Found Taps Restaurant Bar & Lounge when we were walking around Downtown Tampa. We decided to go in and try this place. When we walked in, we were greeted by a friendly staff member and informed us we could sit anywhere we wanted. Once we...picked our table our server whose name is Chae greeted us as she handed us our menus for food and cocktails.
After a few minutes looking over the cocktail menu, we ordered our drinks. Once we got our drinks, we decided to order some appetizers first. The appetizers that we ordered were the Chicken Wings, Brie/Honey Bruschetta and the Tuna Crudo. I have to say the wings were one of the best that I have ever had. The wings were baked and a bit spicy. However, it wasn’t over powering. It just lingered on your lips as tease for more. The Brie/Honey Bruschetta was spot on. They came out warm and they were gone real fast with a party of four. The Tuna Crudo was delicious and it had a little kick of spiciness. After eating the appetizers and having two rounds of drinks, we were having such a great time that we didn’t want to leave. We all agreed that we need to come back to this place again because of the food and Chae. She was very friendly and the drinks that she made were delicious.
We came back a second time. This time it was at night and there were only three of us in our party. We walked in, again we were informed to sit anywhere we wanted. This time the place was busier than the day before. We sat at table that wasn’t cleaned off just yet. As soon as we sat down, our table was cleared off and cleaned. This time we were greeted by a different server, named Leslie. Chea was working that night as well but behind bar. She noticed us and quickly came over to say hi. This time around we ordered the Chicken Wings, Brie/Honey Bruschetta and the Crab Cakes. The Crab Cakes were delicious. As for cocktails, we decided to have two bottles of wine that night. The night was much busier, but Leslie always came over to check on us to see if we needed anything else. We almost decided to have a third bottle of wine, but we opted not to.
The third time we came back was for lunch. Since we knew the routine by now, we just grabbed a table. Our server came over and handed our menus. This time we decided to order lunch. There were three of us in our party. Our server, Palmer took our drink order. When she came back, we ordered the Tuna Crudo, a Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken Sandwich with Goat Cheese and a Gyro Sandwich were ordered. As we waited for our food, we decided to have another round of drinks. When the food came out, another server delivered our food to the table because Palmer was making drinks. Palmer noticed that I didn’t have my Gyro Sandwich yet. She quickly went to the window to inquiry about my order. Less than 30 seconds she was coming with my sandwich. I have to say the Gyro Sandwich was really good. The pita bread was very light. They didn’t over power the gyro with a lot of sauce. It was one of the better gyros I have had. I would really consider ordering that again. I would like to try other items on the menu though.
This place certainly is a must place when you are in downtown Tampa. You will not be disappointed in the food, drinks or the servers. I must give kudos to Chae because I couldn’t remember our server’s name on Sunday. I called TAPS and Chae answered the phone. I explained who I was, and she remembered our party. She is the one who gave our server’s name on our third visit.
Make sure you visit TAPS when you are in downtown Tampa. When you go, say hello to Chae, Leslie, or Palmer. They are excellent servers and you won’t be disappointed. Looking forward to our next visit there.More
