The rack is fine if you're looking for a bar that thinks of itself as upscale but still serves the college (or even 'post-college") meathead crowd. Â
The sushi is well-prepared and tasty and there's plenty of parking, and even an outdoor area. Â There are game rooms with pool tables, big TV's and I believe they had WII's as well. Â Big central bar, Small selection on tap, no surprises. Â
Like I say, if you're just out of college in the last year or the last 20 and you think it  shows how much class you've got to walk around with a gold chain hanging out while nursing a beer, this is your place.
Still not the best place to shoot pool or chew the fat while smoking cigars, but LIGHT YEARS better than the location in Hyde Park. Â Why? Â Because the seating area is vast, parking is plentiful and the tables aren't ass-to-elbow. Â All in all, the facility is just plain ole bigger than the HP location. Â My main problem with this spot though was the damn SMELL! Â The entire bar are smelled like someone mopped the floor with vomit. Â It was disgusting, and someone should do something about that. Â I brought it to the attention of two workers, and their response was pretty much like, "Yeah we know.. it's just the bar."
Review Source:I used to go to the Rack in South Tampa off of Platt and was excited when a year or so ago there was one opening here in Brandon, Florida. It's become a local hangout that we frequent a lot!
Atmosphere: laid back with a nice area for sitting in the back if you want a sit-down dinner with sushi. A bar sits in the middle of the restaurant with plenty of room. There's also an area for billiards and darts. There's even a Wii room! I've been to after-work functions here and there is something for everybody!
Food: The food selection at the Rack has somethng for everyone. There's even special nights, like our fave - Crab leg Monday for $15 Â , each day of the week. I really love the Ty Cobb salad and the Kani Su salad. The Kani Su is a mix of marinated cucumber along with crabmeat. My husband loves the Kani su as well along with their assortment of sandwiches. I've seen an updated menu lately that now has more stir fry and entree options aside from sandwiches and appetizers
Price: VERY affordable. Entree prices range from $7-13.
This a great, low key, place to hang out and eat with friends for sure!
I went to The Rack for sushi and time with friends. The service was great, but I wasn't really too impressed by anything else. I would say that everything I had was average. Also, it was my first time there and their setup just seems really off to me. There is an outdoor sitting area, an inside bar area, and inside game area and then the dining area. The Rack doesn't make it too simple to figure out where to go and who to see to be seated in the dining area.
Review Source:i would have given 2 stars, but service was so crappy i'm taking off a star. our waitress was nice, but was very slow. we tried to flag down another waitress and she was clearly ignoring us. we ordered sushi and it was brought out without any chopsticks or soy sauce. my friends ordered hot drinks and it did not come out hot. i miss sushi, but will have to wait till i'm in ATL to satisfy this craving.
Review Source:The Rack is great in a sense that there's a place open late in Brandon for people to hang out and get drinks.
However, there's a lot wrong with this place.
First of all, service isn't really great here ... literally, we sat in the dining room and waited about 20 min and nobody came to greet us or anything. Â So we walk out to the patio to sit outside... and although we are greeted and a waitress took our order... the atmosphere outside was really drab. Â It was also kind of dirty and the tables/chairs are really cheap looking and uncomfortable to sit in. Â so... we move back into the dining room and got our food there. Â Basically, we had to go out to the patio to get service and then move into the dining room ... so what I've learned is to sit outside and then move inside!
we ordered sushi, which was good but just a bit expensive... but I come from California and sushi is easier to come by ... but i still thought that the sushi at the Rack was a bit expensive for the quality.
the good parts about this place is that the inside is well decorated and very beautiful. Â and there's plenty of parking. Â and it's opened late!
For what it is supposed to be, the Rack in Brandon delivers. It is a bar, with bar food, outside seating, pool room, Bike night on Weds, etc etc etc. Exactly what I expected.
I was there on Weds night, which was Bike Night, and it was hopping! Outside there was a number of vendors catering to the clientele of the evening, and I counted approximately 50 bikes parked outside.
It was pretty hot and humid, so we got a table inside. Hanging out was Collin S, Nicole L, and BoBo!!! We got some typical apps (Nacho's, Queso Dip) and got our drink on. Beer is reasonable, liquor is not. One Jaegermeister shot was $8.50. BoBo's drink tab was $65 when we left. Not cheap, to say the least.
It's not nearly as fun or awesome as their location on Platt St., and gives a totally different vibe. They do have some drink specials, but if you're not ordering off that list the drinks certainly aren't cheap (as one of our dining compatriots with a $65 booze tab can attest), and the food is pretty borin and not great by any stretch.
