The Green Iguana Bar & Grill

Had a few drinks before boarding airplane. The service was not great.

Bleh. Hit or miss, but when it’s a hit it’s still not fantastic. Honestly, you have a better chance of getting a satisfying meal at Chilis. Been here 4 times and twice the chicken in my salad tasted off and I couldn’t eat it and the greens were soggy. My friend felt sick from here buffalo chicken. Enough said

closed… did not last very long in this incarnation, after closing as bennigan’s. this may be a snake-​bit locale for fern bar chain restaurants/​bars.

I’d really give this locale a 3.5. I really enjoy the food at Green Iguana. The drinks ARE great but not many deals. On Friday’s there is a two for one happy hour on certain drinks. Once they moved this location from Westshore (closer to Kennedy/​TIA) to Dale Mabry (I assume for more space??) the place is never as busy to me. I used to like the after work HH vibe the original location for this one had. But the food, drinks and service are still pretty great. I suggest any of their burgers (they did win 2012 Best Burger in the Bay!) and crinkle cut fries. I also love their mojo pork sliders and all of their salads are great! I’m not a fan of the new stadium part at all. It reminds me of the Old Jannus Landing; which was a great place for concerts but one gross concert venue (though now that it’s Jannus Live, its way better. Though that’s a review for another time!)

Frist place i went to eat at since moving to Tampa and its was just aiight. It was happy hour so we said lets try it. The menu was kool they had five dollar burgers during happy hour and it was at lest four to choose from I had the fish and chips with two coronas they were two for $ 5 good deal but I didn’t order the long ass hair that was tangled around the nose of my beer. The meal wasn’t better the fish was so damn greasy I mean it seemed like they didn’t let the fish drain it tasted like crisco.
I honestly will give them another try hope they get they self together!

(Note: this review was from December… I guess I never finished writing it.)
Sunday night went to meet a friend for a drink. Haven’t been to Green Iguana in a while. Ordered a Grey Goose and soda and got a shotglass sized drink for $ 8.50!!! That’s ridiculous!

Ok where do I start?
So lets fast foward to that night when leaving iguanas… I head back to Westchase the «Best Neighborhood» in Tampa to come back to my cousins car that has been brocken into parked outside of her friends house. Welcome to Tampa. This shit aint happen in Opa Locka damn. Its a memory that I do not want to talk of soooo…
Back to that day Im all hyped ready to see one of my many men Pauly D. After thinking Tampa is so lame I was like oh yes nice birthday from my cousin and mom. It said on the flyer from 2 to 12 but me being from where I am from and knowing how djs are at a venue I knew pauly was not coming at no 2. But to My surprise I didnt think he was coming at 12 which he did until 2am. We waited all day and night I got my drink on and 7 drinks later I was feeling nice ready to see PAULY oh yea buddy.
The food at iguanas was very tasty and cheap a 6 dollar burger and fries and a 5 dollar Green Iguana in a gobblet tasty. I had a nice time and I cant wait to go back just for a bite.

Nice big burgers, a decent beer selection for a bar. A decent spot to watch sports on tv, the crowd tends to be kind of interesting.

three orders and not one right. my wife and her friend went to get me lunch to go so we though we would try the green iguana. both their orders were wrong and i received the wrong order. so im stuck at work with this thing im not going to eat and will make it through the day without food cause of the idiocy of the staff.
im infuriated.

Food was awesome.

We arrived on an early Saturday afternoon, curious about the neat looking thatched roof and some other reviews of the Green Iguana located on North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. (I have personally been a Green Iguana customer for at least 20 years, but have never been to this location.)
From the parking lot, the sound of acoustic music was wafting in our ears and from the entrance we saw that we could sit outside on the deck on the South side of the restaurant. So we preceded to find our way to where we could sit and enjoy a drink and possibly some food near the musician.
I suppose this audacious move on our part was our first and only mistake.
We were blissfully unaware that we had violated the code of conduct at the Green IGuana and proceeded to a table for two near the outside bar and music.
As we were sitting, at a table top, we noticed that the table had a wobble and rather than move or worry about such annoyances, we proceed to find our own solution and began to fold napkins to place under the corner foot of the table to stop it’s annoying tippy turvy motion.
This is when we were approached by what we thought was a server at the restaurant, who immediately said: «It’s a shame that you got such a shitty table, maybe you should have stopped at the hostesses station and she would have gotten you a better table».
I did not clearly undertand this rebuke and comment that it was not an issue, and juist asked for a help with stabilizing the table. The «server» helped with our effort to get the table right and then departed the scene without much further comment.
After another 15 minutes at the table without anyone even approaching us for an order, we decided that it might be a better idea to go inside for a drink at the main bar, since apparently nothing was being served outside where the live entertainment was located.
Approaching the bar inside, before we had a chance too sit, we were asked by a passing man if we were leaving?
I said no, why? «thinking this man was a manager»
The man says… «I heard your interaction with the manager» (about not seeing the hostess before being seated) and wondered if you were as pissed as I was?
We asked the man, still thinking he worked at Green Iguana, what he meant?
And he repeated that he also had been accosted for finding his way directly to the outdoor music and bar (which had no bartender) without first asking permission of the hostess.
So, he asked again, «are you staying»? (And mentioned the lack of customers in the bar or in the restaurant, indicating that they may need our business.). I looked over at the hostess station (Not visible from the outside, and not attended when I finally saw where it was located). And I said, I guess not…
We walked out of the place, and I must say that the inside bartender heard the entire conversation I had with the other customer and made no effort whatsoever to ask us for our business, no matter what an ass her Manager had been.
It seems that this Restaurant is operated by an arrogant untrained and really juvenile management staff. We were not there during happy hour or during the week, which in location, I think would have made us much more valuable customers. But no, we were insulted, we were ignored, ultimately we were pretty much left to make our own conclusions. We figured that no one cared about our business at this Green Iguana. Especially not the manager that was working on Saturday November 12^th at 3 PM in the afternoon.
If you know him, I would suggest that you tell him to go back to hospitality management school… If he has ever been.
I can’t say if we were refused service because we did not go inside to find a hostess, but I can say that if the Manager who greeted us at our dysfunctional table had any customer service qualifications, he would have found a wait staff person to take our order and kept us in his establishment for at least one drink.
Lesson learned, at least on our end, I won’t be stopping at the Green Iguana North Dale Mabry again, anytime soon.

