Tampa

Matilde Bringing Coastal Mexican Steakhouse Concept to Downtown Tampa

Expect live-fire meats, seafood, cocktails, and waterfront dining in a luxury high-rise setting.

300 W. Tyler St., Suite A, Tampa, FL 33602 ⏐ Image from Google Earth Pro

TAMPA, FL — Next Level Brands founder Jeff Gigante and partners Joe Gugino and Andrew Wright, along with Director of Operations Heather Rivas and Culinary Director Chef Jacob Rios, are bringing Matilde Coastal Mexican Kitchen to 300 W. Tyler St., Suite A, Tampa, FL 33602. They will open in the Arts and Entertainment Residences (AER Tampa) building in downtown Tampa. Gigante told Business Debut the team is targeting a late January or early February 2027 opening.

Business Debut heard of this story first from Thatssotampa.com.

What to Expect

Matilde will be a coastal Mexican steakhouse with full-service dining, indoor and outdoor seating, and a location along Tampa’s Riverwalk. Gigante said the restaurant will be in AER Tampa, a luxury high-rise next to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

The restaurant is expected to seat about 330 guests inside and outside, Gigante told Business Debut. The space will include floor-to-ceiling windows, 25-foot ceilings, outdoor water views, and live music on weekends.

Gigante described Matilde as an elevated restaurant built around “laid-back luxury,” with a focus on coastal Mexican cooking and steakhouse elements.

“It is going to feature the ancestral cooking techniques of many different provinces in Mexico,” Gigante told Business Debut. “We’re going to use the live fire hearth, as well as cooking the vegetables right on the fire.”

The menu will include meats, fish, poultry, charred vegetables, tortillas, and accompaniments designed around live-fire cooking. Gigante said the team sees Matilde as filling a gap in the Tampa Bay dining market.

“At Next Level Brands, our vision and mission is elevating the culinary landscape of the Tampa Bay area,” Gigante told Business Debut.

Ownership and Background

Gigante founded Next Level Brands in 2018 after helping build another Tampa restaurant group. He said Matilde will be his 35th restaurant created over his career.

Gigante began in hospitality after studying acting at Florida State and moving to New York City. He said the restaurant business offered a similar sense of performance and community.

“Each night you put on a show,” Gigante told Business Debut. “People come in, you do your best to give them a memorable evening and then do it all over again tomorrow.”

Chef Jacob Rios will oversee the food and beverage program as Culinary Director. Gigante said Rios previously worked in Charleston, South Carolina, won Chopped on Food Network, and recently competed on Beat Bobby Flay.

The restaurant is named for Andrew Wright’s Colombian grandmother, Matilde.

“She was the epitome of hospitality,” Gigante told Business Debut. “It’s an homage to her, and we’re very excited to have her kind of be the matriarch guardian over top of the restaurant.”