Food, The Frugalista Life

Our Visit to Che Vita for Our Wedding Anniversary #hosted

by Alexandria Ebron
Last month Robert and I got to visit Che Vita, Tampa’s newest Southern Italian restaurant located inside the Hilton Tampa Downtown hotel. We came to celebrate our third wedding anniversary and twelve years altogether. That’s 144 months, which feels like a very short amount of time. Somehow we’ve managed to squeeze a lot of things in twelve years from buying a house to traveling the world, all thanks to Robert. We’ve kept a tradition of traveling at the beginning of the year, with the exception of this year. In 2025, we’ve seen Beyonce and went on a cruise…and both of those were just in July. Later this year, we’re doing a redo of our 2019 trip to Europe and I can’t explain the level of excitement I have. I’ve been saving anything related to Paris or Rome on Instagram whenever it pops up on my feed.
Besides traveling, something like eating out has been our thing for the longest if you’ve been following me for that long. Our tastebuds have evolved since 2013 but we have eaten at some restaurants yall. Find a listicle about Tampa restaurants and chances are we’ve been to majority of the places listed, just like Che Vita. Chef James King came out over the course of our dinner and told us stories about a few of the dishes. He puts the same passion in his food as he does his stories. The menu is broken down into courses so no pressure. Everything we ate was shareable but if you’re not into sharing, there’s more for you to take home. Did I pace myself? A little bit but I wanted to make sure I got a taste of everything.
@alleyomalleycat

A good way to start year 12. #weddinganniversary #datenight #tampablogger #vlog #tampa #tampafoodie

♬ Deep House Dance – Diva Production Music

If someone put a pew pew to my head, I think the dish I enjoyed the most was the acqua pazza. The dish comes with a variety of seafood including Gulf Jumbo Pink Shrimp, Mussels, Clams plus fingerling potatoes, blistered tomatoes, and Tuscan Kale. I had the Naples Spritz cocktail, which wasn’t overly sweet and tasted fruity because of the limoncello. We ended the night with their tiramisu semifreddo and a couple digestivos to wash it down with. This was a great preview into what I can possibly eat in Italy when we go later this year. I can’t wait for someone’s nonna to give me some bomb gelato out of her window or devouring pizza that’s been made the same way for generations. Speaking of pizza, Chef James also gave us a few New York City pizzerias he enjoys for the next time we find ourselves up there.

All in all, this was a fun visit. I do enjoy Italian food occasionally and listening to personal stories from Chef James was an added bonus. He and I were talking at one point during the hosttin about cigars and I mentioned how much my dad loves them. He said I should bring my dad back when I can so they can discuss cigars together. That would be such a cool moment honestly so I’ll have to make that happen for sure.

The morning after this visit was when Robert and I were leaving for our cruise. Our breakfast the next day involved the rest of the tiramisu, Agnolotti Blue Crab Ravioli, and the Acqua Pazza. Unconventional, sure, but it got the job done. 

Follow Che Vita on Instagram @chevitatampa to see what they’re cooking up next.