Taps Restaurant Bar & Lounge

A friend and I stopped by here last Friday evening during the Fourth Friday Riverwalk museum tour. The place is small and it was packed with people, we found the last table available inside or on the patio, and loud doesn’t even begin to describe the noise volume in this place, it was impossible to have a conversation without shouting. It appears to be a very trendy, hip little bar. Our server was very nice and attentive. We ordered Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella, White Truffle Oil and Basil bruschetta, blue kernel popcorn with truffle oil and asiago cheese, and Lump Crab and Artichoke Dip. The food was nothing to get excited about, neither of us much cared for the bruschetta, it was pretty flavorless and the prosciutto was very chewy and stringy. The crab and artichoke dip was better but the pita bread served with it tasted stale. The popcorn was only ok, my friend commented that movie theater buttered popcorn tastes better and I agree. We did share the apricot, rum bread pudding for dessert and both agreed that it was pretty good. Overall it was a little pricey, food was only ok, service was really good but it was way to crowded and noisy for my comfort. Maybe I’m not hip enough for this trendy downtown eatery ;-)

Snagged a late dinner here on a Tuesday night. I got the pasta bowl since I heard this place is know for their meatballs. I got a few different IPAs throughout the night. The food was pretty good, ⁷⁄₁₀. Service, via the bartender, was great. I went back the next night again and a different bartender was there. I forgot her name, but she was new there and was from New York. Really cool chick! Another girl, Kelsey, was telling me about a couple cool places to check out if I ever get back to Tampa on a non-​work trip. Great experience.

I just love the atmosphere at Taps. It is both a great after work and late night spot or even dinner for two (or more) the location in downtown Tampa is prime and the outdoor seating gives it a great feel that you don’t really get anywhere else in downtown Tampa. The city is growing and I am sure we will see more places pop up downtown like this but to me this place was one of the firsts to help downtown Tampa’s upscale scene grow. I will always keep going back! If you have never been I definitely recommend visiting and if you can get a seat outside, relax and enjoy a drink!

In from out of town, so Taps only gets one shot — and it wasn’t a good one. Despite the bar area being half-​full, the service was extremely slow and the server didn’t know the first thing about wines on the menu. If you do sit in the bar area, do not expect to get a taste of the wine before ordering without putting money on a wine card and getting your sample out of the dispenser in the main dining area. Clearly the management is all about profit — it shows in the poor customer service and in server’s limited ability to assist the customer. Food was okay. Overall, would not come back and would’ve been fine never stopping by in the first place.

My friend and I came here to enjoy some craft beer. I’ve been here before about 5 years ago so it’s been awhile. We were able to find 2 spots at the bar. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. Wanted to use my 1 free beer offer when we checked in but unfortunately that’s only for lunch which kind of sucked.
I asked if they had any sour beers and was given the Duchesse which was dark and three me off but pretty good and tart. My friend enjoyed her Bells Oberon. My complaint is that it was very pricey. If I would have known my beer was going to be $ 10 in a bottle, I wouldn’t have ordered it and went with something else on draft. They do have a great selection of beer, placed to sit inside and outside.

Overall food is OK, but drinks were very expensive. Gin Fizz which is on their drink special menu was $ 12, and a berry margarita that was also on the drink special menu was nine dollars and was disgusting, not to mention they were out of berries, but they still charged us the full price of the drink special. Somewhat upsetting although the meatball sub and macaroni and cheese appetizer were very good.

I was here for the first time. The beer selection is pretty good. The drafts and bottles look good and also tapped beer selections. Food is good quality and tasty with unique offerings.
The interior is set up well and this is a great place to enjoy a happy hour or to just sit back and people watch. It’s a great atmosphere and views. Outside seating makes it a great venue to chill-​out.
The beer prices are a bit on a higher end but it’s downtown in a high rent area so it’s quit expected. They also have a decent selection of wines and spirits so if beer is not your thing they can still accommodate you to enjoy the alternatives.

Cuisine was average at best. We ordered the popcorn appetizer, came out cold and tasted like it had been sitting out all day. When requested to get hot popcorn informed we couldn’t because the popcorn was already pre prepared. Service was slow. Soda was flat. Just a poor experience. Would not return.

Came here before a show at the Straz. Very good choice. Quick seating at the bar. Tried their expresso martini and thought it was good. The BLT with Gouda was amazing!!! I redeemed my free wine with their house Pinot Grigio. Enjoyed the food and overall experience. Staff was friendly and attentive. I will be back.

I stopped in for a quick beer and an app.
Had a great Quad that was recommended by Heather. Loved it.
Definitely return to this place!

