Avenue Blu — Restaurant in Tampa

This was my first time visiting last night since It's been Avenue Blu. I went for a friend's birthday. We made a reservation and went during Happy hour. The food and drinks were really good. (The Cogac Cornbread is a must try) I had Our server Lexia(please forgive me if it's wrong) she was absolutely AMAZING!!!! The customer service was top notch and the vibe cool, but not upscale, because definitely no dress code, but cool vibe. I love how they acknowledge and celebrate their birthday guest. However, the downside for me and my friends was the mus from the live DJ was absolutely too loud (although he was jamming), it was extremely loud, to where we had to scream over it to have conversations with one another and hear our server. Also, the fact that we were being rushed afterwards when we completed our meals to leave our tables because they had another reservation at the table and they wanted to move us to the bar. We were told reservations were only for 90 minutes ( I'm noticing some of these businesses are doing this) at least give me two hours, because as a paying customer I want to relax and enjoy the atmosphere, not be rushed from my table. I appreciate the option of being moved somewhere else, but at the same time, I would've sat at the bar if that's what I wanted to do. Also, when we arrived they had two of the handicapped parking spaces blocked off😕 they only have three. They open at 5:00, and we were the first one's there, because our reservation was at 5. Thank goodness I was able to get the one handicap parking slot that was available, because the parking is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!! This is the reason we made our reservation so early. I remember the parking when it was Rose Bar. When we left our cars were blocked in, because I guess they were also using the area as their valet area. I mean it was so many vehicles(what if it was an emergency??? I am thankful Bishop was out there to assist us get our vehicles, but this has to be a safety hazard. I can say, although the drinks and food were good. I probably won't return unless someone who hasn't been before asked me to go with them. I've been...

This place has a lot of potential, but it is very unorganized. We walked in as a party of 3, and the hostess had to ask the kitchen if we could be seated just because we didn't have a reservation, although there were plenty of open tables. After about 5 minutes, the hostess finally informed us they were not taking walk-ins. We asked if the bar was open seating since it was completely empty with chairs at it, which we were ultimately able to sit at the bar. The bartender Jon was great, personable, and took good care of us, although we didn't order any alcohoic beverages since we wanted to eat first. The kitchen, on the other hand, was horrible. It took about an hour and ten minutes for us to receive our appetizers' cornbread and chop cheese egg rolls. We never received the wings we ordered, although we saw someone across the bar from us receive wings as we received our check. Jon inquired with the kitchen multiple times regarding all of our food. It took almost an hour and a half to bring out our entrees (crab fried rice with salmon and a burger). There will not much crab with the crab fried rice which was $28 so I would suggest getting the salmon or another meat with the crab fried rice and the burger came out with onions on it which was supposed to be no onions so it had to be sent back and remade which took another 20-30 minutes. Also we had to eat with plastic utensils at the bar which isn't a good look for a restaurant in my opinion. As we sat and waited for our food, we looked around the restaurant and noticed almost no table had food on them only alcoholic drinks. I do not recommend coming to this place hungry and don't think I will be back anytime soon due to how unorganized this restaurant is ran. I must say the bartender Jon is a great asset to this place, and I see why he...

Review for Avenue Blu Restaurant

My family of six visited Avenue Blu while traveling from Port Saint Lucie, FL, excited to try something new based on the good reviews—and while the food was indeed delicious, there were several issues that left us disappointed with the overall experience.

First, the drink pricing is outrageous. We were shocked to be charged $4 for a soda—and even more surprised to see a refill charge on top of that. On top of that, sweet tea was $6 and lemonade was $8, which is excessive for non-alcoholic beverages and not something you’d expect unless you’re ordering handcrafted cocktails.

Another major concern was the way the restaurant handles food mistakes. One of our meals was incorrectly prepared due to a kitchen error, and to our disbelief, the server informed us that the restaurant doesn’t remake orders if it’s the kitchen’s mistake. Instead, our server had to personally pay out of pocket to cover the cost of the messed-up order. This practice is not only unprofessional, but deeply unfair to the staff and left us feeling very uncomfortable. It’s a restaurant—it should be standard to correct kitchen mistakes.

Lastly, the seating situation was disappointing. We were forced to sit outside due to lack of indoor seating, and while the outdoor area wasn’t terrible, it was extremely hot and uncomfortable. The inside only had about 5 or 6 tables, which is simply not enough space to accommodate guests properly, especially for larger families like ours.

In summary, while the food was great, the overall experience left a bad taste in our mouths. Avenue Blu definitely has potential, but they need to seriously reconsider their pricing, customer service policies, and seating capacity if they want to provide a welcoming and fair...