The Stein & Vine — Restaurant in Florida

Big red letters. 'PUB'. Tucked comfortably between the Dollar and the Lots! Find that sign and you've found The Stein & Vine! Therein lies the entry into this craft beer, wine bar & foodie fav.

I met a longtime buddy there for lunch. First visit for both of us, based on another friend's recommendation. Turns out that friend has excellent taste!

My first impression? I felt like I was in a much older relic of a building, aka Ybor City or New Orleans. There's that kind of comfy vibe going on with the muted darkness of the industrial steel ceiling and the et cetera decor.

There was no 'wait-y' because our server 'Katie' was really great! (All the more important knowing staffing is an issue for restaurants!) She guided us through the maze of grogs and menu nods.

Right away I was happy to say the Soup of the Day was a Beer Cheese soup. IF you're used to having your beer in a frosted mug and not in a bowl, I understand. BUT, combine beer! AND bacon! AND cheese! and you've got a magic potion. My buddy WAS a Beer Cheese virgin, so I promised it'd be a memorable and special moment for him. LOL Katie delivered 2 bowls of hot & rich, steamy & creamy decadence to our table. I consider myself a Beer Cheese connoisseur. As I was lapping up that luscious elixir the Beer Cheese Gods were inhaling this brew too. My bud's scoop on this soup? Yeah, he had to go outside for a cigarette, and he doesn't even smoke! Bwahahaha! Enough soup silliness....

I ordered the Shepherd's Mac & Cheese entree. (more cheese, please!) I am a devout Shepherd's Pie enthusiast, but ONLY if it is a TRUE Shepherd's Pie. It MUST contain lamb to be authentic. If it only contains beef then it is actually a Cottage Pie.(good enough, but just gotta be PC!) I was pleased to see the Stein and Vine Shepherd's Mac & Cheese was a variation of the theme but it did indeed contain lamb! Bravo! Katie presented me with a really piping hot portion of this savory, oohey, gooey comfort food. ReAlLy really good. I'll give it two YUM's up!

My friend ordered the Triple Tail Tacos that had a mixture of a corn/pineapple/cilantro slaw tucked in, too. With a grouper-similar taste, triple tail worked wonderfully in this dish. I got a two YUM's up from my table mate on this one, too!

What I noticed and I really like? Chef/Owner Ty Mathis mixes up the medley of menu choices so there's ALWAYS something new for you, along with the craft brews!

OUTSTANDING first impression! Now, I've gotta bring my Fav Fab One here so I can watch her sip some wine and think that I'm devine!!! Woo Hoo!

Ambiance is...

The food is awesome at this place. I love the chilli, which is probably the cheapest thing on the menu for an entre. But if you cant handle spicy food, then avoid the chilli, because I did not realize it was spicy at all and I let my dad try some of mine and his mouth was burning for hours.

Since I do like spicy stuff, I have gotten the volcano burger a few times. That burger is awesome.

Another good thing to try, which does not sound good, but actually is really good, is the peanut butter and jelly burger. The peanut butter and jelly is not over powering, its just enough to enhance the flavor of the burger. So if you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and you like burgers, then you will probably like that one, even if it does not sound appealing at first.

They also have really good craft beers. I'm not great at describing what makes a beer good, and I'm not really sure of all the different categories of beer. But I do know that I am not a fan of Guinness stout. Stein and Vein sell a variety of Founders stouts, at least the last time I was there. In my opinion, those are far better than Guinness. They had a huge variety of those Founders stouts as well. Those kinds of beers are not ones that you should drink as much as you would of the stuff you can just buy at a gas station. It's kind of a fancy beer that if you drink more than one or two glasses of, then you should probably call an uber to get you back home. Of course, they also had some of the stuff you can find at your local gas station. But if you go to a place like this, and if you want a beer, then I think you should get the good stuff.

I do not know if they ever carry this one because I think it is seasonal, but if they ever have the Creme Brule Founders stout, get that one. It is the best drink I have ever had.

Also; I hate eating at places that tend to echo to the point where I can not hear the person right in front of me talking. I do not know how people enjoy that. While this place isn't quiet like an Olive Garden, I can clearly hear what the people at my table would say.

All-in-all, I give this place 5 stars for...

Went here for the first time last night. The reviews online looked good, the pics looked good. We were surprised when we pulled in that it's in a strip mall with no sign whatsoever on the side of the building, it just says Pub on the building. But then we found it, there is a little sign hanging underneath the awning, I guess you would call it an awning. They do have a good selection of beer and wine. All the food looked good coming out of the kitchen. There was a 40 minute wait, which is a good sign. I love haddock and made the mistake of ordering the haddock and fries here. My wife ordered the Gorgonzola filet tips. Hers was pretty good, I would give it a 4 out of 5. Very rich in flavor with the Gorgonzola sauce they made out of Gorgonzola cheese. Mine however, was not so good. I could tell that the grease they fried the haddock in was the same grease they fry the fries in, and the grease was clearly not at the right temperature or clean IMO. It seemed the basket that they fried the fries and fish in was just dumped on my plate, hence all the little pieces of the over fried greasy dough that was left in the bottom of the fry basket was on my plate. You never fry fish and fries or anything else in the same fryer that you're frying fish in, and the grease needs to be cleaned/strained regularly and kept at the right temperature for frying. I know they were extremely busy, and sadly probably don't have time to do this. But again, you never fry anything in the same grease you're frying fish in. My French fries tasted like fish fries. The fish was greasy/soggy as well. But don't let my review steer you away, we will be going back to give...