The Castle — Restaurant in Tampa

I’m really conflicted to write a bad review because i have been coming here for YEARS. I love this place and i usually always have a great time. But last night was traumatizing. Me, my little sister and her boyfriend all came last night to the castle around 10:30-11pm for cosplay night, we paid the $50 to get in the VIP door and spent about 2 hours inside until we ultimately decided to leave. After we left i realized i never closed my tab at the bar upstairs. Now, even though i come here a lot i’ve never re-entered after leaving, so i didn’t know if it was possible. I walk up to the exit door that is near the main entrance of the club. We walked up to an african american woman whom i never caught her name. I explained that i forgot to close my tab and how would i go about doing that, she says back saying she’s going to have to call security to escort me and is asking me if i’ve been kicked out or something and i told her no i just forgot to close it out. And while this is happening i had a wristband on, the same wristband multiple people who i saw going back in the club through the exit door i was in front of were wearing. When the security guard comes down they decided he was going to go himself to close my tab upstairs, which i was completely ok with, i gave him a description of the bartender, what part of the bar, in which room, and then he left to do that. As i’m waiting for him to come back that’s when i see all the people re-entering with the same wristband i was wearing so i turned to her and tried to ask as nicely as possible, “Oh so is re-entry allowed?” and she snapped back practically yelling at me at this point “THATS NOT WHAT YOU ASKED ME. YOU ASKED ME ABOUT CLOSING A TAB YOU NEVER ASKED ME ABOUT NO REENTRY.” i remember her vividly yelling those exact words because i was so in awe of what just happened and so publicly humiliated as she yells at me in front of everyone that all i responded with was “Oh.. Ok” quietly and my sister was with me so i started asking her if i came off disrespectfully at all but my sister was shocked too because she didn’t think i was and also thought it was so uncalled for. When security comes back he says it’s too busy and he couldn’t get the bartenders attention. And now she’s saying she doesn’t believe i have a tab and i tried explaining to them i had two amarettos i swear i have a tab and showed them the picture with a timestamp my sister had JUST taken when we were inside. Then i turn to the lady and say “I’m sorry if i came off in a disrespectful way, i swear i did not mean to be at all i just really want to close my tab and go home” And i have really bad anxiety so my voice is quivering and im kind of starting to cry a little at this point because im so overwhelmed with her yelling at me. and she starts laughing as im crying, ignoring what im saying, waving bye to me in a disrespectful way and literally laughing and telling the security guard “She lying i dont believe her” so i start having a full on panic attack at this point because i had no idea how to handle this situation… and then another woman who works there comes down, asks what’s going on and sees i have a wristband realizing what’s happening she then tells me and the lady its fine and to come in and whispers to me saying she’s sorry and that the lady just takes her job seriously and follows the rules…. which if the rule was you needed a wristband to re-enter i had one and as im walking in the rude lady dramatically moves her hands as if to make way for me and is laughing. I went upstairs, closed my tab and as i’m walking out she says NOTHING. No apology, nothing. I love this place but don’t know if i’ll come back. I really hope that woman is fired or something because i have NEVER experienced anything like that and i truly do not feel i was disrespectful in any way. Every other worker i have encountered there has always been so nice to me. All i know that she was working the door last night around 1 am she is an african american lady with dreads i believe and is a bit heavier set....

Went to "The Castle" for the first time last night and had a great time up until 10 minutes prior to leaving the venue. My date and I arrived and were greeted by the two wonderful bartenders on the bottom floor who could not have been nicer and more welcoming. Each time I came back to the bar they were right there to see if we needed anything. We drank at the downstairs bar for 90 percent of the night. Then it all fell apart due to the most incompetent and rude manager I have ever had to deal with. We closed our tab at the downstairs bar total of $80.0 for the tab plus a $25.00 tip for the outstanding service of the girls downstairs. We go upstairs to have one more drink before leaving and after the drink I ask for my tab and to pay out...the upstairs bartenders says "There is a $20.00 minimum on a credit card you have to order more drinks or pay the difference in cash." I explained that we had just closed a $100 tab downstairs which put us well above the $20.00 minimum...the bartender says " I don't care what you spend downstairs it's a 20.00 minimum and refused to give me back my license and credit card. I asked to speak to a manager and the Fema Nazi from hell appeared out of the mist to "address" my issues. She started off with an attitude without even asking what was wrong. After I explained to her that I was not going to pay another $15.00 dollars to get my credit card back she went saying that there is a $20.00 minimum on credit cards...I explained to this moron that I had already spent over $100 downstairs which was well over the $20.00 minimum...I asked her to show me a sign anywhere near the bar that stated there was a $20.00 minimum which she was unable to do as there is no sign anywhere inside the bar. After arguing with this rude, obnoxious and completely unprofessional "manager" my tab was waived and we went to leave moments later. As we were walking out the front exit the Fema Nazi appeared again and proceeded to say see here is the sign about the 20.00 minimum which is about a 3-inch sign on the darkened entry door that you could not see if you tried. I again explained that I spent over $100 in the bar informed her that maybe they should update their point of sale systems so the bottom floor bars and the top floor know someone had already paid their tab above their minimum. She then proceeded to flip-out as How Dare I a simple peasant tell her how to run her bar. My family has been in the bar business for 40 years so I think I have a bit of knowledge in that area. She then pointed to the door girl and said these two are banned. So a fantastic night which was going perfect was ruined by a horribly incompetent "manager" who has no clue how to treat a customer. Needless to say banned or not I will not be going back until the owners replace this lousy excuse of a manager with someone that understands customer service.

1 star for the manager....5 stars for the fantastic service of the young ladies working the bottom bar...maybe the manager can spend 2 minutes with these ladies to see how you...

Terrible experience. One of the bartenders upstairs treats customers very poorly. I went to record a video in a place where several people had done the same thing before me and there was no sign or warning against using the bar. The bartender simply shone a flashlight in my face and rudely yelled at me to get down. I felt embarrassed. Look, I understand that it's a place where people deal with drunk and young people, but I don't drink alcohol, I wasn't drunk, and I'm over 30. I understand that it's the restaurant's policy not to allow people to stand in that space. It's not about the prohibition, it's about the way people speak. And even after I got off, the same bartender came over and yelled at me, saying I wasn't at home to act that way. It was totally disrespectful. The manager saw me trying to explain that there was no need to speak to me like that and simply repeated that he didn't allow people standing in that place. I explained again that it wasn't about the ban, it was about the rudeness. I had already left the place as requested, and yet I heard the shouting and rudeness of "you're not in your house, stop acting like that," when other people had already been taking photos for several minutes in the same place and there were people practicing sadomasochism next to me. But why was I discriminated against and disrespected? He could have politely asked me to get off. He could have stopped there and not yelled at me after I got off. The negligent manager left me talking to myself. I understand that the place is always packed and that you don't bother to listen to anyone's feedback, but honestly, a place that treats the public like trash, especially the LGBT community, which is my case, doesn't deserve prosperity. And it doesn't matter if you own half of Florida. I'm a lawyer and I'm going to sue the place for the humiliation and prejudice with which I was treated. Even before I could go up to take a photo, I was pushed by the same bartender who walked by with an ice bucket, purposely bumping into people. He was definitely having a bad day, but look, no one deserves to have their night embarrassed because of their personal problems. Do you need help? Seek therapy. The same goes for this negligent manager: you don't know how to work with the public and don't deserve...