Restaurants in New Port Richey East

The aromas of Middle Eastern spices and grilled meats waft through the restaurant’s windows and doors, drawing passing noses closer with every outpouring of scent. At Prestige Lounge & Lebanese Cuisine, chefs reproduce authentic Lebanese recipes that draw from both Eastern and Western culinary influences to give diners a taste of the Middle East that lingers on in memories with expressive herbs and sizzling meat dishes. Chefs build their culinary sonatas using only halal meat and prepare yogurts and build on their flavor profiles all in the restaurant’s kitchen, ensuring that each bite is fresh. As live entertainment gets rolling on Friday and Saturday nights, the food gets a worthy competitor for diners’ attention spans. Belly dancers perform on weekends, and other talents, such as Middle Eastern singers and DJs, electrify the dining room with their lively shows.

Franja Eastling sometimes wants something so much she can taste it. In many cases, it’s a trip to her hometown of New Orleans, where cooking seafood is an art form, and baking bread is a competitive sport, much like arm wrestling alligators. That’s why authenticity is key at her restaurant, Blue Dog Po’ Boys. When making a muffaletta sandwich, she doesn’t use bread that approximates the taste of the French Quarter. Instead, she has it flown in from Gambino’s, one of the Big Easy’s most venerated bakeries. The oysters that fill her po’ boys also arrive direct from New Orleans, and the shrimp are plucked from Florida’s coasts. When slathered in a simple batter and a light dusting of seasonings, they fry up light and crispy, just as she remembers them. Atop canvases of toasted french bread, they give George Rodrigue—the Cajun painter who created the Blue Dog that inspired this café—a serious run for his money.

Guests can savor all of these items in a cozy café flanked with pictures of New Orleans architecture, jazz musicians, and saints. Here, passersby can drop in solo to sample the chicken-and-andouille gumbo or bring a bevy of friends to devour five types of buffalo wings. To sate hunger at parties and meetings, the café also builds Cajun--style buffets from hearty blackened catfish and pasta jambalaya.

A quaint teashop with a Scottish flare, Moffat's Cup of Tea at first seems as if it would be more at home in the Highlands than basking under Florida’s perennial sunshine. With its bright-green walls and purple trim, however, the shop has adapted well to its tropical surroundings. The vibrant decor lifts guests’ spirits as they sit down for afternoon tea, which is often accompanied by freshly prepared sandwiches, pastries, and fruit. Steam rises over tables draped in lace as the staff pours selections from more than 35 varieties of tea into cups of English china, each delicately painted with a stamp to verify its dual-citizenship. After taking tea, guests can peruse the gift room's selection of teas, pots, and other fine wares.

The sound of the sizzling skillet is as regular as a rooster's crow each morning at Rodie’s Restaurant & Pancake House. Before long, the wait staff is delivering skillets, omelets and crepe creations to diners eagerly clutching their forks, knifes, and maple-tree taps. As the afternoon sun perches high in the sky, the lunch crowd lingers to enjoy greek salads and triple-decker sandwiches paired with a collection of homemade soups.