Florida Cracker Fish Company

A darling of a place. You can really feel and taste it when you dine there. A very charming place with good food and drinks collection. This is one of my favorite places in Tampa I love the details and love I experienced and discovered here. Food is tasty and not expensive. I found the beer to be a bit pricy. They also produce their own sauces - who h you can also purchase to take home. I say you should definitely come and experience

Went for a casual dinner with family. You order at the counter and sit wherever you want. Service was wonderful though. They brought our food out when it was ready and refilled our drinks multiple times. Everyone was nice. Blackened grouper was delicious! House made sauces, coleslaw and corn bread. After we ate we went outside for a drink and listened to the live music for a bit. Very relaxed atmosphere.

First, we love the old-style Florida Cracker house the restaurant is built in. Relaxed atmosphere, very clean inside. I ordered the Blackened Redfish Filet and my Wife ordered the Blackened Grouper Reuben. Then I added the fried oyster platter and we both had sweat tea. That's a lot of food folks. Total including 20+% tip came to $98 bucks. The Blackened Redfish was phenomenal, and Gulf caught. The seasoning was spot on, came with some really good cheese grits too. Her Grouper Reuben was great and more than she could eat, after a few oysters of course. These oysters came from Louisiana, yes I asked. They are just a touch smaller than the farm-raised oysters but well worth it to get the natural flavor from the gulf. She had ordered Mac-n-cheese, to which they added bacon for her and she loved it. Oysters came with coleslaw and it was also perfect. Sweat tea? Yes, proper Florida sweat tea, brewed the way my Mom made it. The service was great and very friendly when I started asking questions. They also have a full liquor bar, an outside deck for live music, outside firepit, and even have a cool little playground for the kids. By far, 10 for 10, and highly recommended.

My wife and I decided to try this place for the first time. We were greeted promptly and told how things work. We were given two old worn menus and told we could have a seat anywhere at what we saw were picnic tables. We were also informed of how to order food at the counter and that it would be brought out to us. I asked the server if they would take our order and was told, "No." We looked at the worn-out menus, along with considering the atmosphere and left. After working a hard day, we are looking to be served as a customer, not expected to place our orders at a counter, The place didn't resonate with us, so we went to an establishment that met our expectations!!

The Florida Cracker Fish Company is located in the old Ballyhoos. We stopped in on a Friday afternoon for lunch. This is a quick-service restaurant, so you place your order and pay upfront and your food is brought out to you. We only waited about 5 minutes for our food. I will say that the grouper sandwiches we ordered were delicious. I ordered grits for my included side item and my fiancé had the coleslaw, and both were generous portions. You also are given a piece of cornbread which might have been my favorite part of the whole meal. As for the restaurant itself, they did a ton of renovations, it’s no longer dark and is now brighter and more spacious. Seating is picnic benches or high top tables in the bar area. They still have the outdoor deck with tables and portable heaters. In the front they have a small area where they sell branded shirts, hats and other merchandise. My only negative is that the seafood seemed a bit on the pricey side considering it’s quick-service. We paid $20 each for our grouper sandwiches without drinks, and those were the cheaper seafood options. Chicken sandwiches and baskets were available for cheaper and they have a burger for $16. All things considered, the restaurant is a warm welcome from the dark and dated Ballyhoos and we will definitely go back when in the area, even if it’s just for drinks. I hope this restaurant is here for a long time.

In the former location of “Ballyhoo” this restaurant brings a nice atmosphere. The first time I have been here, but certainly not the last! Great food and great tea. There are beverages for all ages (including alcohol). I’m picky when it comes to seafood and the grilled shrimp was great! My family had their grouper and had no complaints either. The staff are friendly and make frequent rounds to all tables seeing if everything is alright or if you need refills. There is indoor seating and outdoor seating, but if you go during lunch get there right around when they open because it fills up fast! Updated review for new brunch menus. I didn’t know they were doing brunch until I received a notification in my email for it. Decided to try it out and wasn’t disappointed. The omelette was great and so was everything else I tried. I have been getting gift cards here so I can have friends and family try this location out as well. So far everyone I have sent here has loved the location and the food. All will be going back, especially now that they have brunch items! Sunday brunch is only available until they run out of those items, so get there earlier!