I'm not usually one to write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience. I arrived about 20 minutes after they opened and ordered the Cuban sandwich. I've had many Cubans throughout the Tampa Bay area, and I can honestly say this was the best I've ever had. The quality was exceptional -- the meats were incredibly fresh, and the balance of juicy pickles and tangy mustard elevated every bite. Beyond the food, the atmosphere impressed me as well. It's a cool, spacious venue with a long bar and a welcoming staff that made the experience even better. I would absolutely recommend it and plan to return. I'm still impressed by how outstanding that sandwich was. read more

I have always liked this place, and I sometimes visit when I am in town. The ambiance is awesome. Last night, I ordered the Cuban sandwich. It was FANTASTIC!!! I loved it. Howeverrrrr..... I may slightly resemble Uncle Fester, but that does NOT give a server an excuse to not approach me at all. From the moment I sat down, I waited a while until I kindly asked for a menu. The barmaid gave it to me, without saying anything else. Then I had to notify her that I was ready to order, after waiting a few minutes. After I told her I wanted the Cuban sandwich, she said "okay" and walked away. She brought the plate to me, and set it in front of me without saying anything. Nor did she swing by, to ask how my food was. The guy with the dark haired bowl-cut was the ONLY one who asked how my food was, and he wasn't even my waiter! I was too kind to give her a tip anyway. Some people jussssst do not belong in customer service, if they lack communication skills or common sense. I didn't feel comfortable with staying there, after the cold reception from the barmaid, and left. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - The Cuban sandwich... It's BIG!!!! - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

We stopped in for a quick bite and found that the waitress didn't know the menu and couldn't explain things like Cuban Coffee. The simple drinks took too long to get even though there were only 3 other customers in the place. Our beignets were way undercooked and doughy and were served in a bag without any utensils. We had to ask for napkins and flag her down for the bill. There is lots of dust on the items around the bar and especially hanging off the ship model in front. Not great for somewhere you eat. A big swing and a miss here. read more

After arriving to St. Petersburg, we wanted to check out a lively area on Saturday night. 7th Avenue in downtown Tampa was hoppin!! We stopped in Gasper's Grotto for drinks and a bite to eat!! They had a great DJ playing and it was so much fun. There were bachelor & bachorlette parties coming thru. Everyone was having a great time!! Cayla was a great bartender and she made fantastic drinks with great service (eventhough it was busy) and was super sweet!! The wings and fries were really good. We tried the dry rub wings- mustang ranch and smokehouse sweet & spicy! So good!! We lucked out and found a parking spot on the street! But there are pay parking lots. You pay for parking on an app. We had a great time there!! read more

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Super slow service and the staff doesn't know the menu. The beignets were very undercooked.

Love the atmosphere here! Visited Tampa not too long ago and on our last day we were drawn to this place by the music coming out of their outdoor patio. The vibe was just very chill and a great place to relax and enjoy the sunshine while listening to live music. The restaurant is located in the heart of Ybor City so it's not hard to miss! My friend and I decided to dine outside as the live one man band singing sounded really good. He would sing medleys of country, RNB, hip hop and spin it all together where it just worked! What a great entertainer. Per their website, "Gaspar's Grotto pays homage to the legendary local pirate Jose Gaspar and celebrates Tampa's immigrant past". The food selection during the time we went was mostly Cuban, so I went with a plate that had tostones, pulled pork, and salsa. It was great! Kinda reminded me of loaded nachos but instead of tortilla chips, they used tostones (smashed & fried plantain bananas flavored in salt & garlic) instead. The service wasn't bad at all. The place was busy but I don't remember waiting too long before we got our food and drinks. And for drinks I went with the Sangria. It was a perfect day for Sangria and you can never go wrong with Sangria in my opinion. So yeah I would definitely come back here. I already miss the vibe while I write this review, and miss the wild chickens roaming around free in Tampa. read more

