Channelside

Underwhelming. The shops are mediocre and geared toward the cruise ship traffic. A few restaurants are still up and running but going out to Channelside for dinner seems silly.
Supposedly there are major plans to revitalize this area. I hope it does happen, this place could use a face-​lift.

Parking sitch is weird. Shops are touristy and the whole place feels a bit inauthentic. Not hooked into the Riverwalk. Inward facing and isolated.
There are some fun merchants such as the surf shop with t-​shirts that change color in the loght, Precinct Pizza was good when I was there, and the Qachbals chocolate shop and Pinchasers are pretty cool. Thai Thani is also pretty good. But generally the area is not run well, Flambé in particular. No specials and servers with no knowledge of offerings.
Another issue is that the water views aren’t maximized. There is a bar area hangout spot. A kitchy alcoholic slushies iplace s also here and Hooters — a Florida classic?
Hopefully a redesign will make things better. The nearby Grand Central area is popular and growing with condos sprouting up like so many palm trees.
A Sunday market has started in Channelside, which is nice. But make the place friendly to pedestrians and cyclists. Don’t make grtting in and out of the parking area such a drama. The whole feels closed off and uninviting.

Went here today because every third Sunday is their market from 11−4pm. Luckily parking is free for the first two hours. This market will take about 10 minutes to walk through max. They have a soap vendor, coffee, essential oils, fruit and nuts, jelly, to name a few. Honestly there was less than 10 vendors at the most. It was dog friendly which before Channelside was not. Guess they are desperate for customers.

More large food court than shopping mall, this very pleasant area is right off the number 7 TECO Streetcar station, at the Port of Tampa where the cruise ships dock. There are a few nice generic mall-​chain type American restaurant bars like Hooters, so this is would be a good place to meet friends and hang out for an afternoon. For better quality food and more interesting bars, I would stay on the street car and ride out to Ybor City. For more shopping choices I would go to the International Mall by the airport. But on a nice day, and Tampa has so many of those, this is not a bad choice for hanging out with friends or family. For visitors, it may be worth it just to see what locals mean when they talk about the «Exploding Chicken.»

Went during the day. Half closed up. Just a couple restaurant options open. Some bars closed — probably more happening at night. Not a full fledged shopping center.
Lunch special at the Taco place was good food and a good deal.

More of a restaurant and bar scene than shopping, Channelside does have a trolley stop. Upstairs, downstairs, there’s a large central courtyard area with a bar and on this particular evening, live music.
Pizza, Thai, sushi, sports bar, ice cream, there’s even a higher end bowling alley here!

This is basically an outdoor mall, with plenty of chain restaurants and bars that were open, yet empty on a Saturday night. It was after 9 p.m. and a handful of patrons were in each restaurant, plus there were children running around.
It’s in a good location, and it’s nice, plus there’s parking, but there’s no need to ever come here, unless perhaps you are starving after an aquarium or arena visit.

Channelside Bay Plaza is a great option for shopping, restaurants and entertainment. It’s more than just a standard shopping mall, it’s partly outside but some areas are enclosed. The shops are franchise chains, but also boutique shops that are unique within Tampa.
There are a few fast food/​snack places here but proper sit down restaurants if you have more time and there is a cinema and bowling lines if that’s of interest to you also. There is Thai food, sushi as well as pizza and a Hooters and Cold Stone on site, so there are plenty of eating options depending on what you like to have.
An out door patio with extra shopping stalls and a set up for live entertainment, but I’ve never seen that here myself. But the option is there the way the venue is laid out. It’s a close walk to the Tampa RiverWalk and Tampa Bay History Center.
Overall, there is a lot here if you’re interested and considering how close it is to the RiverWalk and Florida Aquarium then it’s a great place to spend the day with friends and/​or family.

I love this area & the vibe it projects. I also love that many people can’t quite grasp the concept. You are outside, on the water, surrounded by natural wonders & many man made establishments. The World is your oyster.
Have a cocktail, a snack, a meal, go to the movies or bowling, hell jump on a cruise ship & sail away.
Really folks, what more are you looking for in a location called channelside?
That’s cool, I am glad that many people want to label this area and have it fit inside a little box. That only means that when I visit, I have all the options I want & don’t have to deal with hoards of people that don’t know why they are there.
What’s a girl to do? Be thankful for in the box thinkers!

Been coming to this place ever since I moved to Tampa, Florida. I like it before due to the fact that this place is always busy but it’s been going down lately. The only reason I visited this place again is because I want to watch fireworks. The cinema has been closed for a while. They should renovate and upgrade what they have to encourage more people to come visit the area.

