The vibes are there 100%. Cocktails were pretty okay,…read morenothing super great or crazy but still a solid drink. Fries were delicious with the herb salt on them and of course the dipping! But go for the ambiance.

I really like this spot overall...Alter Ego has smaller, moody dark vibes that feel super cool,…read morewith good cocktails and great music. It's got that all-around fun, energetic atmosphere that makes it a solid choice for drinks. Not sure how it is during the week, but it would make for a fun date night spot to grab some cocktails. That said, I had a real hang-up the last time I went with my girlfriend around Christmas. They tried to hit us with a $10 cover just to get in, on top of $15-20 cocktails. I don't mind paying for a nice spot, but the cover felt absurd, especially since it wasn't even busy. The bouncer said we could make a reservation to avoid it, so I did...and then he made us stand outside forever before letting us in. At that point, we should've just left, but since my friend had never been, we stuck it out to try the themed Christmas cocktails. Once inside, there was a two-drink minimum per person, which is kind of crazy. It feels like they jip you either way...cover or no cover, minimum spend or not. While waiting outside (for no real reason, since it was empty), we chatted with a party of six who came straight from Ash (the sister restaurant upstairs). They'd just spent over $1,000 on their meal and were still getting charged a cover to enter Alter Ego. That's poor business, don't force extra fees to guarantee money when good music, drinks, and vibes should bring people in naturally and make them want to spend. There's plenty of places on Water Street with great (and I'd say better) cocktails where you're not forced into minimums or covers. The Christmas cocktail menu was disappointing too, poor selections and way too sugary. Love the potential here, but the strict policies really turned me off and made me want to go elsewhere next time.

I love the castle but they kicked us out an hour early on March 8th because of daylight savings…read moretime. We were hoping for a good time just to be kicked out an hour early because of something out of our control. Frustrating experience.

This was my first time visiting The Castle after hearing so many stories about it. I was super…read moreexcited to experience the legendary venue, but unfortunately, a rowdy crowd of frat boys kind of ruined the vibe. They completely lacked spatial awareness, but luckily, the staff did their best to keep them under control and ensure everyone stayed safe. ​On the positive side, the drinks were excellent and very reasonably priced, and both the music and visuals were spectacular. I really enjoyed that the venue has two floors playing completely different styles of music. ​The main downside applies to the entire venue: throughout both floors, it gets incredibly hot and humid inside, and when it's crowded, the layout makes it very difficult to navigate anywhere in the building. It's an awesome concept, just prepare for the intense heat and tight spots on crowded nights.

I worked at the Hyde Park Cafe when we first opened in 1995. We built that club from the ground…read moreup, literally. I had so many great experiences there meeting so many people over the years. I hate to see the negative reviews here. I have wonderful memories of great music and fun clients and definitely not the younger crowd back then. Although I haven't been there in 12 years, I hope they are still holding true to the original vibe, since 1995

When I showed up with my friends on friday night the club was closed. I assume they had to shut…read moredown due to the raid a month ago, but the lack of information about the business being closed is very annoying. Don't waste your time driving there for nothing!

Now this place is interesting... located at the Edition Hotel on Water St. it's located at the top…read moreof the curved stairs. It's an intimate, sexy setting. Very velvety and silky. The DJ was the highlight for me. Somehow he mixed urban with techno and it was a little bit of everything for every personality -- I loved it. The food and drinks were my LEAST favorite thing about the place, but I would surprisingly go back on a date or a cute night out with some my boo to enjoy the intimate vibes. This place is EXPENSIVE! $28 for a French 75 -- so correction, the price was my least favorite thing about this place. So along as you have a good budget, you should be good.

This is our spot! Love the sushi at Arts Club. The cocktails are so unique and always done well…read more One is my favorites is called White Lotus. We love the ambiance and DJs in the Red Room. Alex is the best server! Thank you for always being so friendly and making us feel welcome. We love taking friends here and always enjoy nights spent here.

Chloe behind the bar is super knowledgeable and very easy on the eyes !…read more Thank you so much for having me and my friends the jukebox lol all that story ! anyhow wonderful place nice place to sit and have a drink and enjoy yourself anytime. Thank you so much for having me in my friends.