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Gaspar's Grotto lit! Came here with the squad, it was cool, we did our thing. We had a blast, we might come back, we probably will, we lit. Gaspar's Grotto is lit, they love the culture. Marathon life, RIP Nip Hussle tha gr8! . Food here is good, service is cool. They can't give free water at the bar or they will get yelled at. We up. The bartender was weak, we ordered Irish car bombs and he didn't want to give us glass shot glasses for the true experience. I've been here a lot but my most recent experience was subpar ! Worst Irish car bomb I've ever had! read more

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So we stopped in on Fiesta Day for the 2 beers for $5 deal but it's not available on Saturdays! So for $5, we got 2 small beers and 2 shots of whiskey! read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I got the two egg breakfast: eggs how you want them cooked, with Cuban bread and butter and jelly on the side, home fries with peppers and onion, choice of bacon, ham or sausage. Neat place with lots of historic items on the wall, sports bar like tv's, greeted and seated right away, food served quickly, great service & great food. Our waitress was attentive & lovely. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Two egg breakfast, with Cuban bread, home fries, choice of bacon, ham or sausage. - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Our bartender Kayla is amazing! Came to celebrate a friend bday and she made sure we were all taken care of and made all our drinks so good!! I recommend seeing her at the bar when coming in!! read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Two tequila drinks one pineapple and one pineapple and cranberry - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Good vibes and people. There was a roach on the table tho. Kinda sketchy. Health code needs to be mandated. I might come back read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I'm not going to lie--I loved this place. The coffee was amazing, perfectly brewed. I ordered the jerk Caribbean dry-rub wings and a Caesar salad, and both were on point. The wings were flavorful without being greasy, and everything tasted fresh. What really made it special were the free-ranging chickens around the restaurant--it added a unique, wholesome touch and made the whole experience feel intentional and authentic. You get the sense that the food here is thoughtfully sourced. I'd absolutely recommend stopping by. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Water fall - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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This place is so fun & cool to bring out of towners. They have really good drink specials & I love seeing the chickens/roosters hang around outside & all the cool decor. I've only ever had the wings & they were okay, but I'd go back to try other dishes. read more

We had went to the Ybor City farmers market and needed more sustenance than baked goods. Had a well behaved dog with us and found this place had outside seating. Breakfast ends at 10:30, we learned this afterwards. We recently moved from a brunch heavy culture offering and are learning that is not a thing here. We ordered the mahi mahi dip (similar profile to a very wet tuna salad), the lunch special, half a Cuban and a cup of Spanish soup (Cuban was decent, the soup was okay), chicken quesadilla and two not a Paloma's. The vibe was better than the food, we'll try again maybe during happy hour. The people were very friendly. Still looking for our places. read more

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Best bartender. Decent beer list. Fun decor and atmosphere. Good music. Patrons were fun. read more

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The food and drinks were great! We ordered the chicken wings twice and were delicious both times. The prices were fair. Had good daily specials! read more

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I wanted to show my friend from Detroit what ybor city was and randomly looking up places online as a driving point we matched with this place. After parking and walking down ybor this actually was the nicest looking spot so we came for a drink. They were awfully cheap! $7 for a cocktail and then too shelf was more, friendly staff nice seating and dog friendly!! read more

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Great non-smoking spot in Ybor City. You can tell there is a lot of history there, and there's a lot of fun decor. The bartender made me a lovely gin Gimlet and she was very nice. We had already eaten elsewhere, so we did not get to order the food. We will definitely return when back in Ybor City. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Gimlet - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Great local place open on Thanksgiving. Very friendly staff along with the roosters that walk the outside patio. Chicken wings are outstanding a must have. Prices are very reasonable for the area. read more

This is a pirate inspired bar with so many pirate artifacts. Food was surprisingly amazing. I ordered Egg White Skillet, which is only $7.99. It is so full filling and just right amount of salt and pepper to taste the freshness of the egg. The potato cubes are fried perfectly, crispy edges and soft tender inside, just right amount of sprinkle cheese, and the amazing presentation. The staffs are all so patient as I was on the phone first 30mins. Definitely recommend it! read more