We were there on a Wednesday, which I guess is biker night. I don't know how that changes or affects things, but it certainly seemed like the crowd was a bit rougher around the edges than you'd find some other places. However this is Brandon, so the vibe is different than other neighborhoods (that's not a knock on Brandon... it's just more family and strip-mall suburban). I had fun, but wasn't exactly taking pictures and planning my next trip back.
I can't speak to the sushi, but the bar food is standard Sysco-drag-and-drop cuisine for which all you need is a deep fryer and a salamander. You'll be just as well off eating at any one of the 500 other options on Route 60 right around you. Which is a shame, because you'd hope a local business in the middle of all that chain restaurant sprawl would be able to provide something different.
The Rack has been in Brandon for quite some time now and although I live out here, I didn't make it a point to stop here...visiting the one in South Tampa more often. I visited The Rack earlier tonight and the experience was pretty disappointing.
The main thing The Rack has going for it is that it is perhaps the only late-night sushi spot in Brandon. The Brandon location is larger than the South Tampa location, but loses all the ambiance of the original in favor for a more upscale kind-of-lounge feel. Unfortunately, it also loses the friendly-atmosphere and employees you find at the SoHo location as well.
We entered around 10PM and the place was only slightly packed. We grabbed a table in the restaurant side and the waitress immediately left a sour taste in our mouths (she didn't seem to want to be there). My friend signed up for their mobile mailing service and received a text message for a free drink and the waitress almost ignored his inquiries about how much the message was worth. She evaded this until the check was closed and then proclaimed it was too late to do anything about it. The Manager wasn't much more help and his demeanor was like that of a bouncer, not welcoming and almost confrontational.
Now I can understand there is some confusion when it comes to mobile deals (especially in large franchise chains, such as Chili's and their Foursquare deal). However, there are only 2 locations at The Rack so I don't really see how they can make such an issue over a deal they opt to provide customers. Indeed, we seemed to be getting treated different because we are younger. The waitress seemed to be hovering over us and honestly if it wasn't for her and the crappy service and dead crowd, we might have actually had fun and enjoyed our night here.
We ordered a good amount of food and drinks. The $5 Three Olive Bomb special was satisfactory and went down well. I special ordered a Salmon Roll and it ran me about $7.45. The salmon was fresh and the avocado was great as well. The sushi was perhaps the best part of our experience (although it is pricey, at least they make it good). We split a Small Deuce ($10.95), an assortment of appetizers: crab rangoon, coconut shrimp, chicken tender, and fusion rolls. The menu says it can feed 2-3 and I would say it can feed either one hungry person, or two people just snacking. You would really need to upgrade to the next size for 3 or more (add $8). The food came out quick and the best days to come to The Rack are definitely Tuesdays/Thursdays for the $20 all you can eat and drink special (cash only) from 9-11PM or on Wednesdays for their $5 Volcano Rolls. Otherwise, you are better off going to Samurai Sushi for some cheap eats in Riverview.
It costs $8 an hour to play pool and there was a good amount of tables there. You won't have much of a problem grabbing a table (you sometimes can't dream of grabbing one in South Tampa because it is really packed).
Overall, I prefer The Rack location in South Tampa. It is more lively, the people working and crowd are very friendly and it is the kind of place you can strike up a conversation with anyone. The Brandon location made everyone look disconnected and the lack of people there on a Friday night was pretty surprising. The food lives up to the name and it is convenient to Brandon residents, but for the full experience, I would recommend driving out to South Tampa and visiting The Rack there.
Strongbow: check. Need I go on? Oh, a bit more? All right.
I came in on a Friday night when it was fairly busy and sat outside. The server was quick to approach us and provided friendly and attentive service. The crab rangoon was good and I was impressed to see a restaurant that switched up the shape of those tricky treats. The usually pinched and four-cornered snack makes it more difficult to chow down, but The Rack had them compacted into manageable bites. Kudos for your creative thinking.
I stayed outside so I can't really comment on the rest of the place, but I was happy they kept Strongbow on hand. Overall it was a good experience and I'll probably find myself hanging out there again.
I'm not gonna lie, this bar is pretty all over the place.
It's a sports bar with an outside patio, a Wii-room, Billards and ping pong tables, a lounge, a dining room and here's the interesting part, there's an actual sushi bar in the back too. It's an American bar with bar-food, yet it is known for it's sushi.
