The Bricks — Restaurant in Tampa

Never again. This place came highly recommended, we decided to travel to Ybor just to try a specific sandwich, here. We were initially greeted and a waitress got our drink order. Then she informed us that she would be leaving, when she brought us water and said that Nate would be taking over. The manager brought by my drink and then we waited.... And waited... And waited. The only male waiter, Mr. Nate, passed by our table so many times, I lost count. I got up myself and retrieved straws for my SO's coke and my water. I finally flagged down the manager. I told her what the waittress told us prior to leaving , to which she replied, "he's not supp-" and then she ran away. About five minutes later, she returned and took my order. No appologizes, nothing. My SO was so frustrated at this point and decided not to order and in hindsight, I wish I had asked for the check then. Three dogs passed through indoor dining areas multiple times, including one that was allowed to chill by the bar, a few feet from our table for a good ten minutes. None were marked service dogs. No one said anything to them. I'm sure DOH would love this. Nate not only circled our table, but passed by us at least twenty times after the order was taken, never acknowledging our existence. A bartender even came out from behind the bar and cleared the straw wrappers. In all this time more than half of the movie Dodgeball had played on a nearby television. As I'm sitting there watching the DVD menu loop, again and again and again, the famous sandwich arrives via Nate who acknowledged our existence for the first time with as few words as possible. Low and behold, the sandwich was carbonized - BURNT - black on the bottom. I choked it down, starving. 4pm, first thing I ate, today. No sign of the manager, who I'm sure was avoiding our table at this point. We traveled over an hour to be treated like we shouldn't of been there, for a burnt sandwich. No one checked on us. Nate came to clear my plate. I asked for the check. And we left. Manger, no where in sight. So, we're driving back home and I'm going to make my SO something to eat, that's not burnt and served with a...

I travel for work and found myself in Ybor, trying to find a place with some half-way healthy food. After trying The Bricks I went back twice more during the trip, let me tell you why:

Food & Drink The food was very good and reasonably priced. I tried the Nachos and a few sandwiches, all excellent in their own way and out to the table shockingly quickly. While not strictly healthy, the food was great quality and the ingredients made it a better offering than 90%+ of what is within walking distance.

I tried several Sour Beers on offering as well as some mixed drinks. Rarely have I had such a good pour of Sailor Jerry and Soda, I even passed that compliment to the staff. While I'm not a coffee/tea person there was a continuous bustle for those items as well and everyone seemed quite satisfied.

Service There seems to be a small compliment of wait-staff which is fine as they're all exceptional. Constantly checking in on me, friendly banter, and free with suggestions when asked. I wish I'd gotten names so I could give personal shout outs but safe to say everyone was kind and attentive to me.

Vibe and Atmosphere The Bricks is very laid back, at least during the week (I can't speak for weekends). There's enough of a constant crowd to not feel empty but also not packed and annoying. The music and videos are eclectic and unintrusive if that's not your thing. They do seem to have some live performances so if that's your thing, check with them and see who's coming around and when.

I noticed a very diverse cliental in every respect, although definitely a Punk/Alt vibe which is perfect for me. Groups seem popular but no one was obnoxious and there's plenty of space to spread out if need be. The large front windows are ideal for a rainy day, which I made use of more than once.

Overall I strongly recommend a pop in to The Bricks if you're in or passing through Ybor. I'm sure on the weekends it gets a bit crazier and with the Days/Hours of operations it's absolutely a dinner spot during the week. Maybe stay away if you're VERY conservative but honestly, the rest of the world is already for...

Not at all impressed.

Very limited non alcohol drinks. No Dr pepper,Mr.Pib, Root beer, orange soda, sprite. Was told my only choices were Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale... so i had iced Tap Water.

Poor selection of food... they must have just given us lunch menus... no Dinners on menu

Sandwitches, nachos, and some small salads was it.

15.00 for a small square plate of nachos ( you get for free at most mexican resteraunts) and the chips are tortilla bag chips. Not even made there.

Then an upcharge 4.00 for "Chicken" added it was nasty canned chicken.

A Disco ball was the atmosphere but the music was not upbeat or anything cĺose to dance music... 15 of us and not 1 danced.

The courtyard was not inviting at all. Chickens laying eggs and roosting all around it... and some terrible impression art that would be rated as horrible graffitti... it was a sad moment to see thier "Enchanting Courtyard"

Servers did not ask if we needed anything... we had to go get them... just to be disapointed about choices of food or drink. Took me 30 minutes to find out i couldn't even get a decent Soda Pop... Then 20 more minutes to get a menu to find i didnt even have a decent dinner selection...

I will never be going back to this place.

It was terrible after all the trouble and cost just to pay for parking... it just added to my disgust.

Oh and they're hundreds of chickens ( roosters and hens) running the streets and making messes...