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After a long day and night we needed some coffee for a pick me up. We walked up and down 7th Ave looking for a coffee shop but they were all closed. Then we found a sign advertising Cuban coffee but the location appeared to be a bar. We asked for coffee and was seated near the window which allowed for people watching. The coffee at night in a bar type setting was actually quite tasty! read more

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Great ambiance. Bar tenders were very friendly. The seafood quesadilla was very good; but, the black beans and rice were THE BEST I've ever had. (Ate some before pics) We highly recommend! read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Black Beans and Rice - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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No pics but we've been a couple times. The last time was breakfast on the day of the Gasparilla Parade. Each time we've been, food has been good, location is fun and service is great. Definitely recommend! read more

We stopped in for breakfast. Absolutely amazing! I had the lemon blueberry French toast. It was the best French toast I've ever had. My husband had the biscuits and gravy. So delicious! Everything is fresh made here. And of course you need to start your vacation with a cocktail. I had a mimosa and my hubby had a dark and stormy. And the prices were phenomenal!! Less than $10 for each meal. read more

This is a cool spot to grab a drink and some food. They had live music which is what attracted me in. The pirate decor was fun and they have a cool gift shop as well with pirate themed stuff. Food was decent. read more

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Old school and we loved it. Two tired, hungry visitors and me. Two of us had the grilled fish sandwich (La Segunda cuban bread!) and 1 had the pressed cuban. Server was super friendly and restroom was clean. The dog enjoyed people watching on the patio. read more

What a fun experience this morning! So much to enjoy and yummy menu choices! A perfect breakfast spot before walking around Ybor and/or going to the Fresh Market. Enjoyable experience from walking in and taking a seat at the bar to checking out. Shout out to our attentive bartender, Stephanie. Highly recommend for your next Saturday Fun Day! read more

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I popped in for a beer and some NFL football. I had a Miller Lite at the bar. The staff was really friendly and attentive. I am a big fan of wings so was psyched to see many choices for the wings. They were crisp and sauced well. Lots of fun things to look at on the walls. Certainly a great vibe in Ybor City...my kind of place! read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Stoped here before getting on our cruise. What a gem!! Great atmosphere! Great drinks! Great food! Great prices! Very friendly locals read more

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Authentic Ybor vibe and friendly service. I haven't tried the food. I like sitting in the back corner listening to the fountain and the music. Super chill for a Saturday afternoon. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Hanging out on the patio. - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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I'm updating my review after having left one several years ago. It sucked today. This was one of the first restaurants we dined at after moving to Tampa Bay several years ago. This was pre Covid I'll add. At that point it was a really fun quality place to go, and slowly it's gone downhill. Sunday brunch used to be a big deal at that point, needing reservations to get in as it was so popular. Today we walked right in for Sunday brunch. And sadly the menu was under whelming. I ordered the chorizo hash and once it arrived it was cold. The cheese sprinkled on it wasn't even melted, and when I pointed that out to our server she got super defensive saying that's not supposed to be melted and it's the last item to be placed on the entre. As if I haven't cooked a day in my life to know cheese naturally melts on warm foods... The few bites I did take were cold and bland. Literally was frozen fried tarot tot things, chorizo, an egg and shredded cheese. That's it! For $15! My other family members ordered the 1/2 lb burgers with fries. The fries were cold and the burgers weren't cooked how they were ordered. They got eaten anyway because our server never came back. No refills, no checking on us. I had to flag her down to tell her about my cold food, by then everyone else was done. I told the server I didn't want it because everyone else was done eating. That pissed her off too. What's more, it wasn't just my food but the lady next to me had the same experience with the same entre! If you're going to charge an arm and a leg at least make it good quality and hire quality employees to serve it! It'll likely be several more years before I return. Don't waste your time... read more