I went Wednesday night which was $5 Volcano Roll night. It was also Biker night, there were some dudes selling cigars by the front door and they were featuring live music on the patio.
Uhm. I think this place has some self-esteem issues... it's trying to please a lot of different types of people.
Allow me to briefly touch on some stand-outs on the menu:
Wings, Nachos, Sliders, Cuban Sandwiches, Grouper, Beef Tenderloin Wraps, Cheese Steak, Salads, Vegetable Soup and Two pages of a variety of Sushi rolls ranging from $3.95 for a cucumber roll to a tempura lobster roll (12 pieces) at 16.95. They also have Sashimi (a bit over priced) and Lava Cake.
It's not your standard sushi. There are rolls which have chicken and most have cream cheese and/or avocado or imitation crab meat. I'm not saying they aren't good, but it's more like bar food-sushi. Don't expect anything life changing.
Have a few drinks, come for the specials, watch a game or play some games and chill with your picky eater-type friends.
Tip: Unlimited Menu is actually kinda rad.
Monday - Thursday 7PM to 9Pm in Tampa, 9PM to 11PM in Brandon, $20 gets you an unlimited amount of small plates, sushi, wine, draft beer, and drinks.
I have been here twice now. The first time was GODAWFUL. Honestly. i couldn't stand anything about our experience. That said, I followed it up with a second visit just recently.
The first time I'd gone they'd just opened, now they've settled into themselves a little better. We were in on a Monday night which is pretty slow, but our server was attentive, the beer was flowing and the sushi tasted pretty good.
Good company and an empty belly? Yeah, not too shabby of a night. I'd be willing to give it another shot and maybe review it to a 4-star.
I was extremely confused when I arrived here for an early dinner. Â The Rack was a sushi joint and a billiard hall. Â Sushi and billiards didn't mix in my head, but as we opened the door, my expectations were completely erased. Â The interior was relatively classy and upscale, and the pool tables had their own soundproofed walls, so they were muted in the dining area. Â The walls and decor had a modern touch, and the servers were attentive. Â We had Leila and she was great.
The family sat down and received drinks within 10 minutes and a plate of appetizers were served in reasonable time. Â The salmon carpaccio and 2 rolls came up, then the rest of our orders followed suit. Â We had the nachos (loaded with everything), 2 slider platters, and more sushi rolls. Â Drinks were constantly refilled which was awesome (since nachos were a bit salty)
The sushi was fresh and executed properly, the sriracha pepper sauce was a nice touch to the plates; a different flavor to the palate (I don't know if this is a no-no for sushi traditionalists, lol). Â The salmon carpaccio although refreshing, could have used a better cut since the fatty salmon was overpowering. Â The sauce struggled to keep up with it, especially since the cuts were a bit large. Â Maybe slicing smaller or thinner portions of less fattier salmon would have helped.
The sliders were a perfect size, we had 2 plates, the crab and pulled pork sliders. Â They came in threes along with fries. Â The sliders were done just right, and the pulled pork slider had a sweet tangy sauce accompanying it. Â I mentioned sweet cuz that's all I could think of. Â The fries helped tone that down. The crab was perfect.
Lastly the nachos- they could have been drained better. Â The center of the platter seemed soaked with oil, and with the additional cheese, it was heavy. Â We ended up having to use our chopsticks to pry them apart which gives my approval on eccentricity. Â Sorry for guests who don't know how to use chopsticks, a fork would suffice but not fun. Â Fingers are your last option.
Lastly, I had a surprise after washing up in the restroom. Â Towel service! I definitely wasn't expecting that, not from a billiard hall, not from a sushi joint, not from a burger/nachos joint- Â most of all, not from all the above combined! Â That definitely capped off the experience I had.
I give the food and service 4 out of 5 (our waitress was being trained, so we had a fair amount of attention) and the location and amenities a 4.5 out of 5
I came in with mediocre expectations (not knowing the place or area), entered with confusion, sat in contemplation, ate with gusto and left satiated, fulfilled and corrected. Â I would go back again next time I'm in the Tampa area-
Imagine my confusion when my friend pulls up to a place called "The Rack" and it is nowhere nearby The Rack I remembered from previous visits. Turns out there's another one.
Yay for those in the Brandon-area!
The patio is under construction which will be lovely for those pleasant Florida evenings.
While I didn't spend a ton of time here, the two vodka sodas I imbibed erased the sting of a painful flight involving a screaming baby, loud sorority girls and a clap-laugher.
(P.S. I think you Tampa-ites need to get on the yelp-bandwagon.)
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