After a morning of Black Friday shopping the Husband and I decided to head to Yeoman’s Cask and Lion, a new British pub in downtown Tampa. We knew the location pretty well; we used to go to the former restaurant at that location, Gilligan’s. We were pleasantly surprised by the renovations.
The front of the restaurant is an appealing blue color, and the open areas and windows are inviting, not to mention the guards welcoming you to the outside bar.
We sat outside because the weather was absolutely amazing. 80 degrees and a light breeze; this is why we live in Tampa. The outside bar had a large selection of good draft beers and we sampled a couple before making our selection.
There were some really cool features outside, besides the good beer selection. Nearly every seat at the bar had a plug and USB port to charge your cell phone.
So easy and convenient!
The back wall was awesome.
Isn’t he so cute?
Now, on the food. We started with the pretzels with beer cheese and mustard and it was so good!! I couldn’t decided which I liked better so I used them together and it was amazing! And the pretzels were soft and cooked perfectly.
Since it is a British pub and they had a lunch size, I ordered the fish and chips. It didn’t taste the same as the fish in London; it was actually very similar to the Friday fish fries I had during lent, growing up in Buffalo. It was delicious and made me feel at home.
Of course, the Husband ordered chicken wings. They are grill instead of deep fried, and they are actually pretty darn good (as Buffalonians, we consider ourselves chicken wing experts).
I headed inside to check out the rest of the place after we finished lunch. I love the look of the inside.
I love brick walls and exposed duct work. Brings out my inner city-dwelling hipster.
My favorite décor was actually in the bathroom. Instead of your basic counter, sink, and one big mirror, they had lots of smaller, framed mirrors and I loved it!
Super cute bathroom and very clean!
The only negative was the service. It was a little slow but very lackluster. The bartender knew pretty much nothing about the beer and was a little slow to check on us, even though we were sitting at the bar and there were only a handful of people sitting outside. She also brought out our pretzels at the same time as our food, even though I specifically said we wanted to start with them. I heard another table ask her about the area, the TV channels, and sports that were on and she kept saying “I don’t know, I just moved here.” Not exactly helpful (tip I learned as a nurse: fake it till you make it!). Not bad service, but considering Hattricks and their amazing wings and knowledgeable bartenders and wait staff are just a few blocks way, I was expecting more.
Restaurant Rating
(Zero being the lowest, ten being the highest)
Quality of Food: 10
Drink Selection: 10
Cleanliness: 10
Friendliness: 5
Experience: 7
Parking: 5 (paid street parking, but it is a city)
Value: 7
Location: 8
Overall Rating: 7