TapStation — Restaurant in Apex

We have been by Tap Station and was really drawn into the outside ambience, so we had to try it! It was just my husband and I and we went for dinner on a Sunday around 6:15pm. Parking wasn’t an issue for us, but I could see it being one on a different day and if the weather was better. (It had been rainy all day and no sun) It’s a seat yourself place and we were able to find a table right away. The restaurant has a variety of drinks and local beers along with domestic. I got a watermelon julep/German beer and the hubs got a sour. The julep was made fine, but I realize I don’t care for watermelon and alcohol mixed. If you do, then you would really enjoy the Watermelon Julep($10)! We both enjoyed our beers! ($6-$7) After reading several reviews before going, I went with the southern burger that came with cream cheese, spicy jam, jalapeños, and a huge onion ring. Hubs got a southwest burger that came with bacon jam, bbq aioli, and cheese. I ordered tots with mine and hubs got fries. The fries are shoestring and we both like them. The tots were fresh and crispy. I made sure the waiter knew I wanted them crispy! The burger are smash burgers, so keep that in mind when ordering. Depending on how hungry you are, you may need to make it a double or triple. I ordered a single and hubs a double. It was plenty for both of us! The burgers were good and we enjoyed the flavor of each one. My bottom bun was a little greasy, but added to the flavor. It may not be for everyone. I saved room for the apple pie eggs rolls. I saw a pic in the google reviews of the egg rolls with ice cream. This dish does NOT come with ice cream. You will need to order that separately. I did not care for the apple pie egg rolls at all! I don’t normally like eggs rolls because it’s so much breading, so not sure what I was thinking here. The hubs enjoyed them and pretty much ate both pieces. I did eat the filling out of one and it was really good! The egg rolls itself was very chewy and not crunchy at all. I would not recommend this even if I did like egg rolls. Service was fast and friendly! I would come back for a burger and maybe a drink with friends, but it wouldn’t be my first choice as...

Update! We've been here many many times. They solved the parking lot issues as best as possible by arranging agreements with nearby overflow lots. Last night was the first time we've been during a cold night and sat outside on the second floor. It was surprisingly warm and comfortable. The outdoor heating units work great. This place is still rocking!

Opening day! I've been very excited for this place for many months. Went to lunch at around noon. First, the pros. There are many! The layout is fantastic. Full bar and service staff both upstairs and down. The outdoor area is fantastic and very family friendly. No need for a babysitter when coming to this place! Big kudos to the designer and decorator. Pays much homage to the old Holt & Sons garage. The ambiance and feel are superb. Even the bathrooms have "gas pump" style faucets and headlights on the mirrors. The rooftop view southward of Apex is something I've never seen from that vantage point.

The cons. This place is going to be more popular than it's parking lot can handle. I went for lunch, the place was, at best, around 40% capacity and the parking lot was completely full. Not sure how they're going to handle a full house in the evenings. Save yourself a headache and take Uber or Lyft!!

The food was slightly disappointing, only because I had heard that this place was a collaboration between Mason Jar and Scratch. In my opinion, Scratch is the best restaurant in Apex, and this menu simply doesn't hold a candle to it. Mind you, it wasn't bad food, but perhaps I had the bar set too high in my head with Scratch being the expectation.

All in all, this place is a gem. An amazing addition to the town that I love that keeps the honored tradition of what was formerly there. They are going to crush it and I wish the owners, managers, staff, and customers ALL the best.

Hopefully, in time, they can work out the very few kinks that they had today, but I will certainly be back many times.

Cheers to the...

This place will be very enjoyable if you go into it with proper expectations. Parking is a problem, period. You will most likely have to park down the road and walk up. Some places are restaurants that also have bars. Then there are bars that are also restaurants. The Tap Station is a bar that has bar food. If you have a party of four or less, it will help immensely in finding a table. They do not take reservations, and they do not seat you. That will not normally be a problem, but during meal hours, it will leave you making a few laps around the restaurant trying to find an open table. This makes it exceedingly difficult to sit with a large party unless you wait for the communal seating (picnic tables) to open up. The food is burgers, tots, egg rolls, and fries with a few other choices. A few in my party had burgers, and most of them said they were a bit dry, but still good. I had the cheeseburger egg rolls, which were delicious. They were heavy and very greasy, but that's not a negative in my book. I also tried the buffalo tots, which came out completely soggy and gross. On the other hand, they have the "crumb" ice in the drinks, which is the best kind! The service was great, and the servers were friendly. They ran out of a number of menu items, as well as all diet drinks, which limited our selection, but we made due. One thing that needs improvement is the paper towel apparatus on the tables was so big that it completely obstructed the view of the table, so we had to put it on the ground to be able to talk. Overall, this place is a great bar to hang out with three friends and drink. The food helps accompany that activity. It has the potential to be so much better, but it is brand new, so hopefully they will dial things in as time goes on. We will keep checking back in from...