The Soho Backyard

Tough to find, but worth it. The owner is really down to earth and cool, and the bartenders are great.

Food and service here are unmatched by anyone in the soho district of Tampa. They take a creative approach to each dish they serve and really strive to treat their customers well. I recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a good place to eat, relax, and enjoy a fee drinks.

Soho Backyard is the New Taco Thursday Soho hot spot! We came here Thurs for $ 2 Chicken tacos and $ 3 Mahi Mahi tacos and they were awesome! They also have gator and lobster tacos but I haven’t tried those. Maybe next time. Soho Backyard is a laid back hidden bar off the beaten path behind the CVS and a bank off Howard in between Howard and Armenia and is not visible at all from Swann so while I passed by this area a lot, I literally had to use Google Maps to find this hidden treasure. This bar has $ 4 yeunglings and bud lights on draft and $ 5 wells which is pretty average. There is plenty of parking available in a private lot without valet which is nice because most places in Soho charge money for parking. Bathrooms were not the cleanest. The bartender tells us that this is a popular brunch spot where you can add a bunch of toppings to your bloody Mary’s on Saturdays and Sundays. Décor has cool blue and pink led lighting and the bars have tons of hanging paintings with 4 tvs and a really big projector TV which is great for watching football games! When you’re looking for a more chill bar that’s less busy in Soho, this is a good spot. Bartenders tend to talk to their friends a lot so it can take some time to get a drink but I like their laid back vibe. Will be back again! :)

Duck and waffles +1
Biscuits and Gravy –1

Only reason I gave a 1 star was because there wasn’t an option for 0 stars. If you’re looking for a bar/​restaurant run by an incompetent unprofessional and slightly creepy owner then Look no farther. Long story short a group of us went here on New Years Eve just after midnight for a couple drinks to end the night. A couple of us got our first round when a guy ran up to us (later found out he is the owner) saying there was a private party that was just finishing up and if we wanted to stay our only option was a $ 40 all you can drink. He was slightly rude at this point but it’s New Years Eve and he was sweating profusely so I gave him a pass. We really weren’t trying to get #turntup so this didn’t seem like a good deal but we were already there and didn’t want to navigate to a new bar, so we started shelling out our 40 bones.
I thought we were all squared away.
Nope.
He came back over and said he «wasn’t sure about the $ 40 dollar deal and we just aren’t setup to be a bar». He seemed like he was having a mild to severe panic attack, so I ignored the stupidity of him saying we aren’t setup to be a bar when that is the sole purpose of your place of business. He made it seem like we pulled a fast one on him with the $ 40 deal when it was his idea. I tried explaining that we had 12 people that had paid, or were about to pay, 40 each and likely only get 1 or 2 drinks (in other words, you’re about to make a good amount of money off us) That seemed to get his attention and he left us alone… temporarily.
It turns out he has the short term memory of an infant squirrel, because 2 minutes later he was heckling more members of our group about whether we paid. Again we went through the process of explaining we were just following his rules and were happy to work with him if they have changed. During this conversation he kept repeating he was the owner and they aren’t setup to be a bar. He had effectively made everyone feel uncomfortable with his attitude and excessive sweating. Then to top off the night he sends over a large patron of the bar, not an employee, to tell us he wanted us to leave and he wasn’t setup to be a bar. At this point we were happy to leave and wished we hadn’t wasted part of our New Years Eve there.
My advise to this wannabee business owner. If a group of people walk into your bar when you’re having a private party, just tell them you’re closed. Don’t try and make up an all can drink deal, then get insecure that it wasn’t a good deal, then heckle said group, then have one of your customers ask them to leave.
Very strange experience.

Food is good. Sunday brunch is outstanding! I used to come here very often. I don’t as often anymore because I feel the staff shows a lot more of their attention towards their friends then other customers now. And I never had a problem with bartenders taking shots behind the bar. but drinking straight out of the bottle is definitely over kill.

Love this place BUTTT if you want to sit to have a drink comfortably welllll not so sure about that.. the stools are the VERRRRRY MOST uncomfortable seats I EVER sat. In:(
They’re way to tall for us short girls… but GREAT FOOD AND GREAT SERVICE.. Just need to reconsider the stools! !!!

Duck wings were good, burger was just a burger and didn’t have the correct ingredients on it. Service was poor, and was dark and bar-​like inside with very loud music (we were just there for lunch). Wouldn’t go again.

We visited Soho Backyard to celebrate my husband’s birthday. While I was expecting a place with more of a trendy lounge feel, the ambiance was still fun and casual. The bar wasn’t overly packed — which was nice — despite the fact that there were a few college football games going on. It seems like a great place to blend drinks and watching football without the chaotic sports bar atmosphere.
The wine list had numerous selections, all of which were not your typical «house wines» that you so frequently see at chain restaurants and average bars. I enjoyed the Sauvignon blanc that I ordered. The service was quick and friendly; they do have a cocktail waitress.

I liked that they have late night food including duck wings or a little bucket of boiled peanuts for $ 2. It’s also fun that it’s tucked away. This is a cool lil divey hipster secret bar for SoTa chicanery.

We went on a Wednesday night in hopes of having the Wednesday wine and cheese special they advertise on their website but they don’t do it anymore. However all wine glasses were $ 5, so we were satisfied. We ended up each getting the grilled romaine salad which was excellent and huge, the blue cheese they use on it was incredible and creamy! We probably could have shared one but we ended up each getting our own. We sat at the bar and the first bartender approached us and got our initial drinks and then we never saw him again. We finally did flag down the other guy who was very nice and paid much more attention to us. All in all a good night. I would go back to try some other foods. Their brunch looks delic.

