C U I S I N E
German and Baltic Flair
RIEDO RESTAURANT
and Bar, which owner
Chef Toni Simic named
Riedo Restaurant and Bar
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
as an acronym for “Restaurant
I Ever Dreamed Of,” is literally
his dream come true. The
comfortably chic restaurant
and lounge, which is located
on the ground floor of
downtown Clearwater’s Sun
Bank building, offers outdoor
patio, as well as indoor seating
for dining. They serve lunch
and dinner every day except
Sunday; and feature live
music on Friday and Saturday
evenings.
The menu selections are a
combination of Chef Toni’s
favorite dishes from his
native country of Croatia in
the former Yugoslavia and
from the places he has lived
and “adopted” along the
way, such as Germany, the
Mediterranean and the United
States. Since the generously portioned
menu items are made to order, he can
create them to suit individual tastes
and diets.
The Creamy Mushroom Soup, which
was one of three soup selections, was tasty
and the perfect consistency. The wide range
of appetizers runs the gamut from Fried
Calamari with homemade Marinara sauce
to Cevapi, which is a dish of Balkan-style
sausages in flat bread topped with creamy
cheese and chopped onions. We shared the
perfectly fried Coconut Shrimp appetizer,
which was served on a bed of lettuce and
accompanied by orange marmalade.
The salads, which are served with
ciabatta, are a meal in themselves. They
include a Caprese with tomato, mozzarella,
fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar;
a Western Style version topped with slices
of grilled beef, peppers, onions and sweet
Fettuccine; rosemary, sautéed,
mashed or fried potatoes, or
potato croquettes. They also
come with either a crisp house
salad, dressed with a perfectly
proportioned homemade
Balsamic vinaigrette, or the
well-seasoned mix of grilled
fresh vegetables. The bread is
accompanied by Chef Toni’s
own flavored sour cream.
Again, the creative variety
of entrées is too extensive
to list. There are authentic
German, Austrian, Baltic,
Swiss and Mediterranean
dishes, including a Mix-Grill
Platter of Beef and Pork cutlets,
Pljeskavica, Cevapi and Shish
Kebab served over Djuvec rice.
There are Black Angus beef
10-ounce steaks, a Rib-Eye,
available with Scallops, and a
New York Strip, available with
Shrimp, and 12-ounce Filet
Mignon, as well as seafood
Riedo’s Didov Raznjic, or Grandpa’s Shish Kebab, is a tasty
presentation of grilled beef, veal and turkey cutlets skewered
dishes such as pan seared Orange-Mint
Salmon, Grilled whole Calamari and more.
For dessert, we shared Chef Toni’s
Palatsschinken, or Crepes, filled with
Nutella and walnuts, then topped with
freshly whipped cream; Apfelstrudel,
or Apple Strudel, served over a vanilla
sauce and topped with whipped cream;
and Raspberry Fool of vanilla ice cream
topped with hot raspberries and whipped
cream. Each one was beyond delicious.
We are glad that Chef Toni chose
the Tampa Bay area to make his dream
restaurant a reality. We’ll be back.
9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Riedo Restaurant and Bar
is located at 601 Cleveland Street in downtown
Clearwater, (727) 223-4917.
Photography by Rob Word
with well-seasoned grilled vegetables.
corn; and Salad Riedo, which is topped
with slices of grilled pork tenderloin and
mushrooms.
There are sandwiches that come with
fries, as well as burgers that are served with
steakhouse fries. The sandwich offerings
are fresh fried Grouper or blackened
Red Snapper; as well as German Black
Forest ham with Swiss Cheese, sautéed
mushrooms and lettuce; Austrian Wiener
Schnitzel; plus a Californian with smoked
turkey breast, cheddar cheese and the
appropriate trimmings. The choices of
burgers are way too numerous to list, but
include a wide variety of traditional, as
well as exotic versions of eight-ounce beef
or turkey burgers, plus a chicken breast
and a fish patty “burger.”
The individual entrées at Riedo are
accompanied by a variety of starches
and sides, such as homemade Spaetzle or
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2016 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 167