Posted Aug 21, 2005 by Alex Vila
Updated Aug 26, 2005 at 04:36 PM
My boyfriend and I never made it to The Bank last night. Because he’d been hooping it up all weekend and had to wake up early, we decided to stay in Tampa to check out the party on Anderson Road.
We got to the Green Iguana Bar & Grill around 10 p.m., and even though it was early, the place was already filling up. If you are thinking about going here for a drink but haven’t yet, let me insist that you must go soon. What was once Oyster Bay is now a huge tropical tiki bar. The place throws the Ybor location to the dogs. And, it has Stella Artois on draft.
We hung around the bar until the Bucs pre-season game was over. Then, we headed over to the newly-opened club Mai Tai, separated from Green Iguana by another nighttime hot spot, Bennigan’s.
It was almost empty when we got there, but within an hour, the place was hopping. With DJs Short-E and Reese tearing up the tables and drink specials for the ladies, it’s hard to go wrong. The place was happening, but not so much that there was no room to dance, which tends to be the case at some of the other clubs I like to visit.
I’m sure I’ll be back to Mai Tai soon. Be sure to look for a column about the club in an upcoming Friday Extra.
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Reader Comments
Por (Nathan Abraham) on August 23, 2005
I hardly think a club in the suburbs can throw anything in Ybor “to the dogs.” Also, when did Bennigan’s become a “hot spot?” Don’t tell me our nightlife is so bad we have put places like Bennigan’s and TGI Friday’s on the agenda.
Por (Jaymi C.) on August 25, 2005
Don’t knock it, bub. I was at GI on Friday night; it was packed. They have to be doing something right. Frankly, I am glad not to have to drive all the way over to Ybor to have a good time. Who says a city has to have only one party spot to be happening? The Bennigan’s in Channelside is the ne plus ultra. Hang out, get a drink…They have a guy there who plays live music (one of the weekend days), takes requests, and has a wicked sense of bar banter.
Por (Nathan Abraham) on August 26, 2005
I don’t knock having a decent drinking spot near my home in Westchase. But I question the idea of a bar out here having a better scene than Ybor, Channelside or South Tampa.
Part of the alure of Ybor and SoHo is the close proximity of good nightlife. Something like that will always have a better atmosphere. And places like Hyde Park Cafe, Mangroves, and Prana will always be the hotter venues.