Tampa Bay Brewing Company

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

Ate here with my husband last night and we were really disappointed. First let me say our server was great and attentive. It was the food that was bad. We wanted sandwiches and were told no sandwiches would be served at dinner. OK, except they are ON THE MENU. Our server told us the best he could do was a burger or a chicken breast substituted for a hamburger patty. Not appealing and once again, do not have selections on your menu if they are not available at the time. Second, I ordered the soup of the day special, a sirloin and onion soup -- at $4.99 for a CUP! For that price, the soup better be excellent. It was awful. To begin, the soup was flavorless. There was NO sirloin in it. And the stock was a basic french onion with what seemed like 50% grease from cooking last nights hamburgers. How it also managed to be flavorless (watery with literally no flavor) is beyond me -- the fat content of the greasy soup was gross. But usually fat = tasty. This was an expensive disappointment. Honestly, I am not hard to please (I eat canned soup at home!) so for me to say this soup was bad, it was really not something Id make and eat at home, let alone serve to anyone. Thursday was pizza night, so we decided to share their "The Shizz" pizza. Honestly, the worst and most disgusting pizza Ive ever had. Once again, I am NOT a pizza snob -- I eat frozen pizzas at home. But I am a pizza conissoeur of sorts. I love it. All kinds -- think crust, deep dish, saucy, not, traditional to weird. This pizza is a disgusting abomination and should not be on the menu and doesnt deserve to be called a pizza. NASTY. The Shizz Pizza is essentially a bad bowling-alley nacho piled upon a thin pizza crust. I must say, the crust WAS delicious. But the toppings, cheese etc. were so disgusting I couldnt eat it. It is literally liquid nacho cheese, HOT jalepenos, and little chunks of unrecognizable meats on a crust. And for $11+ think a 12" pizza. Little mini slices. If you remember getting nasty nachose with cheese whiz and gross mystery meat from the roller rink or school cafeteria, then you know this pizza. Take that, dump it on a pizza crust and voila -- The Shizz. More like Sh**! This was a sad, sad experience for me, as the Tampa Bay Brewing Co. has been a longtime favorite of ours for years. But their food quality and menu has sunk to an all-time low. Their prices remain high. We did still tip 20%, as our service was excellent. Come to think of it, maybe we shouldnt have -- the server could have warned us about our horrifying selections. If you go, skip the soup, and order a burger. Its the only sandwhich available for dinner anyway.

CH

Chris Sprenkel

Good food for the $. You can of course just go to this restaurant for the food but its a plus if youre planning to consume some alcohol as well. Arrived with a party of 3 at the bar outside around 5:30-6PM on a Saturday. No complaints about the Red Eye Amber. Fellow patrons went with Margarita (rocks). Afterwards we went inside to the restaurant per our reservation around 6-6:30PM. Waited about 5 minutes for a table to be cleared. Restaurant was busy but not overflowing. Pros: * Attentive waiter. * "Moosekiller Meatloaf" is absolutely ridiculously amazing and was featured on at least one food network. If you havent had it here before, I would try it. * "Shrimp & Sherry Alfredo" was pretty good but nothing anyone in our party had compared to the Moosekiller Meatloaf. The alfredo was a little light on the sauce and the noodles had a slightly odd texture about them but it was nothing off putting. Some people might find the light sauce a bad thing but since thats where the vast majority of your fat/cals/sugar/etc are it was of little concern to me. Also, the lighter sauce did not make the dish come across as dry by any means. * The Brewco Hard Lemonade was good but I question how much alcohol is in there. Of course its designed in a way the alcohol shouldnt be obvious but after finishing it I just felt like it had little to no kick to it. Still, its a good drink. If youre looking for some kick, Id suggest something else. * Average interior, nothing to praise or complain about. * Restroom (mens) was fairly clean considering how many drunk people are going in and out of there every few minutes. * Manager briefly came by to ask us how everything was going and also thanked us for stopping by on our way out. Cons: * Relatively loud atmosphere. But what can you expect with a full bar inside and out? And while it was a bit loud, it was not overbearing and did not overly interfere with our dining experience. * Some interior support beams are poorly placed and by that I mean, in some cases, they partially block foot traffic as theres a wooden surface wrapped around some of the beams that could be used (but should not be) for placing drinks. That was a hint, dont place your drinks there. Theyll get knocked clean off on short notice. Great overall experience and plan to return eventually. P.S. - Due to its location (middle of Ybor) you might want to figure out your parking situation first. There are a number of nearby parking garages as well as valet options (not handled by this restaurant) during certain hours.

A

A Private User

The Florida beer desert is no more. All - without exception - all beer lovers must visit this world class brewery and sample just one beer to know that Florida is no longer a beer morass and I have found the Floridian beer oasis. Davis Doble - brewer owner - commercial pilot is one of those annoying people who just excel at every thing he lays his hand on - very much as I dont. He has a balanced range of beers for those with even a little beer knowledge. He has no interest in producing "introductory beer." So beer lovers head this way Hop heads - here it is. An 80 IBU IPA is matched by the same beer from cask. Which is better? Ill never say. I wont mention which is creamier as it is pulled from a beer engine. Only bribery of another cask beer will let the truth pass.Try them both, but only after sampling the porter, the stout and why not - the hefe- weizen with its banana / clove very strong hints. Try that barley wine with its 100 IBUs nicely balanced. His session beer "One Night Stand." is still in at 5% by vol. so try his root beer as a filler. This place rocks. Being of English descent - I dont understand one night stand - of course not. Although the place is nice and airy, its a people place. Low levels of music allow conversation. Fellow beer lovers put the world to rights. During my stay we talked of sex - dont we all? religion politics and motorcycles. Three of them are supposed not be discussed in a pub. Dont know which they are - do you? . This brewery is way beyond five stars. Great beers and food. Dont expect fast food flavors. The soup I had is a true crafted soup - made with beer - cheese who knows what? Its delicious. The brewery serves quality beers, not domestics and as the brewer said, "you dont serve a McDonalds in a top quality steak house." Now that is a thought! I am under time restraint in evaluating all aspects of the beers on account of me not having a designated driver but this is is a brewery to fall in love with, to make sure you dont miss when anywhere within a hundred miles and avoid the $10 parking in the area. Use the $3 valet parking right outside the back door -duh! and make sure you have designated driver with you - those beers are so mouth wateringingly yummy, cascading with hops. .

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