With surprisingly good food and experienced bartenders, this place is a great bar.
If you’re looking to go out in the SoHo area but don’t want to deal with college kids, this is what you’re looking for. It’s more of a grown environment where the music won’t be deafening and you can actually hear what the people next to you are saying. It’s a quaint place that’s always a good time.

Easy walk from Hyde Park Hotel and the staff is really nice. We ordered wings — not the best. However, they did have some refreshing drinks that we indulged in for vaca!
It’s right next to a decent pizza shop so we will have to make a date day out of it in the future.

Been meaning to try this place for a while. Tucked off of Armenia in an unassuming building. Great décor and ambience. We came on a Friday night for drinks and dinner. I had two of their mixed drinks which were o-​k at best. Expensive for what they were. The gimlet and the mojito. My mojito tasted like sprite. For dinner I had the salmon and caesar which was pretty good! My boyfriend on the other hand got the ribs which had next to zero meat on the bone. After commenting to the server, which he never EVER does, the manager came to the table and insisted that was how the dish was meant to be. Unconvinced and unhappy I do not think we will be back!

There is a lot to be said about first impressions, and while I enjoyed my food, I can’t look past a few details, hence the 3 star.
Upon walking in, we were not immediately greeted. We had to sort of stand by the bar and wait for a «How’s it going» so that we ask to be seated. The gentleman stated we could sit where ever we liked, so we opted for the bar. First thing I noticed was that the bar was dirty and sticky. Then, we were handed menus that looked as if they’d never been wiped down. Additionally, my menu had an ant running around on it.
At this point, I was very reluctant to order, but because we had a direct line of sight into the kitchen, I decided to go for it. The kitchen looked clean and in good order.
I ordered up an old fashioned to drink, and to eat I got the hummus platter as well as the chicken skewers. The hummus platter was pretty good. It’s served with 3 types of hummus: black bean, regular and red pepper. The pita chips are fried, and I found that a little weird, but they weren’t bad, so I pressed on. The chicken skewers had great taste, but they were dryer than the Mohave during the summer. Had they been juicy, we could potentially be talking about some of the best around.
La Chica ordered duck wings, of which I took a few bites and wow. Those jokers were tasty. No gamey after taste either. I highly recommend those above all else I sampled here. Maybe bring some wet naps too just in case everything needs a quick wipe down.

Incredible vibe.
Happy hour from 5−7pm includes 50% off all drinks.
Best happy hour in south Tampa.

Very hip and off the beaten path of South Howard.
Would anyone unknowingly stumble upon this place? Probably not. It is definitely off of South Howard. Is it worth it to go out of your way to go here? Well one, even though it is not on South Howard, it is only a couple blocks away, and two, it has a more young professional vibe that appeals to a different crowd. So if you are like my husband and I who are in our mid twenties and don’t party like we’re in college anymore, then this is the place for you.
They do charge valet on Fridays and Saturdays. It is $ 5 and it kind of makes sense, because they are close enough to South Howard that their parking is prime real estate. But honestly, they should just charge for parking and not valet, because the small size of the lot makes valet unnecessary.
We went, because we heard the food was pretty good. I got the Baja Shrimp Salad and my husband got chicken wings. I really want to give this place another chance, because, honestly, I was not super impressed with my salad. I couldn’t really figure out if there was any dressing on it (and our waitress never came back so I had to use my husband’s blue cheese dip as a dressing). Also, the avocado chunks were itty bitty. I actually laughed when I saw them. The flavor of the salad was good and I liked the combination of ingredients.
So why 4 stars? To me this place has potential. I’m excited when I look at the menu trying to decide what I want. And the atmosphere of this place really can’t be beat. I am prepared to give Soho Backyard another chance.

The bacon wrapped dates are amazing and a must try! It brings together the unique awesomeness that is salty and sweet! We enjoyed the $ 5 patron shots too!
I don’t recommend the lobster tacos. They were deep fried and tasted closer to grouper. I hate anything fishy, and they def had a fishy taste.
The truffles fries made my taste buds dance! We chose the truffle aioli to dip them in. Amazing!
The service, however, was fantastic, attentive and friendly. They have multiple TVs and the football crowd was in full spirits. It’s slightly off the SoHo strip, so I feel like it gets overlooked often.

This is exactly the type of bar I like going to. It has damn good food, no children, and art everywhere. Their bourbon selection is fantastic. It’s one of the few places that serves Angels Envy. Try it!
3 of us were always served quickly.
Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with goat cheese.
Truffle potatoes wedges
Lobster tacos. (doesn’t taste anything like lobster and deep fried) gross!
Next time I go I’m sneaking in chalk.

A small local bar for South Tampa. It’s not overrun by students and they serve bar food. The atmosphere is laid back on weekend nights, dead and depressing on slow nights. It’s off the beaten path, so it doesn’t get the Soho foot traffic, which can be a blessing or a curse.
It’s a dark narrow space with dark walls, red, gray, black décor, and black and white photographs. There’s outdoor seating, a semi-​open kitchen, two bars, and a few cocktail tables and half-​booths.
The food is just okay, but everything tastes better after alcohol. It’s sustenance to aid alcohol consumption.
Bartenders and staff are mixed, some pleasant and friendly or cold and cliquey.