One of my favorite places to go for happy hour. This bar/​restaurant is conveniently right in down town an very close to the park, children’s museum, and straz center. The atmosphere is very trendy but welcoming and comfortable at the same time. They have a great selection of beers on tap as well as wines and cocktails. For happy hour, they feature some $ 5 items, all of which are delicious! They have nachos, wines, dips, and bruschetta all on the $ 5 menu. My favorite is probably the bruschetta, which has plenty of varieties. Their full menu is delicious as well if you choose to have a full meal or don’t make it in time for the happy hour deals.
Definitely a great place to try any day or time that you are in the area!

After a show at Straz we walked over here for a quick bite. Ordered the mushroom bruschette which was absolutely great. The pesto paired well with the goat cheese and balsamic drizzle. The mushrooms were nice and tender and lightly seasoned. Nothing overpowered.
We also ordered the irish nachos minus sour cream. The potatoes were nice and crisp and there was plenty full of short rib for each bite. The food had a slight smokey cumin flavor with little pieces of jalapeño through out.
At first we thought the food may be on the smaller side, but after sharing and finishing both we were pretty happy… Though of course we had to get dessert.
Not sure what happened but our dessert came out the same time as our other 2 dishes, and even then with the ice cream just melting on top of that lava cake… even then it was delicious. The chocolate had a nice rich flavor, but wasn’t too sweet.

I had a tasty lunch at Taps. Their select of beers on tap was very good (I had Oberon Something-​or-​other), and the menu was STRONG (I had the blackened grouper tacos). Cha! The bartender was very nice.
very good place… yow, bill

This local spot is just steps from our front door and one of the first restaurants we tried when we relocated to Tampa.
I am embarrassed to say how many times DH and I have been here before I wrote this review… How could I have been so foolish.
I am convinced that there is nothing bad on the menu and trust me we have tried almost everything.
There is outdoor seating as well as indoor, they have TV’s which are always playing the game I want to see (pretty sure they have NFL Sunday Ticket).
Highlights — Grouper sandwich and the many beers on tap, if you don’t find what you like on tap they also have several bottles to chose from.
Service is always spot on. Even though Taps is a chan it doesn’t have that chain feel.
Gastronomic delight about sums this place up.

This is a fun downtown gastro pub /​wine bar with tasty vittles and quenching beverages. I’ve enjoyed my visits. Can be busy. Servers work hard and are generally friendly. Across from Curtis Hixon Park and Rt /​children’s museums, and library. Inside and patio seating. A good place downtown for a bite and beverage fo sure.

Not quite sure what the fuss is about. The décor is nice. There’s a long beer list. The food was just alright. I had the beer queso nachos. The cheese was really salty. The music was REALLY loud, which made it difficult to talk with the people who were eating with me. Our waitress went on break before we got our food. We watched her walk out with her purse in her hand. We got no explanation. Someone else took care of us for the middle third of our dinner. Then our waitress was eating her dinner in the corner of the restaurant and had to get up from her meal to clear our plates and give us our check. It was odd.

Pros: Taps features a cool unique self serve Wine Bar with an elegant modern décor, and is located right across from the Curtis Hixon Park near the Straz Center on the ground floor of the Sky Point Condominiums in Downtown Tampa. The best reason to come here is you get a free House wine with lunch entrée purchase with Unilocal check-​in! We had the $ 11 Beef Gyros Tzatziki and the $ 12 BLT Gouda sandwich with a side of Greek salad and both were pretty good, although not as good as Pita Pit. One plus here is that they give you a side salad without an upcharge. At most other places they only include fries or chips and upcharge for the salad. On another occasion, I had the $ 14 Grouper Fish Taco Trio and they were pretty good. Their 4−7PM $ 5 Food happy hour looked pretty good and might be worth another visit with bacon wrapped jalapenos, bacon quesadilla, and buffalo lettuce wraps.
Cons: Their Happy Hour Deals aren’t the best value. 4−7PM $ 5 House Wines And Draft Beers should be the regular price not the Happy Hour price. Regular price of House Wines is $ 7 which is a tad bit overpriced. Their food prices are a little high too. I can get better fish tacos for less on the beach with a live band at Jimmy B’s and I can get a better gyro at Pita Pit for $ 6. There is no designated restaurant parking for Taps. There is free street parking after 6pm and on weekends in Downtown but you may have to park a few blocks away by the time you find a spot. Even with Taps not too busy, Service was a little slow. I asked for sriracha for my gyro and waited a good 10min for it and I didn’t want to eat my gyro until it came but I finished my salad and ate half the gyro by the time it finally came.

