Datz's Deli (Tampa Bay)

My grandpa and I took a day trip to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa Bay. For dinner, we ate at Dat's Deli and Market. I had searched for a place to eat and found Datz listed on Urbanspoon. Most of the reviews were positive but there were a few complaints about slow service and the expense. I wasn't worried about prices so I thought it would be fun place to check out: a gastropub + food market + reworked American classics = something I didn't want to miss! Besides my favorite restaurant in Orlando is a gastropub.

Neat way to use wine bottles!

We arrived at 5 pm on a Tuesday night so not surprising the place was pretty quiet and a number of wait staff were just standing around. We were seated immediately and presented with a menu. I try to check out a menu before I visit places because I have a horrible time making up my mind. The fried chicken and waffles had stood out when I had looked online so I ended up getting it. The menu consists of spins on American classics: pot pie but with lobster, meatloaf but its pan seared and topped with gravy and fried onions, fried chicken and waffles but the waffle is infused with cheddar cheese and served with maple syrup spiked with jalapeno.


I ordered a serving of their house-made potato chips drizzled with blue cheese dressing and topped with scallions. The waitress was kind enough to ask if we would like those brought out first since we ordered everything at once. The chips came out with complementary pimento cheese and crisp bread.




I liked the chips; the blue cheese dressing could have been a little stronger but the scallions added a nice bite. A surprising twist was what tasted like sugar on the chips. It caught me off guard since I expect potato chips to be salty. The pimento was just ok and I would have been fine without it. It was definitely better than the only other version I have had which was just grossly thick.

Slow service had been mentioned on Urbanspoon but all our food came out quickly which was due no doubt to the emptiness of the restaurant. My grandpa got the panseared meatloaf with mashed potatoes and peas, topped with fried onions. I of course got the chicken and waffles.

The meatloaf was good, very moist. It had a smokey flavor that seemed to be coming from the gravy. The fried onions were delish and I think they were battered with the same batter as the fried chicken. I did find it a bit on the salty side which is saying something since I'm often called "Salt Girl" by my family. But my grandpa greatly enjoyed it.


I have never tried waffles and fried chicken before; I'm not a fried chicken person but my last encounter with fried chicken in Alabama almost changed my mind (it was that good) so I was willing to risk it. The plate came with a whole waffle cut in half, a drumstick, a piece of white meat (I'm not sure it was a whole one though), and some spinach sauteed in butter. The chicken was a tad on the dry side and I would have liked a bit more batter on the piece of white meat I ate. The waffle was soft and fluffy just like the menu said but I couldn't taste the cheddar cheese. I liked the contrast of the maple syrup with the salt of the chicken and waffle though while the maple syrup had jalapeno in it it wasn't spicy. I would have thought that it would have been a bit spicy but just had the flavor of the pepper. My dish seemed a bit on the salty side as well. I wouldn't order it again and I am back to my old position on fried chicken.



For dessert, I got the 24K Carrot Cake. It is a ginormous log of moist, delicious cake which was not overly sweet which I appreciate. It was sweet enough to satisfy a sweet tooth but not sickly sweet. What really floored me was cake was in a log shape (I know, it's silly but I'm easily amused). To split a slice of cake, I have always found to be a quandary. Most of the time, the best part is the end which is covered in frosting. The log form eliminates this problem. No matter how you slice it everyone gets the same amount of frosting and it also makes it easy to eat less (but who really wants to do that with cake?)! Genius points! The cake was served chilled which I didn't mind but the frosting was really thick. The flavor improved greatly as it warmed up a bit.


Overall it was a good experience; our server was very friendly and attentive. The decor and atmosphere were pleasant. The food was good (portion sizes were generous) but not out of this world. Perhaps it is Datz, but perhaps it is also my own lack of enthusiasm for fried chicken. All in all it was fun way to cap my first trip to Tampa.