FULL DATE NIGHT: Paul's Fusion Kitchen w/ Offline Tampa Bay | The Arts Club Tampa Edition | Floral Dress + Jimmy Choo

Dining tonight for the first time with my membership to Offline Tampa Bay.

Offline Tampa Bay is a restaurant membership which gives you access to some of thr greatest local spots and gives you money to dine. When I signed up I got my first month free as well as a discounted holiday rate.

Dress: Not recent

Heels: Jimmy Choo Romy

Necklace: Kendra Scott Rayne in Red Magnisite

Earrings: Rocksbox

MAC: Brave Red

The Arts Club

Tampa Edition

We had a good experience at Paul's Fusion Kitchen. We didn't need a reservation, when we walked in at 6:45pm it was empty. We chose our seats and quickly after coming in a few more couples came in also and it was pretty much full be cause the space is small and intimate. The restaurant small in size is located in a strip mall. I have lived out here in South Tampa off Kennedy for 10 years and I never notice a lot of these shops so I never noticed this place. It is nice. The decor is simple, but chic and I liked it. The chairs are comfortable and the lighting was great. I was apprehensive about the availability of gluten free options because I am a Celiac, but they had me covered.

Not everything can be made gluten-free, surprisingly not the pad thai which is what I wanted. Since it was my first visit I decided to keep things simple for my sake. I ordered the steak with rice which was the most expensive item (not too expensive 38$ the steak was definitely choice USDA which isn't exactly a great cut of meat. It was a little chewy and hard to cut, but noticeably, seasoned very very well with blackening and they cooked it to a perfect medium rare; it just wasn't a premium cut of meat. So, the jasmine rice and spinach were good sides. They don't wow, but for me I am fine with some straight forward sides that are well seasoned. They serve this dish with a Thai sauce and bell pepper onion mix which at first I was told wasn't gluten free, then they gave me another one and said it was.

That sauce was fire! It was great! It made that dish in my opinion. Next time I will just order shrimp with rice and that sauce and I'll be set. Next, the duck curry was delicious. They got the spice level great. We actually just thought it would be more soupy, like have more sauce or gravy. The tuna appetizer was the best, it was gluten free and 28$ enough to share and I am so glad I got it.

Overall, it was a great dinner. I would love to return because it is so close to us and it is actually "hidden gem" potential. Don't let the size of the restaurant or the fact that it's a strip mall run you off. Service was good, parking was free, we got our food quickly and hot and they accommodated my having Celiacs. I will also not please tell them if you are gluten-free due to medical (Celiacs) and not just preference. They do have gluten-free soy sauce.