1916 Irish Pub Brandon — Restaurant in Florida

It's going to be a bit hard to write this review. I am sure the experience can change depending on how busy or what day and time you go.

Let's start by saying this is a pub. A PUB got it? It's not on a main road, you have to look a little to find it. Remember it's PUB.

When you walk in don't expect some fancy place, that it is not. It Is A PUB. The tables are old, the chairs are old. They show their age. They are real wood. You won't find that in any chain restaurant.

There are tall and short tables, there is a bar rough estimate 20 stools. There is a pool table, there is a band stand for events or music. If you are looking for fancy this ain't it. Who cares.

Others complain about the bathrooms. Again they are old but clean. It's a freaking PUB where people drink.

Now what you want to know. The staff is friendly and I assume don't have a big turnover. Sometimes the music can be loud or none at all there are a hand full of outside tables if you want to sit there.

Now the food, it's a big pricy if you just look at the menu it may be a little shock but not too bad. But when you get the food I highly doubt you will be disappointed. The quality is good and it's not like the food was sitting in pots just waiting to be served. It's prepared when you order.

Now I have only been here twice because it's 30 miles from where I live. But I get to the area from time to time. I will go again.

As for the menu it depends on what time you get there if you get the full menu or late night menu. I believe they serve until 2am. I was working late one night this past April and thah is how I found out about this. Only because a well known 24 hour resturand was closed from maintence that night.

On the full menu I can almost guarantee unless you visit a lot of Irish PUBs you are going to find something to try that you many have never eaten before.

As I stated you may be a bit shocked at the price for such a down to earth old days athmosphere, but I bet once you sink your teeth in the food you should not be disappointed.

Anyway I had no idea how I was going to write this review. Hope you get my point.

It is a PUB with good food. Try it, what do you have to lose other than a couple of bucks if you are disappointed which is highly unlikely unless...

Please, watch a couple of episodes of Bar Rescue (the early years).. The bar is named after the Irish Revolution (on their web site) but the bar screams sports bar with little to no Irish memorabilia. The music: We came in to a rap song, sat through hip-hop, ended with rock. None of it, not a smidge was Irish. Just a song or 2. Look up the Dropkick Murphies. No drink menus. This is inexcusable. They had food menus. And they have drink menus online, but when I asked the waitress if they had a drink menu she said no, proceeded to NOT tell me about their specialized drinks and NOT tell me about the online menu. Neither did the owner/manager (?) that stopped by our table. Maybe it was busy.. No, only 3 tables with patrons, no one at the bar. The bar is slammed full of high top tables (its not very big) all crammed together with just 3 low tops crammed next to each. Where were the 3 tables of patrons eating? At the low tops. I can't imagine what this place is like busy, its all high top table. The menu.. ever heard of Bennigans? The 'Irish' restaurant that barely served Irish food. They're gone now. Yes, 1916 has a few Irish dishes, alongside Humas, Mediterranean stuff, its literally all over the map. I forgot Mozzarella sticks! I get it, there's not that much Irish menu items, but at least have fun with it on the menu. Otherwise you look silly for the wrong reason. The food: I ordered the Fish and chips -Season. The. Batter. Don't be afraid of spices and maybe some beer. Great fries. The popcorn was good (but the paint can was only half full). Wife had the (Irish?) Rueben, which was good but the chips were either awesome or old and stale. Wife ordered the 1916 Old Fashioned (we took it upon ourselves to look up the drink menu): fill the glass to the appropriate, normal level for a cocktail. Wife felt cheated (and didn't tell me until after we left). All in all, nothing sets this place apart, when with a little effort this place could be a thematic hit. Hey, I didn't tell them to name themselves 1916. If they are going to go with such an evocative name, there needs to be the theming...

We love our 1916 in Brandon. We have had nothing but great food and experiences since they opened. Joy, Rob, Stephanie, and the gang know us when we come in and take great care of us. As you can see from the photos, we’ve probably eaten our way through the menu a couple of times, and we say we’re members of the clean plate club because we consistently do so other than occasionally taking home some Pesto Parmesan fries, but we consider that a bonus. Speaking of those parm fries, we don’t know what culinary magic makes them so crispy delicious, and we don’t care. LOL! They also reheat beautifully.

We also love the fried pickles! If you love fried pickles these are like Baby Bear’s fried pickles! Not too thick, not too thin, and no matter how thick the batter is on any given day, they are crispy and not greasy. Honestly, everything fried there tastes light and clean, so somebody is managing the fry vat oil beautifully too. The Cobb Salad is nice, the flatbreads, soups, and all the “small plates”.

We enjoy the daily specials, especially build your own burger Monday, Taco Tuesday and Wing Wednesday. We feel like every plate they put in front of us is assembled with care. Again, there hasn’t been anything we didn’t enjoy. The only thing we think could be slightly improved food wise is the amount of meat on the Rueben.

I’m giving a 4 for atmosphere because it’s pretty dark and stark, and televisions basically are the decor. The majority of the seating is high top communal pub seating, which can be uncomfortable if you have short legs, and can occasionally be awkward depending on the size of your group.

Our family owned a restaurant for many years, and I would love to meet the chef and/or the person responsible for the training of the kitchen and bar staff because they must be gold! We have introduced many friends and family to this pub and even refer strangers we meet with confidence.

Tell them “The Happy Jackson’s” sent you. No guarantees, but maybe you’ll get some extra parm fries! LOL! If not, you’ll still get a great meal and...