Taps Bar & Grill

Pros: Good Food, Cold Beer, Good Music, Nice Adult Crowd
Cons: Kind of confusing ordering system. A nice gimmick, but they need to streamline the ordering system better. Lacks privacy if your on a date (read review).
So at the core, this a bar and grill. What makes this place different is their unique ordering system. The greeter welcomes you and immediately asks you to put money on a «Taps» Debit card. Wait, what? I havent even looked at the menu! Think of it as «Pre-​Pay» for everything.
Upon the host loading a set amount of money that I determined onto the Taps card, you then grab a table. Some tables are simple tables, some tables have actual beer taps at the end of the table. The beer tap at each table is different and brand specific. I selected a table with Blue Moon on tap. This a neat idea, and fun. Using the Taps debit card, and learning how to make a good pour takes some work to learn. Luckily, the host gives a brief tutorial at no cost of spilled beer, lol.
Although the tap on the table and the Taps debit card are very gimmicky, I can see how some folks may find it slightly annoying. By this I mean, if another patron wants a Blue Moon on tap, he is very likely to be visiting my table. This can be a fun way to meet people, or it can be a complete deal killer if your trying to have some privacy on a date and folks are always visiting your table for a refill. I did notice a self-​serve counter if folks didnt want to visit your table, and it was being used quite often. I would probably use this option for my refill since I dont like to disturb folks. The positive on this is that you didnt have to wait for a waiter for your refill, just get up and go get it. Yes!
On the food side, I ordered some wings and my wife ordered a salad. My wings we’re warm and tasty. My wife had a house salad that was tasty also, but the huge leafs of lettuce should probably be chopped into smaller pieces. Ladies dont like chewing huge chunks of green when their eating. I was very pleased with the quality and taste of the food.
The décor is modern and new, and the music was smooth RB that gave the place a nice vibe. A small step up from the Chili’s or Applebee’s crowd. I really enjoyed the playlist. Lastly, the service people we’re very polite and fast when we needed something. We will be visiting again, and am excited to try the rest of the menu.

Customer service was great! The pizza was tasteful also a great amount for the price! And music was in point! Will definitely be going back!

We drove from Sacramento to Stockton to watch Stockton Heat play. However, struggled to find a good bar and grill. After walking out of French 25, we came across TAPS best find we could have found. The manager treated us with great respect, gave us a run down of the place, and took our order. Best bar and grill I have ever experienced, very unique! I sure will be back when I am in town. The only disapointment would be not having one of these bars closer to home. Recomend 100%

Came here for lunch with my husband. (3pm) Ordered right away because we both only had 1hr till we had to be back at work. Was hoping to be in and out. I mean come’on, the place was empty! Our food didn’t arrive till 4! All we ordered was soup! And after my husband accidentally knocked his cup over, we seriously very slowly watched the ice melt over conversation. Not one person came to check on us (EVER) for refills or even noticed the spill. We should have walked out, then. This just may be a good spot at night but lunch? My lunch hour was just ruined. I had to pack it up and take it back to work with me.

Yes I’m changing my review after giving it some thought…
Ok maybe I jumped the gun here something new and I should have asked more questions before jumping in! I do admire someone who comes in with new ideas this is what Stockton needs! I try to write reviews that are honest for other Unilocalers to use but if I’m wrong I’ll admit it!

What a great innovative and enjoyable experience. Glad to have you Downtown Stockton.

Love this nice place. Everyone needs to try this place we can’t lose this one that’s for sure… The owners are here every night welcoming everyone. Thursdays are Ladies night with Karaōke… Prices are great. Food is delicious!!! Different kinds of beer and you pour your own. Love it!!! :)

Service could be quicker, but not having to wait for beer makes the wait bearable. The food is delicious and not over-​priced. The owners are also always there and very friendly. Highly recommended!

This is a very friendly and upbeat place. They have wonderful food but the best part you get to go refill your own beer. We will definitely return!

