Dining at a newly-opened local restaurant is always a gamble. If you don't expect at least one thing to go wrong - big or small - well, hello then, welcome to reality, take a seat. Trials, tribulations, screw ups, and mishaps are the lifeblood of a new restaurant and can often make or break them before they've even got the proverbial foot off the ground.
Anise Global Gastrobar, open for just over four months in Downtown Tampa is now in that nebulous spot between new and not, but I'll be damned if they didn't operate like they'd been doing this since the dawn of time.
The small Gastrobar, located across from Curtis Hixon Park in a small space on the ground floor of the Element condo tower, is one cozy spot. Step in and you enter a dark-lit, contemporary setting marked by a huge, worn mural over the bar and a feel that could only be described as library-chic with books, old-timey cameras, and other cool accoutrements.
The menu is modest, but incredibly varied. They're not messing around with the "global" in Global Gastrobar as Anise serves up small tapas portions of everything from tater tots to tacos, rice bowls, stinky bunz (named after the food truck which the owners operate) and more.
The bunz are one of the main attractions and rightfully so. They're like the Asian version of sliders with a variety of different meats inside a folded, pillowy-soft dough bun. We had a few, but spring for the beer battered shrimp bun if you want (in our opinion) the best - a hulking piece a golden-fried shrimp with a papaya slaw and ginger aoli that's equal parts sweetly pungent, creamy, and lick-the-plate delicious.
We sprang for the duck confit tacos at the recommendation of the bartender Carlos, who was poised and helpful, answering every "Hey, I've got a question" with a "please" so enthusiastic it made you feel almost proud to ask him afterward.
Duck confit, for the uninitiated (which, in full disclose, I was), is basically duck meat baked in its own fat. Duck's a pretty dry cut of meat, so chefs typically collect a bunch of fat from past duck cookings to cook the confit in.
And, ho-my-goodness, I'm now two for two on Taste Tour experiences with duck (thanks Bernini) that are like, drug-high delicious. Think like, a richer, bolder, and tastier version of pulled pork - and a huge portion of it -nestled between two corn tortillas with a sweet hoisin bbq sauce and crunchy daikon radishes to balance them out. It's the first time I've gotten a "geez, slow down" (jokingly) from the staff, and hey, I'll own it. These things were criminally good.
The two bunz rang in at $8 while the two tacos at $11, which is a good bargain for a place that looks and, by all accounts, tastes so nice.
Check out Anise Global Gastrobar in Downtown Tampa and see if you agree. Then, give them your own rating and review on the Anise Global Gastrobar 813area business listing.
