Reservoir Bar: Stuck in the Middle With You

Influenced by the world of gangsters and Quentin Tarantino, Ybor City’s Reservoir Bar (1518 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605-3704, (813) 248-1442) is a dive bar with big ambitions. The motif is tongue in cheek and Hollywood chic, covered in powers and artifacts from the movie “Reservoir Dogs”, gangster bobbleheads and other nicnacs within the genre. The beer is cold, the company is friendly and two pool tables flank the entrance, meaning walking through this bar often means bumping elbows with local tattoo artists, rock stars, men-about-town and hangers-on.

Even early, the Reservoir bar is teeming with activity. Within a few minutes of being there, Dustan and Kara decided to get drunk while I mingled with the locals. The bartenders are eager to please, if only through the veil of “too cool” that every good bartender should have. It’s not uncommon for them to keep pace with the patrons, as seen here:

Just because it’s a dive bar, don’t think that they’re without the specialties you’re looking for. They have a jagermeister machine, which is always an indicator of trouble to come. Behind the bar, they have all the standards and dozens of specialties. I looked for a few hard to find extras and found most of them. If you don’t see it, just ask. Chances are, they’ll have whatever ails you hidden somewhere nearby.

If talking bottleheads and bird-giving elves do it for you, the decorations only add to your drunk misadventure. Be careful you don’t break them, as the barkeeps will bust your face open.

Did I mention Dustan and Kara drinking? They both got pretty lit while we were there.

The reservoir is open 7PM to 3AM every day, so mosey on down after work and have a few drinks. The prices are low and so are the standards, so everyone is likely to find something they’ll like.

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