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We know a large number of you are coming from out of town, so we at Obscura Undead partnering with the fest want to offer up a guide of all our favorite places in Tampa. None of these are sponsored; they’re just places we really love in Ybor and around the area that we hope you’ll enjoy as well.
Mostly we’re focusing on Ybor City, a district of Tampa founded in the late 19th century as a cigar manufacturing town. The huge brick buildings on and around 7th Avenue are the few that survived demolition in the 1950s and 60s as part of an Urban Renewal plan that never materialized. In the 70s, the area became a haven for artists looking for cheap studio space and by the 90s Ybor became a thriving hub of nightlife boasting many bars, cafes, and restaurants. This included the founding of one of the longest operating goth clubs in the world - The Castle - which eventually took over the entirety of the old historic Cooperative El Primero Progresso building just a block north of what is now Centro Ybor.
Lodging
Hotels in Ybor proper are a bit sparse and a touch pricey, but they’re nice.
Hampton Inn Tampa Downtown Channel District
Hilton Garden Inn Tampa Ybor Historic District
Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa/Ybor City/Downtown
Hotel Haya
Dining & Drinks
We haven’t had anything we absolutely hate in Ybor, the food tends to be pretty damn good. Everything here is within a 1 mile square!
The Blind Tiger Cafe
Blind Tiger is one of our favorite coffee places, not just in Ybor but Tampa generally. They have strong coffee and tasty vegan pastries. We highly recommend their guava pastry and the Dirty Thai-ger
Foundation Coffee Co
Foundation Coffee Co is one we have to recommend on word of mouth! Located in The Bunker (in a building that actually moved across Ybor at one point), chicken watching is apparently phenomenal from their outdoor seating. Did you know chickens like to roost in trees? You do now.
La Segunda Bakery & Cafe
La Segunda is a really cool piece of Ybor City. It was founded in 1915 by a Spanish soldier who fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba and wanted to share his love for authentic Cuban bread. This bakery was the second (hence the name!) of three bakeries founded as part of a co-op with other bakers and cigar makers. While the other two bakeries folded, La Segunda has thrived and is THE place to get proper crusty Cuban bread.
Colombia Restaurant
This building takes up nearly an entire block in Ybor and has been around for over 100 years. It’s massive, the food has been perfected over generations, and there’s live flamenco every night.
Tampa Bay Brewing Company
Found in Centro Ybor, Tampa Bay Brewing is a chill brew pub for folks looking for a sit, some tasty American style food, and a host of craft beers.
The Bricks
This spot is a kind of skateboard bar turned hipster eatery slash art gallery. All the food is great here, they have really good coffee, AND they offer vegan dishes.
La Creperia Cafe
Crepes. No, guys. What is there to sell? Crepes. Tasty, tasty crepes. Sweet, savory, you name it. We love this place.
Zydeco Brew Works
A fun cajun themed spot right across from Blind Tiger and near the Orpheum. Amazing flatbreads and drinks.
Boneyard
Our favorite wings in town come from Boneyard. Great staff and here the jukebox is king. Soon to be the new temporary home for Spookeasy Kava.
Acropolis
Greek food! Oozo, Spanikopita, Tabouleh, Babaganoush. This fine dining spot is just the place for great cuisine. The party never stops here, so expect it to be loud.
Gaspar’s Grotto
Festive, pirate-themed hangout with Latin grub, plus live music, drink specials & an outdoor lounge.
The Big Easy Bar and Cajun Kitchen
Big Easy is a relaxed cocktail bar offering classic and specialty cocktails as well as some kick-ass dishes from our little kitchen, both with items inspired by a place that has given the world some of its most iconic and recognized food and drink. Our mission is to create an atmosphere and culture reminiscent of what you might find in the Crescent City.
Vegan Deli Ybor
A Vegan Deli! Right in the heart of Ybor City. Located between Sushi House and Foundation Coffee/The Bunker.
More great places to visit in Ybor! Please stand by as we constantly update this page.
