The team behind Boulon Brasserie and Forbici has revealed new details for Matilde, the 7,600-square-foot Mexican steakhouse opening along Tampa’s Riverwalk in spring 2027, including a live-fire kitchen, nearly 300 seats and a 50-seat bar.
Matilde was announced in May as the final retail tenant for AER Tampa, the 32-story apartment tower at 300 W. Tyler St., and the new renderings now show what will fill its ground-floor space: 195 seats inside, another 92 outdoors and a private dining room for 40, all beneath 25-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river.
Culinary Director Jacob Rios is building the menu around a hearth that will put steaks over an open flame, with seafood, poultry and seasonal vegetables getting the same treatment. Mole, pipián, barbacoa, aguachile, al pastor and salsa macha will carry through dishes including shrimp aguachile negro, rib eye and pork al pastor tacos, lamb shank barbacoa, hearth-roasted chicken with mole negro and a heritage pork chop with pipián verde.
Rios is also planning raw-bar selections, crudo, tacos and dishes meant for sharing, then changing things up for lunch and weekend brunch with chilaquiles, carne asada, tortas, conchas, churros and burrito bowls.
Before settling on that direction, Rios went to Mexico City with founders Jeff Gigante and Joe Guggino and Director of Operations Heather Rivas. They stayed in Roma Norte, then worked their way through restaurants, cocktail bars, taquerias, markets and design spaces there and in Condesa and Polanco.
“Matilde is a concept we’ve put a lot of care into, and we want it to go beyond what guests might traditionally expect from a steakhouse,” Gigante said. “Our time in Mexico City helped us bring that vision into focus and inspired us to think more deeply about the connection between food, beverage and culture.”
The bar follows the same direction. Tequila and mezcal will lead the cocktail program, with fresh juices, seasonal ingredients and Mexican flavors behind them, while the wine list will reach into Mexico, Spain, the Southern Hemisphere and elsewhere for bottles that can hold up against the smoke, spice and seafood coming out of the kitchen.
Atelier Zébulon Perron is handling the room, mixing raw materials and more polished finishes with greenery and design elements built around fire, water and earth. Matilde will change gears as the day moves along, serving lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, brunch and dinner on weekends and keeping the bar going later Thursday through Saturday.
The name comes from co-founder Andrew Wright’s Colombian grandmother, Matilde, an artist and designer whose hospitality and creative work helped shape the restaurant’s identity. When the doors open next spring, the restaurant will join Union New American in Westshore, Boulon at Water Street Tampa and Forbici in Hyde Park and St. Petersburg.