John and Shay could not keep their hands and lips off each other as they dined Friday night at a Tampa restaurant, Ocean Prime.

They've been together since March ... so his former GF, Nikki Bella, is far, far away in his rear view. They broke up almost exactly a year ago. You'll recall, there was a thing over babies ... she wanted one, he didn't, he changed his mind, she wasn't moved by that, etc. etc.

BTW ... Shay is Canadian. She works as a product manager for a tech company in Vancouver.

If you're interested ... they ordered steak, potatoes, salad, a bottle of wine and a chocolate desert. And, get this ... they were at the table for 4 HOURS!!! She was holding his hand a lot and they laughed and talked through the evening.