Mr B's Restaurant — Restaurant in Tampa

GET ALL DETAILS IN WRITING!

Mr. B's was selected to cater a local neighborhood after school kids program award celebration and Christmas Family Time meal. The date was December 13th. I sponsored the event (I paid for it---"my pleasure") for the benefit of these great kiddos. We agreed on a menu, the time, date, and place.

Mr. B's would supply enough food for 80 kiddos/parents/family....and their employees would set up the meal and staff the service line. We agreed $10 person. Mr. B's assured me this would be "totally enough food" to feed all attending---with enough for a few kiddos to take extra food home. I paid $100 deposit.

As the event neared, the owner was out of town; however I was assured things were being handled. Hmmmmm........ menu changes; not enough food....no plates or utensils...no glasses for lemonade.....and NO SERVERS!

Plus, Mr. B'e "made me pay "extra $100 several hours before the meal was scheduled to arrive!

The food was late. Not enough fried chicken (supposed to have been enough for ALL to try it). I had to ask student leaders to volunteer to serve food....thank you, Jesus! Ran out of tea and lemonade (which had seeds in it....and both drink containers leaked.) Ran out of chicken before a third of the guests made it through the serving line. Rice pilaf showed up as plain old yellow rice....which along with string beans was the only food items to last through all people going through serving line. Was charged $60 for 6 gallons of Vanilla ice cream---again, no servers! Our total seats were 66.....under the 80 minimum supposed to be prepared for. Asked three times for a detailed receipt---got only Square internet credit card receipt.

The food was decent---although I ordered rice pilaf...with waffles and chicken strips. Fried Chicken went TOO FAST....meatloaf was tasty (but kiddos didn't like it)....mac & cheese okay. "Adequate at best." I could've had a local area pizza company cater it for free! I had hoped the food Mr. B's was bringing "might" be more nutritious.

Afterwards, I voiced my displeasure several times; and felt if nothing else was done to correct all the catering miscues, at the very least the "extra $100 Mr. B's unfairly demanded from me should be credited back to my credit card. I had to pay it, or Mr. B's was going to cancel their participation! The ONLY follow-up by Mr. B's was from an employee who said Mr. B's wanted to be considered to cater future family time dinners.

SO....IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING Mr. B's FOR CATERING----GET ALL FACTS IN WRITING!

I truly wished I had insisted on that formality. I would at least get that extra $100 "that was not agreed upon." And the menu I chose would've been served....in the amounts and portions I was told to expect....and be served by Mr. B's staff; just as we agreed to----rather than how the events unfolded.

Caveat emptor.

“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad...

My family and I chose to dine at Mr. B's in celebration of Juneteenth, as we wanted to support a local, Black-owned restaurant. Unfortunately, our experience fell short of expectations.

Upon arrival, the restaurant was clean, the staff greeted us promptly, and we were seated right away. Because we had reviewed the menu in advance, we were ready to order when our waitress arrived. We placed our full order, drinks, appetizer, and entrées and were soon brought some cornbread muffins.

Here’s where things began to go downhill.

The waitress returned with two entrées, one of which was incorrect. After clarifying our order, she corrected the mistake and returned the wrong dish to the kitchen. At that point, only one person at our table had their entrée while the rest of us were still waiting.

About 5–10 minutes later, our appetizer, fish bites, arrived. They were actually quite good: fried to perfection, seasoned well, and paired nicely with the dipping sauce. However, as we finished the appetizer, we realized we were still waiting on the remaining entrées.

Looking around, we noticed at least three other tables also waiting on their food. Soon after, we saw a food delivery truck arrive and begin unloading. Our waitress came over, apologized for the delay, and offered to refill our drinks, which she did. Still, it took another 15–20 minutes before the rest of our food arrived.

We had ordered the Freedom Plate special which included a plate with two pieces of chicken (white or dark meat) or a pork chop, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler, and a drink (iced tea or lemonade) for $19.95. The price was meant to reflect the year 1865, which we appreciated in spirit.

Unfortunately, the food itself was extremely disappointing. The chicken was bland, no salt, pepper, or seasoning of any kind and appeared to be rushed due to the earlier food delivery. It was over-fried, overly greasy, and had far too much breading. One of the chicken thighs was so overcooked it had shrunk to the size of a small drumstick.

The macaroni and cheese had an odd aftertaste, almost like artificial cheese, and the collard greens were just okay, nothing memorable. When the waitress returned to ask if we wanted boxes, we declined, as most of our plates were still more than half full. We also never received the peach cobbler that was included in the special.

We paid our bill and left, disappointed and dissatisfied.

Sadly, we won’t be returning. Soul food should be cooked with love, soul, and intention, not in a rush, without care, and certainly not lacking flavor. This experience missed the mark on what soul food is...

My family and I went to Mr Bs on the recommendation of a kind gentleman who stopped to help my mom fix a paint transfer scratch on her rental car a while back. He was enthusiastic about the restaurant and encouraged us to come in and try their soul food. He didn’t say his relationship to the restaurant, so I’m not sure if he’s an owner or manager, or maybe he IS Mr. B lol, but either way, a great hype-man for them and he clearly backs the business fiercely. His small act of kindness also saved my mom a rental car damage fee, AND she was able to get her $20 back for the scratch remover she’d just purchased and hadn’t yet opened. Figured it’s only right to take a recommendation from such a nice guy.

He was host when we arrived to have lunch, on a Sunday about 12:30pm. It was somewhat busy, but we were seated right away. The atmosphere inside is simple, bright, and clean, with a little hint of farmhouse/southern flair. It’s a really cute place and I love the art on the outside of the building.

We were greeted warmly by everyone and our order was taken promptly. I got a couple apps/sides as my meal, so I could try different things. Our server was very sweet and I asked if she recommended the fried green tomatoes, or the fish bites - she chose fish bites and I’m glad I went with that. They were fresh and the breading was so good. Not overpowering, but just good classic fried fish batter - elevated with the side of spicy ranch it comes with. Even the fish seemed fresh caught. Paired it with the yams which were really good. I tried my fiancé’s meatloaf & collard greens, both of which I loved. The meatloaf is homemade, and tastes like it’s made with all fresh ingredients. Although it’s not your ‘typical meatloaf’, this version is amazing. The kids got chicken & waffles from the children’s menu and they both enjoyed it and had enough to take home for leftovers afterward. They also REALLY loved the blueberry lemonade. The food was a bit pricey, but worth it for a treat, especially when they are using fresh ingredients.

Overall, this is a really cute spot. Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, good food. Love to support kind people as well as...