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Cena, Tampa, FL
Award-winning

Cena

4.1
4.1
1486 Reviews
$31 to $50
Italian

About this restaurant

  • Charming
  • Neighbourhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
Cena is a modern, fresh and simple Italian food served in a contemporary and stylish setting. Located in the Grand Central building at the heart of the vibrant Channel District of Tampa, Florida – Cena is dining from the roots – great ingredients, traditional dishes, and attentive service. Join us.

Cena – “dinner” or “supper” in Italian.

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.

Order delivery or takeout

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Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian
  • Hours of Operation
    Wed, Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (813) 374-8840
  • Website
    https://cenatampa.com/
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Executive Chef
    Michael Buttacavoli
  • Catering
    For catering inquiries please contact Michael Buttacavoli, at 813-374-8840 or michael@cenatampa.com
  • Location
    1208 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602
  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Area
    Tampa
  • Cross Street
    E.Kennedy Blvd and N.Meridian Ave in Grand Central building
  • Parking details
    Park in the Grand Central WEST Garage off E. Kennedy Blvd (entrance corner of Crunch Fitness). Go up ramp, take ticket and circle up and park in any spot near the “A/ Stageworks” marked elevator core. Parking on floors 3, 4 and 5 is free for the first 2 hours then $3/hour. Take elevator to 1st floor, go to courtyard and Cena is on the left.
  • Additional
    Patio/Outdoor Dining

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Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

What 1,486 people are saying

Cena reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

4.1
4.1 based on recent ratings
  • 3.9Food
  • 4.1Service
  • 3.8Ambience
  • 3.8Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Cena is a culinary gem in Tampa, offering "exceptional" food and "attentive" service. Highlights include the "crispy eggplant," "meatballs that beat Bobby Flay," and "exquisite" Branzino. Despite occasional service hiccups and ambiance critiques, the consistently "amazing" dining experiences and "unique menu" keep patrons returning for more.
1,484 Reviews

  1. Hans

    Orlando1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 16 November 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    It would be great if open table would get updated if a restaurant were to close 1 month before they took our reservation

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  2. David VIP

    Chicago1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 14 November 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    Unfortunately this restaurant closed a month ago. We found this out after we arrived for our reservation this evening. A reservation that I had to guarantee with my credit card on Open Table. If that wasn’t enough I received a text from Open Table 2 days ago asking me to reserve my reservation. A bit embarrassing for me but we were able to find another restaurant near by so the disaster was diverted. Epic fail Open Table.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Scott

    Tampa5 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on 2 November 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    PERMANENTLY CLOSED! For some reason Open Table will still let you reserve it, which is frustrating.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Craig

    Tampa12 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on 26 October 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    Although you are accepting reservations at Cena, the restaurant has been closed for weeks. Please update your records. We’ll really miss this place.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Sherwin VIP

    Tampa1 review

    1.0

    Dined on 17 October 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    After taking a deposit they were not even open.

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  6. paul

    Tampa9 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on 28 September 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 1
    Made reservations to sit in Cena but was sent to their pizza bar and upstairs next to the AC vent. It’s disappointing to get ready for a date night but end up in a casual pizza bar. The service was great but everything else about Cena has fallen. Food was average drinks were not good. We were looking forward to getting out of there the whole time.

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  7. Samuel VIP

    Tampa32 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on 28 September 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    We go to Cena fairly often. The service is good and the pasta dishes are excellent, as is the bronzino. However, on this occasion, the veal was poorly cooked.

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  8. Terry

    Greater Boston32 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 28 September 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Cena is one of our Tampa Bay favorite restaurants.

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  9. becky VIP

    Tampa59 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on 27 September 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Even though they were short staffed because of the hurricane, the food was just great and everyone was very welcoming.

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  10. stephen

    Baltimore4 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on 21 September 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    Nice little restaurant. First visit Good service and good vibe Service was good. Not too noisy unlike many nearby restaurants The artichoke appetizer was very good and a hi with all at our table Salads very good For entrees we all had pasta. The pasta itself was spot on but the sauces fell short in flavor Will probably try again

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FAQs

Cena offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (813) 374-8840.

Cena is rated 4.1 stars by 1486 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Cena

1208 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Award-winning
    1. MICHELIN Plate 2022
  • Cross Street
    E.Kennedy Blvd and N.Meridian Ave in Grand Central building
  • Area
    Tampa
  • Hours of Operation
    Wed, Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Italian
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Park in the Grand Central WEST Garage off E. Kennedy Blvd (entrance corner of Crunch Fitness). Go up ramp, take ticket and circle up and park in any spot near the “A/ Stageworks” marked elevator core. Parking on floors 3, 4 and 5 is free for the first 2 hours then $3/hour. Take elevator to 1st floor, go to courtyard and Cena is on the left.
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    Michael Buttacavoli
  • Additional
    Patio/Outdoor Dining
  • Website
    https://cenatampa.com/
  • Phone number
    (813) 374-8840
  • Catering
    For catering inquiries please contact Michael Buttacavoli, at 813-374-8840 or michael@cenatampa.com

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