Practically since its founding, Tampa's most fashionable neighborhood has been Hyde Park. It has the most expensive real estate in town, located just south of downtown along the bay. Who's-who in town have consistently chosen the homes in the area to be within walking distance from their high-rise offices, as well as the original architecture and amenities.
See & Do
As it is one of Tampa's oldest neighborhoods, just walking down the street can be a historic experience. The best place to really experience the history, however, is the Henry B Plant Museum on the campus of the University of Tampa. Plant built this building, complete with its signature minarets (the silver spikes on the top), as his centerpiece Tampa Bay Hotel in the early 1900's. Many famous people from that era have walked down those halls.
Eat
The restaurants in Hyde Park are famous both for their classic quality and their creativity. Nowhere is this more evident than at Mise en Place, located just across the street from the University of Tampa. Classic French cuisine meets inventive preparation techniques in what might be the best restaurant location in town. If you get a window view, chances are it's of the downtown skyline or the minarets of the Plant museum.
Party
Four Green Fields isn't hard to find. It's the authentic Irish pub with the thatched roof near where the Hillsborough River meets the bay. There is really no place like it, featuring an eclectic mix of downtown office workers letting off some steam mixed with a few patrons with heavy accents leading the pub in some chants or drinking songs. As you can imagine, the drinks here skew toward beer, but the menu is more eclectic than most pubs due to the proximity to downtown.
Shop
The central gathering place of Hyde Park is Hyde Park Village, an outdoor shopping center that mixes affluent retail establishments like Restoration Hardware and Willams-Sonoma with great restaurants and exciting bars. It also has the Cinebistro, a combination of a gourmet restaurant with a movie theater that specializes in films you normally can't find at the local mega-plex.