Hard Rock Cafe Tampa - Nachos with beef and Guacamole
The Hard Rock Cafe in the Hard Rock Casino Tampa is one of the biggest in existence. We used to stop by there often while visiting the Casino and always liked it. So this last 4th of July we decided to make a field trip to Tampa and refresh some of our great memories. It has been since October 2012 since we actually were there.
I will not go into the Casino aspect as it would require a longer review, which will follow at one point.
So we decided to have a little afternoon snack at the Hard Rock Cafe. At the time it was not very busy and we decided to sit in the bar area. Here is a view from exactly where we sat this afternoon.
Behind us is the bar and you can sit comfortable on tables for 2 or for more people. One sits on a bench. To the right ( straight in the photo) you see the stage where they have bands playing and other events. It is a huge place with plenty of table and yet it is somehow cozy.
At the end of this review you will find some more photos of the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa.
The server ( Lopez?) showed up with a couple minutes asking us if we need a menu and want to start with a drink. We knew what we wanted and so we told her that we are ready.
I had the feeling she was disappointed that we ordered water only ( always assuming that the tips are higher when people drink alcohol, which does not count for us). She friendly asked if we want to eat something and we told her, that we would like to have the Nachos.
The next question was if we would like beef or chicken on it and we ordered the beef. Last the waiter asked if we like Guacamole. I answered that question with a yes, but somehow found it strange, that I was asked this question. Usually sour cream, salsa and guacamole are all included in an order of Nachos.
But I did not make anything more of it. The water was brought to us very fast and our waiter was friendly and smiling, telling us that the Nachos will be there soon.
I would say 10 minutes later a buzzer came and brought the Nachos. They certainly looked great. But they were smaller than last time, which I actually liked because the last time we ate nachos there we could hardly finish them and I hate wasted food.
As you see in the top photo, the nachos were nicely put together and topped with real cheese ( not like other places do with bottled cheese). There was not much beef on it, but it was sufficient simply because it was real beef steak and not some kind of burger meat.
Last I would like to mention that the nachos were hot and not only covered with all the ingredients like jalapenos, tomato and so on. Some of the stuff was actually bewteen the layers. That I like a lot and it shows me that in the kitchen they do put some thought into quality and customer satisfcation.
Sour cream was on top and we had a side of salsa and one side of freshly made guacamole. The Guacamole clearly was made fresh. There large pieces in it and we loved it.
The Salsa was ok but not exactly special or unique. The waitress stopped by at least 3 times to ask if we were ok or if we needed something. I thought that was great customer service although we did not need anything more at the time.
We ate the entire portion and liked every bite of it. The taste was great, the ingredients were good and I loved the guacamole. Here I want to note, that the water tasted great as well. Which that is interesting because mostly the water is not tasting that great.
Shortly after our plate was all empty our waitress showed up again and asked if she can help us with anything else. But we said no and asked for the check. Amazingly she had the
check with her. This was very nice and thoughtful.
When looking at the check we saw that the nachos were 10.95 $, which we thought is a fair price. The beef is 5.50 $ added charge, which is ok because it was great beef steak but there could be a little more. The surprise came in a 3 $ charge for the guacamole.
Not that I thought it was not worth it, however, I was a little disappointed about the fact, that our waitress offered it, but never mentioned that there will be an up-charge for it. I think it would have been great service to do so. Surely there is people who would be very upset about this fact. When taking the order we were under the impression that it was included. Because it was freshly made for the order and tasted great as well as my knowledge of the pricing for the fruit, we did not give it any further though.
We were able to give her our credit card on the spot for payment. That saved so much time and our waitress was back within a few minutes.
After this afternoon snack we left satisfied and happy with the what we experienced.
The Hard Rock Cafe Tampa Nachos with beef and guacamole were great tasting. The atmosphere was good and the service was good as well.
We look forward to go back on another date and try something else for which without a doubt I will write a short review again.
Meanwhile, if you are in the Casino. Stop by and enjoy a snack in the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa.
Here are some more pictures of the place.
Entrance to Hard Rock Cafe Tampa
Greeting area with bar behind it ( we sat to the right)
This is the main floor of the restaurant
Bar area of the Hard Rock Cafe Tampa
