Food + Beer - Florida Sports Bar — Restaurant in Venice

EDIT Just went back a week later and had amazing service by Laurie at the bar and some delicious Brussels sprouts and the buffalo chicken wedge salad from an amazing kitchen staff! Even saw Mike again hustling around the place making sure everything was running smoothly. Seriously love that guy and this place SO MUCH! Bumping the review from 4 to 5 stars.

(First visit 2/17) I’ve been to the Lakeland location twice and food and service were phenomenal so I decided to try out my hometown location, Venice. Arrived for lunch around 1pm with some out of town guests and were greeted promptly and seated immediately. Place was pretty busy and not many open tables. Mike, the manager, brought us waters while we waited for our server, Taylor. I saw her making the drinks which meant she was also the bartender. My first drink was a short glass (Big Storm blueberry vodka, unsweetened iced tea, and lemonade) and it tasted good. Next drink I ordered a tall and it seemed a little off. Taylor GLADLY made me another, no questions asked. Delicious! It took a little while for us to be able to get our food order in as Taylor was working extremely hard managing all her tasks. Our food (Brussels and bacon, fried pickles, chicken tenders and fries, goat cheese grilled cheese, and two buffalo wedge salads) took quite a long time to come out. Mike, the manager, brought the salads out shortly after everything else but they were missing the hard boiled eggs. I give Taylor mad props as she didn’t even write down our orders and managed to get it all right! The food was delicious as it was at the Lakeland location. It wasn’t my ideal experience for my first time at the Venice location. I wanted my friends to REALLY LOVE IT as much as I talked it up. We all still had a really nice time and the food was really good. The restaurant was clean. Taylor went above and beyond and was extremely nice. Mike, the manager, kindly took the salads off of the check on his own. He was also working extremely hard and I appreciate him very much. Although it wasn’t the perfect experience today, Mike and Taylor made up for it and then some. Because of their hard work and kindness I will definitely be back again. Hope to see them next time I stop in! Thank you...

Husband and me wanted to watch football and we wanted a nice atmosphere, great cocktails and food. After extensive research online we landed on Food + Beer - Florida Sports Bar in Venice. I'm so glad we chose this restaurant. We were immediately welcomed and when I requested a different table than originally offered so we had a good view of our preferred football game we were accommodated without hesitation. Tory was our server and she was very efficient on a busy football Sunday. I had the Paloma cocktail and it was delicious I just wish the bartender would have a nice black salt rim it was watered down. And I received a grapefruit segment on the first Paloma no li.r wheel. No grapefruit or dehydrated lime wheel sight for my second. Husband and asked for a blackberry mojito but we were told they couldn't do it. They offered a strawberry mojito instead which husband enjoyed but I was annoyed because their "Let's get Ready to Bramble" cocktail features blackberry. That was the only letdown. The menu was the draw for us and they have a brunch menu we will be back for. Today try Hot Brown and Shrimp a nd grits and more... Today we started with Grouper Nuggets and Nashville Gator bites. The Grouper nuggets were well seasoned and grouper delicious. The Gator bites were better than expected. The pickle and sauce served with the Gator bites were yummy. We were watching football and enjoying cocktails. We decided to try the Crab Rangoon mozzarella sticks. These were very good and true to Crab Rangoon flavor. I couldn't help thinking that a little chili like Jalapeño or Poblano in the cream cheese mixture would have been excellent but crab Rangoon does not have a very chili so... Finally reshaped the Birria Tacos. This was my favorite dish today. The taco shells were crispy the braised beef filling was so good. The thing that put it over the top is the Consommé Dip. OMG! In conclusion I highly suggest you get yourself over to Food plus Beer in Venice for some very tasty food in a clean, fun, cool atmosphere with very good service. Best...

We went for their Monday Special - cheeseburger and fries for $5.99. The place is clean and orderly. Wait staff is attentive but not "in your face" every three minutes. Food was great. Fries looked like they were hand-cut and the seasoning on the fries was just right. Not too much potato in each bite, but a little zing too. Our waitress, Sylvia, is an Air Force Veteran and she thanked my husband for his service (he was wearing a veteran t-shirt.) Cheeseburger was cooked perfectly, came with two slices of pickle, a big slice of tomato, a piece of lettuce, and two rings of raw onion. Served in a tray - along with a packet of mayo and mustard. The bun wasn't one of those fancy-schmancy buns that are so high you can't fit them into your mouth. It was a regular "hamburger" bun! Nice to see! We don't drink so I can't attest to the cocktails, sorry, but there is a nice bar with several tv's around ... and tv's elsewhere in the restaurant. All in all we had great cheeseburgers, great fries, great sodas, and the bill was less than $20. We will definitely return. We even met the manager, Mike Williams, on our way out and told him how happy we were with everything. Nice guy. Certainly knows his stuff! I highly recommend this place. Even the music playing wasn't too loud and annoying; never felt like we were in some dance club. Specials run all day long so you don't have to be there within a certain timeframe. Ample parking, comfortable seating with tables and booths (and bar.) A great place!! We're happy...