Tampa Bay is one of Florida's fastest-growing food cities. But strong restaurant culture and strong inspection records don't always go hand in hand. Using official DBPR data, we've ranked every Tampa restaurant in our database by ClearScore — our 0–100 severity-weighted scoring system — and pulled the bottom 10 as of August 2026.
Every score on this list reflects real findings from Florida DBPR inspectors. Our ClearScore system weights violations by type: High Priority violations, the kind most directly associated with foodborne illness, carry the most weight. A restaurant scoring below 40 has received an F grade — meaning serious violations were documented on the inspection date shown.
The 10 Worst-Scoring Tampa Restaurants
Sorted by ClearScore (lowest first). All data sourced from Florida DBPR public inspection records.
| # | Restaurant | Grade | ClearScore | Last Inspected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New China 7013 N Himes Ave | F | 33 | Aug 13, 2026 |
| 2 | Sarione Grill 7525 W Hillsborough Ave | F | 37 | Jul 24, 2026 |
| 3 | Pho Quyen Vietnamese Cuisine 8404 W Hillsborough Ave | F | 38 | Aug 4, 2026 |
| 4 | Urban Cantina 200 E Madison St | D | 40 | Jul 9, 2026 |
| 5 | Cafe Artemisa 6807 N Manhattan Ave | D | 47 | Jul 27, 2026 |
| 6 | Esther's Cafe 3001 E Hillsborough Ave | D | 49 | Jul 31, 2026 |
| 7 | Tokyo Restaurant 7911 W Hillsborough Ave | D | 50 | Aug 4, 2026 |
| 8 | Shogun Sushi 15213 N Dale Mabry Hwy | D | 50 | Aug 5, 2026 |
| 9 | Keke's Breakfast Cafe 13121 N Dale Mabry Hwy | D | 50 | Aug 4, 2026 |
| 10 | Hong Kong Restaurant 7026 W Waters Ave | D | 51 | Jul 31, 2026 |
What These Scores Mean
The ClearScore is calculated directly from DBPR inspection findings. Every restaurant starts at 100. High Priority violations subtract 7 points each, Intermediate violations subtract 3, and Basic violations subtract 1. The final score reflects the severity and volume of what inspectors found on the date of inspection.
Tampa's bottom 10 is notably different from Miami's: three restaurants scored in the F range (below 40), while seven landed in the D range (40–59). Miami's bottom 10 was dominated entirely by F-grade restaurants. This doesn't mean Tampa is "safer" — it means the worst of Tampa's worst are less severe than Miami's worst, but there are still significant violations across the board.
Also worth noting: three Tampa restaurants on this list — Tokyo Restaurant, Shogun Sushi, and Keke's Breakfast Cafe — all scored exactly 50. That's a mathematical tie indicating each accumulated the same weighted total of violations. See the individual pages for the specific violation breakdown.
A Closer Look at the Bottom 5
New China on N Himes Avenue holds Tampa's lowest ClearScore at 33, earned during an August 13 inspection. An F grade at this level indicates multiple High Priority violations were found — the category most directly linked to foodborne illness risk. View the full inspection record →
Sarione Grill on W Hillsborough Ave scored 37 on its July inspection — just 3 points above an F cutoff. The W Hillsborough Avenue corridor has a notable concentration of lower-scoring restaurants in our data. See the full violation details →
Also on W Hillsborough Avenue, Pho Quyen Vietnamese Cuisine scored 38 on its August 4 inspection. Two of Tampa's three worst-scoring restaurants share the same major corridor — worth noting for diners in that part of the city. Full inspection record →
Urban Cantina in downtown Tampa — a high-foot-traffic location on E Madison St — scored a 40 in July. A D grade in a downtown restaurant is particularly notable given the volume of diners, tourists, and business visitors who eat there. View full record →
Cafe Artemisa on N Manhattan Ave scored a 47 in late July. A D grade means the restaurant had enough violations — weighted by severity — to fall clearly below acceptable performance thresholds. Full inspection breakdown →
The W Hillsborough Ave Pattern
Two of Tampa's three worst-scoring restaurants — Sarione Grill and Pho Quyen Vietnamese Cuisine — are located on W Hillsborough Avenue, just over a mile apart. A third, New China, is also in the North Tampa corridor. This clustering is worth tracking over time as we add more inspection data from Hillsborough County.
It doesn't necessarily indicate a systemic neighborhood problem — inspection outcomes depend on individual management practices, not geography. But when multiple locations on the same street score poorly in the same inspection cycle, it's a signal worth noting.
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See ClearScores, full inspection history, and plain-English violation summaries for every restaurant in Hillsborough County.