Went to happy hour here last night. It had been a while since I had been here (about 5 years), and I was invited by a friend so i figured I’d try it again.
Taps is a wine bar with a very nice atmosphere that offers a large variety of self serve wines by the glass. I’d never seen this before with wines (only beer), and one of the servers explained the concept to me. You purchase a card loaded with whatever amount you select, that you insert into a slot above the wine case and select one of three different sized pours (ounces) from a bottle of wine, and the wine dispenses and you are charged by the size of the pour.
I noticed a pinot noir in one of these self serve cases that I happen to be quite fond of, and asked if I could just get one glass (the largest offered). it didn’t sound like a difficult request, but the server who assisted me said he would speak to the manager and see if another bottle could be opened (??? okay, i don’t understand but whatever). A few minutes later, he returned with my glass of wine. At that point I ordered one of their $ 5.00 happy hour appetizers (and also noticed they had a house pinot for $ 5 a glass). The appetizer was really good, a mushroom and pesto bruschetta (recommended by the server).
I had a very enjoyable experience and the service was great, my only issue was with my bill. When I received it, there was a $ 12.00 charge for the glass of wine, and an additional fee of $ 6.50, which I was told was for that glass of wine (huh??? wow…). To date, this has been the most expensive price I have ever paid for a glass of this particular wine… and I’ve had it at MUCH more upscale restaurants. I was FLOORED. Needless to say, I’ll be having the house wine if and when I decide to return to Taps.

It wasn’t GREAT, but it wasn’t disappointing either. I want to give it a high 3star rating, because I did enjoy myself… However, it really is just a gastrobar/​micropub type place, with lots to drink, and tasty bar food.
We went to Taps for the first time on a Friday with a group of 6. We were seated right away, which is always a plus, and our server came by quickly to take our drink orders. I was a little disappointed when he said that they weren’t doing the 1-​, 3-​, and 5-​oz pours of wine that was advertised on their website. The wine was what I was really excited about (who doesn’t love to try different wines, and with 1 and 3 oz pours, you can try several without breaking the bank!), and the server basically had no idea what I was talking about. I was a little disappointed but the Malbec I ordered was great anyways. Taps has many great beer options, including local brews, and apparently a whole page of just IPAs (this made our male companions happy). They offer a handful of cocktails too.
To eat, I ordered the spicy asian chicken lettuce wraps, and give the ma 4star rating. Just the right amount of spice! We also ordered the $ 5 pale of truffle asiago popcorn, and while the serving was small, it was packed with flavor. I give it 5 stars too.
Our friends ordered other shareable items, and no one raved nor complained about any of their dishes.
The atmosphere was nice, the music wasn’t too loud… I had a pretty good experience and would recommend Taps for a happy hour spot or a place to grab a beer and a quick bite.

The décor is modern with high ceilings, indoor and outdoor seating, couch and table seating.
The menu is limited to tapas and sandwiches which was a little disappointing but the beverage menu was impressive… tons of wines, tons of beers and all the mixed drinks. Better yet the wine is on tap! Visitors can buy a card and treat themselves to wine tastings of their choice or wine glasses of their choice.
The restaurant also sells cigars for those so inclined.
This is a nice place to hang out with friends, go on a date, or have a relaxed outing with adult friends/​families. Guests sitting outdoor can also bring their pooches (if friends/​family aren’t your favorite company).

This brand new location has a nice selection of draft beers, wines and spirits. The bottle beer selection is huge with over 100 selections. I sat at the bar and enjoyed a couple beers and asked a few questions regarding specials, happy hour, etc. For right now, they are rolling with their menu that has both lunch options and an after 5 section. They plan on having an in the biz night and have a happy hour that will be from 4−7pm.
The place looks great and the bar staff was super friendly with a good knowledge of their products. The menu has some very interesting items that have very high end ingredients including a kobe beef burger and an all natural grass fed steak that promises to be delicious. The menu is a bit on the pricy side, but intriguing none the less. I’ll definitely be stopping in again for some great beers.

**Check in on Unilocal for a free beer!**
Stopped in on a Wednesday evening and it was pretty quiet. We sat in the bar area and our server was the main bartender. She was awesome! Great fun personality and had good suggestions. First thing we ordered was the free beer. Then we took a look at the menu. Everything sounded good, but our server told us they were known for their meatball nachos or the meatballs.
We ended up splitting an order of the meatballs and chips with guacamole. And HOLY MEATBALLS! These things were HUGE! You get 4 in an order, which is more like 6 – 8 normal sized meatballs. I could have had just 2 meatballs and the chips/​guac for dinner! But my friend convinced me to try the lobster roll. Our server said it was made with butter and not mayo, and that was a key selling point for me. The bread was a little crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. And awesome lobster chunks.
This place has like 300 beers, which is really cool. I wish I would have tried some of the more unique ones! Next time I see one of these (there are a few in FL) I will be hitting it up again!