Council Oak Steaks & Seafood

The absolute best brunch I've had in a long time. 10 out 10 would recommend! Everyone was so nice and the brunch spread was top tier. Stonecrab Oysters Shrimp cocktail Prime ribPork loin Lamb chopsDelicious!It's about$100 bucks per person but the worth every penny. You have an hour and 30 minutes to enjoy. The ambiance was perfect! They had live music and all. Just go!

COS&S was ok for a high-priced steak house in a casino. We found most of the staff to be friendly but our waiter was stuffy and we did not get good vibes from him. Salad was ok, steaks were cooked to perfection, potato's were cold and the cheesecake was bland. Our waiter replaced the potatoes with a blank face and had no comment when we answered his question concerning the cheesecake... maybe he wasn't used to honesty. There may be a second visit but it might be awhile.

I used to absolutely love council oak. In fact I have only ever come to the Hard Rock Casino to eat here. We were a party of about 8. Upon being seated we were greeted by our main server and assistant server. When they asked about food allergies I told both the assistant and main server what my allergy was. We ordered some appetizers and I was told they would tell me "what to watch out for". When the bread service was executed. I was told I could not have any of the bread. It had been almost 30 minutes and I had no food, and when I asked if there was anything they could bring instead they told me they could not bring any bread. I asked to see a manager and she told me they had changed their pretzel bread recipe and it now contained egg. She also told me the bread came from outside the hard rock and that they were going on what their supplier had told them. No substitute accommodation was offered at all and I was told I could maybe eat the crab cakes. The when the crab cakes came out I was told I could not eat the crab cakes. Fortunately I could eat the calamari and the bacon we had ordered. For dinner we had lots of sides and I had a bone in ribeye which was quite good. The sides were great. Service from that point was 100% on point. Our servers were quite good but the manager really COILD NOT BE BOTHERED WITH MY CONCERN. maybe this is because I was not wearing a Rolex. I have a lot of business partners who come to town and this place has been a wonderful choice for dinners and post meeting drinks and food for me for a long time. After last night I am reconsidering that position as there are MANY other places in Tampa I can give my business to.

This review of Council Oak's is for the Sunday brunch. I would also like to make it clear that for the ambiance, cleanliness, and certainly for the wait staff, I would give this place a solid five stars. During the brunch they also have live music which we really enjoyed. The three stars is mainly for the food served during the Sunday brunch which as you may have already seen in the pictures and other reviews ranging from simple salad, carving station (pig & steak), assorted seafood (oysters, shrimp, lobster tail, crab legs, salmon,) sides, breads and a variety of desserts. There is also made to order eggs, with sides of bacon, sausage, eggs Benedict, and unlimited breakfast type drinks. Granted, there is a good selection of food, but in my opinion, I'm not so sure it is all worth $75 per person. I can eat a lot of food in one sitting so this is not about quantity, but more of a quality perspective. The seafood in general is good, but you can end up waiting for certain items such as crab legs and lobster tails as they go very quickly. The breads, were a huge disappointment they sit out for so long they get stale. The roast, is just okay, the guy cutting dishes it out as if was the last roast on earth and, it's barely warm. The pig, not good at all, and same goes for the duck that is at the self serve area. There were several good sides, and the silly thing is the least used item was the rice that comes with the lobster tails. This was really good. I'm glad we tried the brunch as it has been on our bucket list for sometime now, but I don't think I would come back here for the brunch. Although, while waiting for our table, I was watching the butcher prep the steaks and you can bet I'll be back here to give Council Oaks a try and focus on getting a porterhouse steak. By the way, if you do plan on coming here for the Sunday Bruch, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND, that you make a reservation well in advance. Also, there is a 90 minute time limit on how long you can stay at the table. I think for most people, this will not be an issue.

I absolutely love this place ! One of my favorite restaurants in the Tampa area . Always sit in the lounge area to eat . It's darker , more cozy ambience live jazz music or some sort of. Great vibes , amazing steaks and lobster , lobster Mac n cheese seafood tower , creamed spinach , are some of my favorites. I give this place 9.4 out of ten . Our service is usually phenomenal and they all have great knowledge of what they're serving in the menu but the last time the guy was a little cocky, arrogant, and kind of ruined the vibe for my 50th birthday with me and my best friends that came from out of town from Vegas in California so that kind of sucked but other than that, the food there is phenomenal.

A friend and I recently dined at Council Oak and loved it! We received excellent service -- friendly, warm, and welcoming, which really made the experience perfect. The food itself was delicious! I had the roasted burrata and the roasted beet salad, both perfectly delectable! My friend had the tartare and a baked potato, both which she said were perfect. We also had a couple drinks although I cam't remember what they were, but they were very good as well!If we lived in the area, we'd go back regularly!

Asked for rare plus Wagyu "A5". Received medium. Unforgivable. Service excellent. Great wine list. If you do go, which I actually think you should, please ask for Nicole. She is wonderful. And be proactive about how you want your "special" steak. The cooks are fine with the regular cuts but obviously need training or oversight or both for the rarer cuts that demand special attention. Was comped for Oyster appetizer, desserts, and after dinner sparkling. Ambiance and vibe were great.

So this is my first time here I've always heard good things about Council Oak so we decided to give it a try for mine buddies anniversary. The ambience of this restaurant is absolutely beautiful. So we started off with martinis and some wine. The espresso martinis were on point. we decided to get a bunch of different appetizers and we were not let down. The bone marrow was absolutely to die for the crabcakes were delicious as well as the octopus oh and don't forget the Wagyu empanadas. Then we decided to get some salads, which were absolutely huge, but very tasty and oh my goodness their lobster bisque was perfect. Entrées, we ended up getting the bone in ribeye and a surf and turf special plus the Seabass and let me tell you that Seabass was cooked to perfection. We end up getting some lobster mac & cheese, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts with bacon for sides. We had plenty of food to take back. Onto our server Taylor took care of us and he was exceptional super knowledgeable super friendly. I would hire him in a heartbeat just because of him we would come back, but the food was amazing. If you get a chance to try this place, I highly recommend it request to sit with Taylor . You won't be disappointed.

Updating my review: Although I swore off this restaurant after the disaster that was trying to book a large party. A family Member wanted to go for brunch. As a party of only 3 I was able to reserve a table online without issue. BRUNCH ONLY REVIEW: The brunch buffet was just ok. The cold seafood was the star of the show and fresh. Some of the hot items weren't the best. Soggy /overcooked eggs Benedict, bland biscuits and gravy, boring lifeless scrambled eggs. The dessert selection was pretty good, we enjoyed the truffle selection. Our server was just ok, friendly enough but for the price, and being a serve yourself buffet situation, I would typically expect a bit more attention to the table than he provided.Another issue I had with the service is apparently their brunch cocktails are "pre-made" as I asked for a Bloody Mary with Gin instead of vodka and was told no, that is not possible. Huh??? Giving 3 stars. If you are staying at hard rock and want a decent brunch, and don't my the exorbitant cost at $95 per person, give it a shot. I would definitely not go out of my way to go back. I have had far more satisfying all you can eat buffet brunches in the area for half the cost.

When we initially walked into the dining room I was immediately turned off by the overwhelming smell of stale cigarettes from the casino. The food and service however were excellent!!! Every single thing we ate was delicious and well prepared. Our server and his assistant were very tentative. For those reasons I would return. I would think that such a high end restaurant could somehow figure out how to keep the place smelling good and not like smoke. Also, it's extremely hard to get a reservation and yet the restaurant was about half full the entire time we were there.