On Tap Sports Cafe

We went to On Tap in the evening...had been munching all day, so really only wanted appetizers and drinks, so this review is not for a full meal. We were in Birmingham for our wedding anniversary...just getting away for a quiet weekend.

First of all, it is pretty upscale for what is essentially a sports bar. Quiet, subdued lighting, nice decor (other than all the tv's...but it is a sports bar, after all!). I liked the ambiance and the wait staff was wonderful. They get a 5-star rating.

I have to say that EVERYWHERE we went in Birmingham, over three days (lunches and dinners), we had excellent wait staff...a lot of restaurants in Atlanta could learn from them!

Anyway, husband ordered beer and the fried cheese sticks. I ordered a white Russian and wings.  I will agree with several other raters in that the prices, for a sports bar, are definitely a little high.  The cheese sticks were good and you did get a lot of them. The marinara sauce, which is usually terrible, was very good.  It may not have been homemade, but it certainly tasted like it (also a 5-star).  My wings were good, but nothing terribly special. They had been cooked and then loosely tossed with sauce...most of the sauce was in the bottom of the basket, so I had to try to coat the hot (temp. wise) wings in the hot (temp. wise) sauce...a little tricky. Served with lots of ranch (or bleu cheese) and lots of celery (very fresh).

Beer is beer.  But, my white Russian, especially for the high price, was awful...watery and could not taste any alcohol.  We had great food in Birmingham / Hoover over the weekend, but absolutely terrible mixed drinks everywhere we went.

Normally, if I have both good and bad in a restaurant I will give it 3-stars...but since the best parts of this place were the atmosphere and the servers, not the food/drinks, I could not do that.  I wish the food and drink quality matched the decor and servers quality!

Amazing place for wings and great selection of draft beers.

Came here to get a bite to eat while we waited for our car to be fixed with our dog, which we thought would be an issue. The wait staff was very accommodating and even brought out some water for out dog while we sat on the patio. Black and bleu burger was excellent and the fries were fantastic!