Creative Loafing Tampa

great food mediocre service

   Had a nice time. Excellent oysters. Beautiful patio and tasty food. service slow with poor attention to detail. Worth it for the atmosphere.

special occasion meal

   ate here before so spent 40th anniversary here. owner,bryce bentover backwards to please our special order of steak tartare prepared tableside. our waitrss,danielle,was great because we came at 6pm before the place was filled. too cold to eat in the patio. one

Big disappointment

   I love trying new restaurants and I had a gift certificate so my friend and I went to Chez Bryce last night. The place looked cute and everything on the menu sounded delicious. Unfortunately the experience failed to live up to out expectations. The service was horrible! Our server rolled her eyes at my friend when she asked for a clean wineglass and ignored us for about 20 minutes before taking our food order. We ordered the cheese plate for an appetizer, two half salads and a pizza. We watched for half an hour as people around us, who'd been seated later, got bread baskets and their food orders. Finally, our cheese arrived and despite tasting fine it was vastly overpriced for the amount of food served. We'd ordered our salads to come with the pizza and I'd ordered the dressing on the side, yet before the cheese plate was empty our server returned with the salads, both with dressing. Normally I would have let the dressing thing slide but as she'd already displayed attitude and a lack of attention I did ask the server to correct the mistake. Again, we had another long wait for a simple pizza, so long that we'd finished our salads and weren't even hungry any more. The whole meal took over 2 hours and cost way more than the food warranted. Nothing was bad, but nothing was worth writing home about either, especially given the high prices. And the service was probably one of the worst I've experienced. I will not be going back or recommending the place to anyone.

mediocre

   I was excited to try Chez Bryce after driving by it many times. While the patio is to die for and the atmosphere is great, I was less than impressed with the food. The Mac & Cheese, which was highly recommended, was too hot, not cheesy, and the breadcrumb crust on top had a terrible kerosene-like flavor. I was looking forward to the panzanella salad, I love all the ingredients, however the tomatoes were not ripe and there was just too much dressing. I felt like it was more of a cold soup than a salad. We tried the pizza with garlic and ham and found it boring; we also ordered the diver scallops which were really salty and really bland. If scallops are on the menu, I will order them 99% of the time…this time I wished I ordered something else. If I were to go back to Chez Bryce it would be for a glass of wine on the patio, not the food.

Sunday brunch on the patio became our tradition

   How lucky we are to have such an incredible retaurant on Davis Island! Simply delicious food and beautiful and so charming setting. Sunday brunch on the patio became our tradition and if you love lunches at Bistro in Paris you will absolutely understand how delighted we are. That feels like being in Paris! Dinners are exceptional and wine list is very good and improving.We love addition of misters for patio! Thank you Chef Bryce! Tatiana & Michael Rugers

Hooked After the First Time

   My fiancee and I took my mother to Chez Bryce last week and I can't wait to go back! The food, the service, the atmosphere were fantastic. My mother and I had these huge sea scallops that were to die for and my fiancee had pork stomach which he ate every bite of. We also were sent out a special plate of anchovies -- which none of us would ordinarily touch - and they were great! Any chef that can take anchovies and make them look and taste appetizing (to me) should win an award! There was no room for desert, but I'll be back!

Chez Bryce Gets Better and Better

   My husband and I are regulars at Chez Bryce. The first time I had quiche at lunch, I had to check the GPS to make sure I wasn't in France. I'm not understanding some of the above comments about lack of flavor that are above. We had fabulous foie gras recently. The fish is wonderfully fresh and the scallops are flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Duck and pork dishes have all been excellent. I haven't tried the new prime tenderloin on the menu. Mike's Pies are ok for the chain restaurant crowd, but pastries and other desserts are over the top here. Buttermilk panna cotta doesn't sound particularly inviting but one taste will have you coming back. When Chez Bryce first opened, the service was very uneven but the food kept us coming back. The service is much improved, the room is inviting with nice art on the previously barren walls, and the courtyard is welcoming most of the year. When misters go up on the patio, it may be more welcoming on summer nights. If you really love great food, this is the place to go!

Most expensive bland in quite some time

   2 warm wines, 2 under whelming appetizers, 2 average entrees, 1 desert = $100.00
   
   Cheese plate = thumb nails of smoked gouda, brie and, what, cheddar? What grocery store did this come from?
   
   Crab claw - no small fork, no cracker, a few more hours and the meat would have to be called pate. Must have been left over from last week.
   
   Mussels - tender, but absolutely no taste.
   
   Lobster ravioli - lots of green stuff in there. I think I sensed lobster. There's a piece - or was that dropped in the from the crab pate? The flavor was tangy, but the sauce soupy and - well no lobster taste. I did enjoy the tomato confit, though.
   
   The desert - bitter-sweet chocolate tarte. The most flavor all night. Where did this come from, Mike's Pies?
   
   Gordon Ramsey would have your head, Monsieur Bryce.
   
   Will not be coming back.

Best Patio on Davis Island

   Quick note: Just moved to the Tampa area and was thrilled to stumble upon Chez Bryce. The service was outstanding the two times I've been so far and of course the food was unmatched this side of the Missiippi. NO JOKE. Take a trip on down to this wonderful little restaurant and relax the evening away on their gorgeous patio. Thanks.

First time - can't wait to go back!

   My husband and I just came home from Chez Bryce and I must say it was literally the best meal we have ever had. Our server was truly a delight! The food was fantastic! We even told the manager how wonderful everything was! I don't understand why someone would say the food is a bit pricey. We feel that for the kind of food and service we had tonight, we were given the best deal in town for the price! You can go to other such places and get much worse service and less quality food. We went with the above recommended Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart! Mind-blowing in our opinion. And I don't even like Rhubarb! We are definetly going to tell all of our friends about this heavenly bistro on Davis Islands!

3 TIMES HORRIBLE SERVICE

   After several visits to this restaurant we feel an obligation to report our experience in the hopes that you will be aware of the horrible manners and rude service that is common place at this establishment.
   
   One our first visit was on a Sunday Morning some time around 11 am E.S.T, .The restaurant barely had 12-15 customers, and yet when we place our brunch order we notice that they did not have and rhyme or reason to how the food orders where placed. We noticed that people who came in 20 -30 min after us were being served their food before us, and trust me we ordered off the menu and to top it off our server which we had (name withheld) was very rude and non caring about his customer. We came to find out he was fired when we returned for our second trip. Lesson 1 lack of customer care and Lack of professionalism.
   
   So we decided to give them another chance.
   
   Again our second visit was on Sunday Morning. This time we had a new waitress (name withheld) we placed our order as usual, and it seems all was going right. BUT WAIT ALL WENT WRONG yet again part or our order which was our main part of the order was given to another table. Now this place is a little pricey. The reason I bring this point up is because our order was given to two kids which by the looks of all th

Chez Price is one of the top restaurants in Tampa

   We dine at Chez Bryce pretty much weekly lately. The food is top notch and the atmosphere outside on the patio is gorgeous. Give it a try. Oh- the desserts are fabulous. Try the pot de chocolate or the rhubarb tart.

   only a matter of time.