Amazing cash only dive bar in Tampa. Love this spot. A friend introduced me to this place and I…read morelove it.

The ambience of this place is wonderful - sort of a dark and velvety speakeasy…read more The cocktails are themed to North America, with different options themed to the US, Mexico, and Canada. We tried a handful of items from all three menus - the standouts were the Jalisco and Ontario. All items were highly inventive. Service was extremely attentive. We were welcomed promptly, offered a (non-alcoholic) welcome drink, and given a walkthrough of the menu with special attention given to items that align with our tastes. This is a fun spot, I'm sure we'll be back.

The punch room is gorgeous!! I love the velvet! Drinks and service are always spot on. This is a…read moregreat pre or post dinner spot. Very romantic.

My friends and I decided we wanted to try a low key bar outside of our usual go to locations. I'd…read moreonly heard the name Velvet Gypsy before but I didn't have any clue of any of it's details. It's pretty small and I feel like it's easy to not notice from the street. There's only like 2 parking spots for the bar. But when you step inside, it feels so quaint and welcoming. The decor is so cutesy but still a place men wouldn't feel out of place at. Our bartender, i believe her name was Missy, was the sweetest and very easy to engage in conversation. At some point, her and my friend were experimenting with random ingredients to come up with a new tequila cocktail together. They have a board with the daily specials and I was kind of surprised to learn they happy happy hour dang near everyday from 2-8 and they close at 3am. If I wasn't worried about my liver, I could see myself becoming a regular there. All they're missing is food.

I love coming here! Whenever they have a DJ it gets really packed and the ambience is really fun…read more The Bartenders make the best drinks and they're always so personable!

This place is super cool! Went at 5pm on a Monday while in town on business, and looking for casual…read moredinner and drink. The decor and atmosphere were spot on for what I was wanting! I ordered a wine flight, and while the wines weren't my favorite the bartender's friendliness more than made up for it. Ordered a cheese plate which was so generously portioned I couldn't finish it. A coworker joined me and we both also orderd flatbreads- me an Italian and her the Hot Honey & Pepperoni. The food was all fabulous. Would definitely return.

Dracula's Legacy is one of our favorite spots in the downtown/Ybor area. We enjoyed crisp, cold…read morebeer on tap...available in $30 towers that usually pour about six beers. There's also a great wine selection, and the Mermaid-branded Moscato was well balanced and easy to enjoy. We shared the Bavarian pretzel with mustard and cheese sauce, which was crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. Looking forward to coming back to try the flatbreads and explore more of the wine list.

Do not go it is not safe and the security are hostile and use excessive force. My friend was pushed…read moreby a drunk guy and she ended up falling into the security gaurds back. She says sorry I got pushed but he is grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back trying to break her arm dragging her to the stairs away from me. A guy sees whats happening and tries to tell the security gaurd to relax your hurting her and another security gaurds come over and pushes the man down the stairs. WTH. Don't go there please go somewhere else. That was extreme for no reason and she was hurt because of it.

So me and family visited Florida from Georgia for the weekend. We bought 2 bottles and VIP section…read moreon top floor. Within 30 mins of entering club a security guard aggressively approached my wife asking her for number and when I stepped in he kick all of us out with no refund. I really hope people read this review because it can really save u from a disastrous night. This is not the first time an issue has an occurred with security and how they handle it's paying customers! We even tried to talk to owner about refund be he declined. Yes we have took legal action but we really push awareness about this establishment!

A cute little rooftop bar with the entrance hidden away in the Bulla Gastrobar Restaurant. It's got…read moresomewhat of a view of Tampa and has relaxed, low-set tables to lounge on while you sip and chat. Can get relatively busy after the 5pm workday, but I do like how they offer happy hour. I ended up getting the Sangria Blanca and the Bougie Palmer this time around. The sangria was light and refreshing, not overly sweet like how other white wine sangrias can be. I like how they added berries in it to add a decorative touch. The palmer was well-balanced and more citrus-y than it was fruity. Also pretty refreshing for a hot day. I've noticed in general that most of the drinks here are mixed well; they don't err on being too sweet or too strong, just well-balanced with the flavors not trying hard to dominate one another in the drinks.

Great, chill rooftop bar on top of Bulla! The bartender made some really great margaritas!read more