My husband and I celebrated my milestone birthday at the Council Oak. It was the night before the Patriots/Bucs game so the place was very busy and we made sure to make reservations. We waited an hour to be seated, even though we arrived 5 minutes prior to or reservation time. The food was good, however the salad we had enjoyed for our anniversary a few months prior was no longer in the menu. I opted for the Ozzie's spinach salad that was u fortunately swimming in dressing. We both enjoyed filets which were delicious. The Brussels sprouts were ok but the chunks of bacon were so over cooked it was like chewing leather. The part that really made the night just "ok" was that it was noted on our reservation that we were celebrating my birthday. While we were waiting, there was another couple who came up to dine. We gathered that the woman either worked there or was a previous employee by the way all the employees were greeting her. What really left a bad taste in my mouth was that she got the prime seating, in one of those private little alcoves with the curtain, while my husband and I were seated right next to the kitchen door where waiters and waitresses were constantly going in and out. As elite players celebrating a special occasion, it would've been nice if we were treated as such.
We had a hard time enjoying our time with the heavy cigarette smoke from the casino coming into the restaurant. The steak was cooked to perfection and the other dishes we ordered were pretty good. I would pick Eddie Vs over council oak any day though. Also, we were turned off by the $30 valet charge too!
My wife and I come here quite frequently and normally love the food. We came in and found the menu had been changed after receiving our salads. The chop salad has changed. Best salad on the menu is now very bland. My wife's 2 favorite things were mushrooms and chop salad. The mushrooms had no flavor. I was going to bring my family for my wife's birthday this week and my wife said she no longer wishes to come. The old chop salad and mushrooms were amazing and flavorful. Spoke to the servers and they also were blown away those items were changed. All of our friends boast about those items , they will be surprised they have been changed. The steaks are great but you want things that compliment them.
Great service, wine and food. I just wish all steakhouses would offer smaller portions when only 2 people are dining - everything is GIANT sized! This restaurant is very expensive but not more than we expected. The down side is the long walk from the parking lot, so wear comfortable shoes if you don't want to pay for the valet. Also, you have to walk through the smoky casino as there is no separate entrance but we never smelled any smoke once past the restaurant entrance. Overall, I would go again.
I couldn't agree more with another reviewer. We used to frequent Council Oaks. I used to tell everyone and I mean everyone I am in contact with that you can't beat this restaurant. Now they changed the 2 best salads I had ever eaten, The chopped and Heirloom are truly major downgrades to the previous versions. My girlfriend and I joked and used to say that we could just eat those as our entree's. They also changed the blackened scallops. We haven't had a desire to come back. I would have given 5 in the past but I am being nice with 3 stars.
Council Oak Steaks Seafood is a US Bar based in Tampa, Florida. Council Oak Steaks Seafood is located at 5223 Orient Rd, Tampa, FL 33610, USA.
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