M.Bird — Restaurant in Tampa

Went with my wife for a nice date night as we’re in from out of town and without children for the first time in a long time. As we arrived, I was told I couldn’t enter by security because I was wearing open toed shoes. The reason I was given was “due to safety”, but the security guard said my wife, who was also wearing flip flops was allowed in 😑 It was obvious it had nothing to do with safety at that point, so we left. Really bummed as it was late and didn’t feel like finding another place, I remembered I had sneakers in my car. I tossed them on (looked way worse than what I was previously wearing) and returned back, got in, and was met with a rude hostess who was quick to explain to us that in order to eat there, we would have to “buy a table for $100 / get bottle service”. You can also just spend $100+ on your meal and drinks and that would qualify. I knew we wouldn’t have a problem with that as it only takes a few drinks and our meals to hit that just about any restaurant nowadays, but her attitude put us off until seeing if it was worth it. We ventured in after learning we could just get drinks and saw the tables with food and it looked like pretty standard bar food. If you’re going to pretend to be upscale with your cheap bottles you’re up charging through the rough and a dress code, at least serve food that looks worth the price tag.

The most irritating part was that it’s obvious the “dress code” was to uphold a certain look. Yet when we got in, there’s a bunch of college age guys wearing beat up sneakers, ripped jeans and wrinkled shirts. Nothing that screams “upscale”. My biggest irritation was that (and not to be arrogant, but for context) was that it wasn’t like I rolled up in slides, t shirt and basketball shorts. I had on a nice dry cleaned oxford collard shirt, pressed khaki dress shorts and expensive dressy flip flops. Yet I was turned away as if I wasn’t classy enough for their fine establishment.

Also found it pretty lame that others have reviewed here having the same issue with dress code, yet the owner responds saying “sorry you didn’t see we had one”. How are you supposed to? I double checked the website again and it has no mention of this. Unless it’s super hidden somewhere on a sub page, it doesn’t warn potential patrons of this. It doesn’t surprise me though that they respond in such a snooty and classless way though. That’s just like the establish they run! So it’s fitting 😂 In the end, we ended up going downstairs to Oak & Ola and dropped a few hundred bucks on a few good bottles of wine, had some tasty cocktails and had an incredibly friendly server. (Actually one of the best we’ve...

Would not recommend this place to anyone and especially for any type of significant gathering unless you’re ready to break the bank. I called a few weeks beforehand to indicate desire to have my daughter’s birthday celebration there. Was told no issue. Arrived upon opening brunch hours on the Saturday planned. Again, no issue with laid out hopes and intentions given to hostess. However, after area was settled into and daughter and friends on their way up, I was approached by the manager (who was initially behind-the-scenes helping the hostess coordinate with me) who came out from hiding and gave ultimatum of having to an arbitrary minimum $1000 for me to spend there or not being able to stay-despite my being previously told that there was no issue, including on day of upon arrival. I have no problem with the minimum, but I feel it being a bait and switch tactic was very unprofessional and lacking customer service and consideration. I would’ve rather have been told when I called weeks prior or even as soon as I got there. Of course by then, my daughter and her friends were already there and changing last minute was not possible as anyone who is familiar with trying to organize a group gathering would admit to and agree with. Obviously, this was very distasteful and unfortunate. Especially since I was not told this beforehand when I could have able to change plans. Was told that celebration gathering had to go through event planning but told in the same breath that the contact person had been fired prior to so I would not have been able to do it the “right” way regardless. Either way, I was screwed! And unlucky with choosing M Bird It became a stressful and obviously very expensive event. The allocated amount per person is unrealistic unless you’re ordering a large amount of alcoholic beverages and my group couldn’t as they were underage. Not sure if I was forced to pay this because the restaurant was slow or what. Interestingly enough, I have been there before for a girlfriend‘s birthday celebration with no pre-planning, same amount of ppl, and no issue ie no minimum. Not sure what made the manager decide to stick me with a minimum after the fact. But it sucked. And I don’t want anyone else screwed over the way I was-so I’m putting it out there. Even the DJ got reprimanded for playing a birthday song for daughter. Crazy, right? MBird kills all the joy in celebrating or having a good time. Which sucks because life is hard enough these days…why not allow a group of family and friends enjoy the moment and...

We went to M. Bird on the first Friday after opening. Nestled in the growing Tampa Heights area, the opening week drew quite a crowd. After waiting in line for about 35 minutes, we were finally allowed access to the restaurant. While waiting in line we placed out names on the waiting list for a table, seating 5. First, based on the decor, setup and location this place has loads of potential. The entrance is elegantly crafted and once you enter the restaurant you are greeted with an open air environment, that has a great mix of covered and uncovered seating. The rooftop view facing downtown and the riverwalk is stunning. As a result of careful management of entry into the establishment the bar and uncovered seating area never felt too crowded. The DJ was incredible which helped set the tone for the evening. After being inside for just over an hour, we finally were seated. We were quickly greeted by our server who brought us water while we browsed the menu. The drink list was extensive, with the focus being a large selection rums from a variety of locations. The food selections were diverse, ranging from Jerk Chicken to Octopus and a selection of deserts. I ordered glass of rum and the Octopus. The drink was outstanding. The Octopus left something to be desired and certainly wasn't the best representation of the dish, consisting of more potato than Octopus. Our server, who was always friendly, considerate and gave her best effort seemed a bit overwhelmed. Although we understood that the dishes were served Tapas style and came out separately, we still had a desert come after everyone in my party had received their plates. All told it took almost an hour from the time we put our order in until everyone received their food order. There was some confusion regarding our check that took some time to get organized, but it was ultimately settled to my satisfaction. Outside of the expected first week service issues, we enjoyed our time at M. Bird and will be heading back in the near future. Hopefully by then they will have smoothed out some of the issues that I highlighted and I can recommend...