I must comment on Jacquie H.‘s review. No burgers on the menu!!! There are about 15 different burgers on the menu… in fact they have $ 5 burgers every Monday! Are you sure you were at the Green Iguana???
Green Iguana has a great happy hours. $ 1.25 and $ 2.25 beers on Wednesdays, two for one house wine and well drinks on Fridays, and ladies night on Saturdays. Check out their website for happy hour events and live music:

My favorite appetizers are the Coconut Shrimp and the Cali «Mari». Normally I just grab a burger or salad so I can’t rate the dinner entrees. One of these days I need to stop in for the naked tacos.

Met a friend for dinner and drinks there on a Tuesday night (last night). They weren’t too crowded the bar was a little busy with happy hour folks (a good sign). We sat in the bar area and were greeted promptly by Amanda the bartender. From there it went downhill. Sorry but why is your Shock Top $ 5.00 for an 8 oz draft? Especially during happy hour. The menu was pretty light (I was jonesin for a burger but there were none on the menu). I settled for the black & blue salad and there was scant bleu cheese and the balsamic dressing was overpowering.
The server/​bartender was missing after our food was brought out and I had to chase her down just to get our check.
I won’t be back and I will advise others to boycott. I’m pretty sure we’re in a recession right now and I didn’t realize that there were so many opportunities out there for such a lack of cust svc.

Great prices on the booze and the bartenders are a lot of fun. Cool plave to chill out late night or before or after a game if youre in Tampa.

This was my 1^st time here, and my last. I was meeting a friend from out of town & while I waited I sat at the bar & had an appetizer. The bartender, Brandy, was friendly & efficient at a completely full bar. Although it took my Nachos way too long to come out, and she was upset about it and went to find out what the hold up was. My friend arrived & I suggested that we just sit there, then there was the shift change. New guy (never told us his name), ignored us, and acted like it was his first day when I gave him my order, then just walked away in the middle of my friend ordering, and came back later and acted like that was fine. He made her drink, never brought mine. He seemed completely out of it. And by this time there was hardly anyone sitting at the bar. Too bad Brandy got off work.

«this burger is better than most sex ive had» — emily.
Amazing

They’ve got pretty good food. I’ve had quite a few things on their menu, but nothing is really exceptional except their burgers, which are delicious. I gave them two stars because their service is horrible. I mean, consistently the worst service I’ve ever gotten, anywhere. Of all the times I’ve been there (5 or 6) the service has always left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Fod takes forever to come out, even if the restaurant is praftically empty. The last time I went, I stood at the hostess station for almost 3 whole minutes. I was never greeted and never seated– I left and went somewhere else. If you’re looking for decent service, don’t go here!

What is not to love about a thatch-​roofed bar with a giant green iguana crawling on it? Green Iguana is an all-​American sports bar with a little more personality.
I went here while on a business trip and had dinner on a Wednesday around 9pm. There was live music (a guy on acoustic guitar) and a healthy crowd. I ordered the Baja Burger which was good but too rich to finish. Coming from Washington, DC where the happy hour beer specials seldom dip below $ 5, I was shocked that there are still places on this earth where a $ 1 beer night exists. I think the grand total for my meal and 2 beers still had me under $ 15. What’s not to like about that?
Only slightly skeeved out that this place happens to be on the same stretch of road as about 10 strip clubs, but maybe that’s just how Tampa is.

I am visiting Tampa for a week on a business trip and asked the front desk clerk at the hotel where I’m staying where I should go for dinner. She referred me to The Green Iguana, which is located near the Football and Baseball Stadiums. I decided to go check this place out.
Food — I asked the bartender what their most requested dish was… she said the «Cheesiest Cheeseburger»…so, I decided to give it a shot. Here’s what the menu says about it:
«CHEESIEST CHEESE BURGER — $ 7.49
Nobody — but nobody — puts more cheese on a burger than the Green Iguana. Triple-​cheesed with American, Cheddar, Provolone and mayo.»
The burger was very good. Not the best I’ve ever had, but very good.
Service — Since I was eating alone, I ate at the bar. The bartender was very friendly and was very helpful in helping me choose. She made sure that my glass of beer was never empty. Overall, the service was above average.
Atmosphere — From what I’ve heard, this place can be really fun. But since I went there on a Tuesday night, it was relatively calm. It reminded me of a bar you would see in Mexico or somewhere Tropical… kind of like a Jimmy Buffet meets Cabo type of thing.
Would I come back? Yes, but would prefer to be there with some friends or my wife… felt kind of uncomfortable being there alone. Although, I overheard some interesting conversations at the bar… LOL.