Due Amici Pizza
New York New York Pizza
Mama Rosas Pizza
Habibi Hooka
Samurai Blue Sushi
Sushi House
Asiatic Noodle Bar
Hyppo Ice Cream shop
King Corona Coffee and Cigars
Hot Wax Coffee Shop and Kava
Shopping
Ravens & Rockers
THE goth store in Tampa. Run by two generations of Tampa goth queens, the store has a lovely selection of club and casual wear, jewelry, second hand, and BOOTS.
Dysfunctional Grace Art Co
Ybor’s very own oddities shop. Taxidermy, vintage, medical horrors, bits, bobs, odds, and ends. This is seriously one very cool shop. Check if they’re open before popping by, though. They sometimes keep odd hours.
La France
Pricey, but fun to poke around in, Le France has a huge collection of vintage clothes, dapper designs, and costume jewelry. If you’re into coveting, there’s plenty here to covet. We’ve spent hours here agonizing over everything.
Cemeteries & Sightseeing
Cemeteries, ghost tours, and more that we think are worth visiting. It hopefully goes without saying that should you visit the cemeteries, be respectful of the graves as they’re quite fragile due to weathering and, in some cases, vandalism.
L'Unione Italiana Cemetery
This cemetery located just north of Ybor was purchased and founded in 1894 by The Italian Club in Tampa, and boasts some of the best examples of Sicilian funerary art you could find. There are gorgeous tiled monuments, above ground tombs, and most every grave displays a portrait of the deceased on it. Including a few with post-mortem photography. However, if crime history is more your thing, don’t miss the grave of Mafia Don Santo Trafficante Sr. who headed a Tampa mob and ran illegal numbers rackets in Tampa and beyond for nearly half a century.
Location: 2520 E 24th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605
Oaklawn Cemetery
Located just a few miles west of Ybor, Oaklawn Cemetery was created in 1850 as a final resting place for “White and Slave, Rich and Poor” and is one of the oldest desegregated cemeteries in the US South. This is a great place for a picnic and to enjoy a bit of historic calm in the heart of Downtown. But beware, the lovely open greenspace in the middle of the cemetery hides a secret. It’s the mass grave of countless Yellow Fever victims who were buried during an outbreak in 1887-1888.
Location: 606 E Harrison St, Tampa, FL 33602
Sulphur Springs Water Tower
This one might seem like an odd one to include, but it’s really kind of a crazy and just generally neat thing to see. Coming from the north into Tampa, it’s hard to miss and this bastion looking lighthouse is, in fact, a water tower. It was built in 1927 by a resort owner who wouldn’t settle for plain when he could have grandiose. He actually mortgaged the resort the build the thing, and just a few years later the resort was destroyed by flooding from a broken dam. From then to the 70s, the tower functioned as intended, providing well water to citizens. There were a plans to build condos around the tower in the 80s that fell and despite other proposed development projects, the City eventually purchased the land and established a park.
Location: 455-479 E Bird St, Tampa, FL 33604
Ghost Tour Ybor City
Tours start at 8pm and you have to make a reservation on their site. If you happen to be in town before or after the fest, this is a really fun tour of Historic Ybor with some really eerie ghost stories. Crime, drama, romance! And ghosts.
Streetcar
We even have a heritage streetcar line connecting Downtown Tampa, Channel District, and Ybor City. Service is FREE seven days a week and the streetcar runs every 15 minutes. It’s a pretty cool way to just get around, and operates until 2am Fridays and Saturdays.
Chickens
I think one of the biggest questions we get asked about Tampa and Ybor after questions about The Castle is probably “What’s with the chickens?”. They’ve been here long before you were born and will be here long after you die. The chickens are eternal, and will take revenge on you if you cross them. Stare too long into the chickeny abyss and it will stare back.
All we can recommend is Don’t feed the chickens, and remember they are protected species so Please be kind to them. This is their city.
Follow the Ybor City Chicken Society:
Events
TBA
Absolution Fest is committed to fostering welcoming, egalitarian, and accessible dark scene spaces in Tampa, Florida. We recognize the importance of inclusivity and diversity of experience to our scene, and endeavor to engage and address implicit and explicit forms of marginalization. So let’s get down, have a good time, and dial our authentic spooky selves up to 11.