Came in and sat down while waiting for my friend. A table that arrived after me got acknowledged first, while I wasn't spoken to for 20 minutes--not even offered water. Shoutout to Candice, who noticed and immediately stepped in (even though it wasn't her section). Drinks and food were fine, but the lack of acknowledgment before my friend arrived was frustrating. Even a simple "We'll get you drinks, but food starts when your party arrives" would've been better than being ignored. Busy night or not, acknowledgment matters. Candice was the saving grace. read more

Had a great time during a away team gathering. Very good drinks and music was great (I believe the DJ was part of the 49ers faithful)...we had a great time read more

A nice fun little spot in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. It's got a cool pirate theme to it fitting right in with the local yearly Gasparilla Pirate Festival! The people are nice. The drink was delicious. What more can I say? If you're looking for a bar crawl, definitely hit up Ybor City! Until next time! Enjoy the food! read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Rum Runner - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I've had some friends and family in town visiting recently and we decided on a whim while walking by to stop in here one late morning. They have some brunch options, and we tried their shrimp and grits. I thought they were fantastic! The grits and the shrimp were perfectly cooked and I liked the addition of diced tomatoes in it. I've had shrimp and grits at other places and they weren't nearly as enjoyable. They were too salty and oily. But this place has the technique down! Our server was also great, knowledgeable and had plenty of pirate jokes up her sleeve. I would definitely visit again. I imagine it's pretty crowded at night! read more

Everything needs to improve! The drinks, the food, the service...all terrible!!! Would not recommend to anyone!!! There are so many great food establishments in Ybor city, just waste your time here!!! read more

I was in the Tampa area with a group of friends and we decided to stop in this place. There was an inside and outside. Here we decided to stay outside because the football games were on. They seem to be extremely short staffed as we had to hunt somebody down for a service. Even then things ran pretty slow on drinks and food. We waited about 40 minutes for our food order! When everything finally came the food was justokay. Could've been more horrible and could've been way better! The fried pickles were heavily breaded and heavily fried leaving no real pickle taste. The quesadillas were OK but nothing to write home about. Overall, I'd say this place has a decent outside space but I wouldn't come back for more than a drink. read more

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We found ourselves in the Ybor area this morning so we decided to find a place to have breakfast. We don't know the area well so we kept finding coffee shops, which isn't exactly what we were wanting. We were surprised to find that Gaspar's Grotto served breakfast on the weekends. Visually there is a lot to take in. Not a bad thing, just a lot. There is a simple breakfast menu & the prices are very reasonable, especially for the area. Hubby ordered the 3 cheese omelette & instead of meat, they were fine with swapping that out for spinach, onions & mushrooms with no upcharge. He very much enjoyed this dish, which also came with home fries & Cuban bread. I had a fairly common breakfast of eggs, bacon, home fries & Cuban bread. Everything was flavorful, presented well & prepared perfectly. I didn't try the coffee so I can't speak on that. Hubby did try it & said it was fine but when he prepared a second cup, he could see that some of the creamer was curdled. We never got a chance to ask for another cup, since service was slow. If you can look past the extremely slow service and unsmiling waitress, then it is worth the visit. And just in case you're wondering, this visit was early in the morning and there was barely anybody in there. I can see that there would be slow service when the place is hopping and you expect that, but not when it was as quiet as it was. Nevertheless, it did not turn us away from the place. We will give it another try. read more

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Such a fun bar to watch the Buccaneers. The peanut butter and jelly wings were yummy. We stop here every time we travel to Tampa and are never disappointed. read more

What a fun place, it is like your local watering hole mixed with a tourist trap. You could spend all day looking around, but I preferred just to sit and have a nice cold beer on a hot Tampa day. The waitress and bar staff were very friendly, they talked about the bar in such a positive way it made me want to come back. Definitely if you are in ybor City you need to stop in and at least get a picture and make sure you grab a beer. read more

Gaspar's Grotto - Bars Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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