It would be hard to not rate this place as a five star pub. We arrived a bit after noon on St…read more Patrick's Day to find the place nearly full, with few places to sit. We opted for the bar. The place was decorated for the holiday and had a great vibe. Irish music was playing, of course. There's a large variety of beers on tap. A screen shows the current offerings. I had a Vagabond IPA, while my husband had a Kilkenny. Both were 20 oz pours, and very good. We decided to get a couple of appetizers because we had a dinner commitment. We had the English sausage rolls, wrapped in puff pastry, and the spicy English beer cheese dip, which came with pita chips. Everything was plentiful and quite tasty. There are lots of other great looking things on the menu. We enjoyed the congenial atmosphere, and the service by owner Rich. We never felt rushed. If we lived in the area, we would become regulars.

Burger? This is one of the best. We brought a neighbor who said she wanted to try this place for…read morea late lunch/early dinner. It's located in a small strip mall with a couple of seats outside; we ate as always, inside. The theme is English although the beer is cold. Service was great and we were never rushed. My cheddar cheeseburger was cooked to perfection- 4.5 stars. Need to try something else next time like fish and chips?

The pub is located in a small strip center that is a bit rundown. You can't determine if they are…read moreopen from the front windows. Try the door, they are probably open. My son-in-law and I visited them on Easter Sunday and they were open, Premier Football (soccer) matches draw patrons. There are an ample amount of tables but most of the crowd sits at the bar positioning themselves for proper screen viewing. We sat at a table with countertop chairs. You can smell that smoking has been allowed, although none of the customers were imbibing at the time. I also did not see ashtrays at the bar. Our goal was simple, order an authentic English Breakfast. Champions appear to be a basic mom-and-pop restaurant. Pop takes the orders and tends bar, mom is in the kitchen preparing orders. I ordered a small breakfast which I will share in an attached photo. The order was huge. The full breakfast has an additional egg and double meat. English breakfasts include eggs, fried bread or toast, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, bangers, and ham. I suggest ordering a small breakfast unless you are beyond hungry. I have been fortunate to enjoy a proper English Breakfast in the UK and what Champions prepares is the real deal. One of the others ordered curry chicken and I'm disappointed that I didn't try it, but it is on my list for the next time I visit. Bottom line, I highly recommend Champions Pub if you enjoy British food, or enjoy European Football. I will rate this a five-star meal, but overall I will give it a four only because of the smoking atmosphere.

Recently visited the new NON-smoking Champions Pub. Newly remodeled with new menu and delicious…read morefood and many Additional TV's to gather with friends and watch all the best soccer games and major sports events. Various beer, seltzers and new wines selections. Traditional darts, electronic drarts and 2 free pool tables.

Pleasantly surprised by this place! We've been coming to Siesta Key every summer for 8 years and…read morealways stay on the south end of the island right near this place. But it wasn't until this last visit that we even realized this place existed - and we are SO glad we did! :) Tucked in the middle of a small and unassuming shopping center, the outside is very dark which definitely helps with the authentic Irish Pub feel. Once you open the door, it's smaller place, with around 10-15 small tables, a bar straight ahead, and a small area for local performers on the left up against the outside window (because of the dark ambiance, its hard to even tell the back is glass. The staff was helpful and attentive. We were going for a walk, but I wanted to see the menu, so I popped in to grab one with one of my daughters in the baby carrier. There were 2 performers and a few tables of people and everyone smiled and made comments about her, and I grabbed a menu and left. During the walk, I called to order our food, and the bartender on the phone was very helpful. He happily accommodated getting all of the sauces on the side and even offered some things to be separated that I didn't think about (since I mentioned we would be walking home with the food). When I went back to pick up the food, the place was far busier, almost every seat was taken, and I had switched out kids in the baby carrier. People were just as friendly even though it was noticeably crowded. It had only been 15 minutes, but the food was ready and packed - and boy was it GOOD!! We got the Irish Nachos and Pub Poutine so we could try a few Irish specialties that also had classic elements to them (shepherds pie and beer cheese). The Irish Nachos were absolutely incredible! It is house-made potato chips topped with shepherds pie and beer cheese. Some of the best food we've ever had in Siesta Key and by far the best shepherd's pie I've ever had - and I've been to Ireland. The Pub Poutine was also really tasty! It is house-made French fries topped with corned beef and beer cheese. Again, everything was fresh, made in-house, and a big hit with our whole family! I'm so glad we finally stumbled on this place and can't wait to come back again next year!