Seriously why isn’t the average rating at channelside be an at least 4.5 stars. 5 stars plus from me because there is so much to do in one location, this place is one of the heart beats of Tampa. A true experience in Tampa is to visit channelside and experience everything it has to offer from the Florida aquarium to the world famous Hooters. There is something to do for everyone of all ages to do.
One of my favorite besides the world wings at hooters is spiltvile, which is awesome combination of good food, music, entertainment and bowling.
Another favorite is Wet Willys, being from Miami Wet Willys was a little different experience but it sure feels good to have some thing in Tampa that reminds me of home.
Why not before you cruise away in the Star Ship Yacht for your fine dinning experience along the bay and have a yummy margarita at Hablo Taco (yes I still say it has the best margarita in Tampa bay)
Why not take a long romance walk along river walk leading to the beautiful Down Town Tampa Curtis Hixon Park… nothing is better than that.
Recently in the support of the Tampa lighting being in the NHL play offs one of the channelside business owners set up a large TV screen for fans to watch for Free, how awesome is that
So much more to see and so much experience at Channelside in any given day that’s why they more than earn and deserve 5 stars from me.

I am updating my review for Channelside because recently, I have been spending more time here.
Jeff Vinik has wisely decided that all the Stanley Cup Playoff Away Games will be televised in Channelside Bay Plaza. This has assisted Channelside in two ways: bringing more foot traffic which in turn has helped all the businesses in the location.
Hablo Taco just opened a few months ago providing Mexican food and margaritas, which are both very tasty.
Oshii Japanese and Thai Thani, both, have excellent food. I have eaten at both restaurants several times.
Hooters continues to thrive as a well known chain.
The Boat Bar is another alternative for sitting close to the Bay without all the hype.
Thank you Channelside for hosting the Lightning watch parties! It has tightened the community and provided the Tampa Bay Lightning fans an easier means of getting a massive crowd to cheer on the game.
I look forward to Jeff Vinik’s plans for the future and plan to visit Channelside sooner than later for the next watch party.

Meh… I had high hopes of this place when I looked it up online. Once we arrived I was confused about what it is trying to be. The movie theater is closed. There are like 4 restaurants open and a taco place opening soon. Oh and there is a bowling alley. The space could be awesome but currently it is… well not!
Take a walk along the Riverwalk and skip this place!

I’ve been here a million times and I’m not sure that I have found it’s true location or epicenter. There’s nothing here that screams «CHANNELSIDE». Just kind of a quiet area with some shops and restaurants.
Given that it’s surrounded by the river and that we have near perfect weather year round and it’s near the Amalie Arena, Aquarium, Davis Island and the Cruise Ship terminal, you’d think it would be much more high energy.
It’s a great idea that doesn’t seem to be fully executed. The people who run Channelside need to spend a weekend in San Antonio and see the potential that they have in their own backyard.

I really want to like this area, but it just never seems to deliver. It seems like the required base has never developed.

Came here on a Tuesday after work… clearly that was a mistake as this place was so dead. Literally saw about 5 other patrons in the whole shopping center. We were told that Tampa comes to life on Friday and weekends, but I didn’t think the rest of the week would be so dull. Sad, felt like a ghost town.
However, Channelside seems to be located in a great spot and I can see why it would be a popular hangout, shopping, and eating destination.
Also, didn’t expect to see the world’s largest bowling pin here!

Just a small place with mostly restaurants, a bowling alley, some bars and a movie theater which looked closed. It’s in the part of Tampa where there’s not much going on at night but Precinct Pizza is a very good pizza place, the Boat House is a great outdoor bar and Splitsville is a very boring and generic bowling alley. I haven’t been to the other places but overall, not bad.

I like stopping here when I’m downtown. The kiddos like to take the trolly from Ybor, we always get off here and walk to river walk. Channelside could be so much more, but seems to struggle to attract traffic. What we like is watching the crowds board the cruise ships, bowling at Splitsville, going to the aquarium or eating at Precinct Pizza.

Many restaurants and bars here. Used to be a movie theater but it closed. New owners just took over, so maybe the theater will re-​open. Fingers crossed.
The cruise ships dock here so weekends it is really busy, and has live music. Weekdays are a little slower.
A short walk from downtown Tampa… take the riverwalk and enjoy the views!

This place has so much potential and I just don’t get why they can’t make it better. It is located in downtown Tampa, near the Tampa times forum. The building is beautiful but this place just don’t have enough good tenants which attract people.
The only times this place gets a bit crowded are before and after events at the Tampa times forum. Other than these times, this place is a ghost town. There are movie heathers and bowling lanes but those are no good if there is nobody around! The city really needs to restore vitality to Channelside and attract more people!