Cool little spot near the movie theatre. Great service and location. Love that there is a tap at each table. I just wish there was a bigger selection of beer. I’ll definitely be returning with more friends.

I went to Taps for the first time last night. It was a Mondy night and it seemed like many of the employees were working on some book keeping and discussing ideas around a table. There is NO stars deducted for this fact. Being in the service industry it is know that the slower nights will have this around, especially in a new place such as this. In fact it should be promising to customers that the owners/​staff are making a market effort. I was greated right away by a very polite host/​bartender. She happily explained and showed me how the whole tap card idea works. I have been to a few similar places and thought it was a cool idea.
One thing I was taken aback by is the way the money is handled there. They have you load up a card with money before you even know what is on the menu for food. (granted, had I asked Im sure they would be happy to oblige) I threw a quick 50 bucks onto the card and began looking at the taps. It was like using a gift card. I was surprised by the lack of selection on quality craft beer. They have a tap taken by Stocktons own High Water Brewery which gives an automatic extra star. A new business striving to thrive in this community should be featuring local fares. Impressive. Where I was taken aback again is that the tables are equip with there own taps, however, you could only get certain types of beers from those taps. For example, if I wanted an 805 I would have to go over to a seated table and reach in between a patron and the 805 tp to fill it up. If I were a customer at a table I would feel a little annoyed with this fact. Last thing about the beers is, I would like to see more craft variety then imports. The bar was nicely stocked with high shelf liquors that would easily impress most bar owners.
The food, while taking a while to get out, was good. The sweet potatoes fries were the perfect blend of a crispy shell and a warm tender middle. Barley even need the ranch that was brought with it. I had the fries in addition to the tapped ribs because, of course, that wont be enough. WRONG. Huge serving of great ribs. Tender meat and easy to cut. The sauce was a wonderful mix of sweet and spicy and always left me wanting more. I was happy with the purchase and so were my dogs.
The ambiance of the place is what kind of took me aback. Givin the location they have to cater to many groups and demographics of people so it can be hard to pin point and identity. Is it a club that offeres food and a DJ on the weekends? It is a tap house where locals can go and enjoy whichever draft is on self serve at the time? Is it a higher class bar that caters to more of a affluent crowd? Wither way this place has all the potential in the world! Maybe the owners are looking at ways to gel all these three things and they will knock it out of the park.
The only reason two stars are taken is for the identity crisis stated above and they way the beers were set up. It can not be an easy task given their space but the staff here doesnt seem like a group to give up. They are just starting and I am throughly impressed. I will definatley be back the ext time Im on the way to a movie and give those ribs a round two… hopefully they dont knock me out again!
GREAT JOB TAPS SEE YOU SOON.

Food was great, concept is genius and service was good, only set back is the place is kinda small and each table has its own tap so someone can come up and bother me while I eat so they can pour a glass of beer. But over all I liked it

We went to Taps last night for NYE before going to watch Star Wars. We sat down and were shown how by our waiter how Taps operates. You buy a card and load money to it and then you can pour your own beer at either of the eight tables or the beer walk that has eight different beers on tap. Each table has one beer. The picture I have posted was the beer at our table.
You place your card on a specified section of the table abs then start pouring. You can literally pour .25 worth of beer– it just comes directly off the card. The same works for food — you pay for any food off of your prepaid card.
I didn’t have any beer, but my husband sampled several different beers. The only drawback to this is that you have to go to another table to try other beers. This can pose as awkward if you’re shy! But I think if you want a private dinner, Taps is not the best place for privacy because people may cone up to your table to want to try a beer.
The food? Limited because it was NYE. We did have the wings and pizza which were good. The pizza was delicious. It was a cilantro/​sausage on a thin crust with little or no sauce. The crust was delicious and there were jalapeños on top for an extra kick.
This is a fun place and it’s right next to the theatre. Good date night idea!