We ordered Irish nachos and poutine. Both exceeded our expectations. The beer cheese is some of the…read morebest I've ever had

Amazing beer, smash burger and service. Hit every spot…read more I said the important part, now I need to come up with more words to be able to post the most excellent food, beer and service I received. Thank you!

If you're looking for a pub, this is the place! Food and service were great. I had the chicken…read moretenders and my husband had the black and blue burger. This place is refreshingly reasonable, compared to so many over-priced eateries in Sarasota. We'll will be back with friends!

For a pub, they actually have great food. It's a scratch kitchen so you can customize your order…read more The Florida Harvest salad was amazing. I got the side size and it was perfect but comes in a very small bowl making it hard to eat. If you get the side size, strongly suggest asking them to put it on a plate. The entree size actually looks the same amount of salad, but on a normal size dish. The blackened shrimp was cooked perfectly and the berry vinaigrette was amazing. It does have a pub feel so keep that in mind when going. It also gets very crowded so I suggest going at an "off" peak time if you want to try it.

They changed the entire menu and vibe. It used to be a cute dive bar with good prices, now it…read moredoesn't have any of the bites offerings it did before that made the place special and stand out. Very unfortunate because this was our go to spot. The peculiar pub is no longer a pub it's now a tourist vibe and we have enough of those. 2 stars because the hostess and the waitress were very sweet

Molly Malones, it's a real tavern. Real people who sit at the bar. Talk about the day. The "Cheers"…read moreof Sarasota. Amanda the bartender will take good care of you. Drinks at a fair price. ( They have free food on football Sundays.) I'm so glad I wandered in on a rainy day. Makes it a good day.

Lov me a Guinness and Jamison neat- image my disappointment when I ordered my fav and some one…read moreturns on the crappy/rappy poppy non-music at full volume .. this is NOT a proper Irish pub- sorry

Ambiance here is great. This place is adorable and of course it would be because it's across from…read moreThe Ringling University. Service and beer selection was great. They have beautiful artwork on the walls and just loved this place.

I learned about Growler's Pub on Yelp when my husband and I planned a weekend trip to Sarasota from…read moreMiami. We were happy to find out that Growler's was right near where we were staying, so we headed over on a Saturday evening during happy hour ($1 off drafts). Happy hour on Saturday? I'm ready to move to Sarasota. The atmosphere inside is nice and casual without being grimy. Even the bathrooms are clean! The bartenders that we had were awesome -- friendly and helpful. We enjoyed a couple of beers and although there was sound background music playing, it wasn't TOO loud to have a conversation, like a lot of bars (at least in Miami). There's no food at Growler's, but the bartender suggested that we order from one of the nearby restaurants and have them bring it over. We ended up leaving to eat, explore a bit, and then return to Growler's later that night for some live music. However, we did see some people order food and the restaurant nextdoor walked the food right over. Around 9 or so, a couple of bands started playing. It seems like a pretty cool place where new artists can get a start. One of the women who played said it was her first show ever. The bands were pretty good and the bar started to fill up as the night progressed. If we return to Sarasota, we'll hit Growler's up again for a laid back night.

Comfort food. Comforting surroundings. Friendly servers. Gluten aware. Veteran owned (Tommy is the…read morebest!) "Sometimes you wanna go Where everybody knows your name And they're always glad you came". This is a great space for an intimate birthday party or anniversary celebration.

Great friendly service and conversation with the owner and bartender. Grouper sandwich was very…read morefresh and tasty. Cut little neighbor bar with a lot of locals. Good spot