Petey Brown’s At Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay

Had lunch here with some colleagues one afternoon. The prices are typical for a hotel restaurant, the food was slightly better than hotel food.

Petey Brown’s is a nice place in the middle of the Grand Hayatt off the causeway.
The ambiance is nothing to write home about and you get a view of the pool and some mangroves but the food is quite good.
I went to Petey Brown’s last weekend. I had the grouper ruben and my girlfriend had the seared ahi tuna. The seared ahi was some of the best I have ever tried. It had a perfect texture and the sesame crust gave it a bit of a nutty flavor. Bottom line: it was just really good.
The grouper ruben was also really good. The blackened grouper was fantastic. I actually liked it better than a regular ruben.
Another really cool thing was the bread. They gave us pretzel bread that was warm, soft and delicious. And the pretzel bread was served with a sweet dijon mustard, which sounds kind of weird. But it reality, it was awesome.
And the service? Well, the service was really good. Our waitress was attentive, our orders were exactly what we wanted and she never forgot a detail.
So, why 4 stars instead of 5? I felt like the food was a little over priced. It wasn’t extremely overpriced. But it was a bit more than I would expect to spend for a hotel lobby restaurant with no view. If it was a little less expensive or if there was a view overlooking the bay then this place would probably get 5 stars from me. Either way, I’ll probably go back.

I had lunch here one day during my stay while having a cocktail at the lobby bar. The food was very good, nice and fresh, served promptly. The caprese sandwich was actualy quite good and the toppings were so nice and fresh you’d swear they grow their own.
Wonderful service too. Not a speedy place to eat but why would you expect it to be?

Came here for lunch and breakfast buffet.
Lets start with lunch — Food was decent. Wings were actually pretty good. Batter wasn’t too heavy and wings were covered but not drenched in sauce. My English club was good but bread was a little too much. Fries were nice and crispy. Service was extremely slow. Don’t come here if you’re in a hurry.
Breakfast Buffet — Came out to be about $ 20/​pp (including gratuity) so be prepared to eat to get your money’s worth. Hot foods included: mini pancakes, sausages, bacon, and eggs. Bacon was super oily but still so delicious. Cold bar included fruit, pastries, yogurt, cereal, and lox. Overall, great breakfast spread.

«Holiday Cheers»
Maybe it’s the spirit of the season that’s compelled me to write a glowing review of a restaurant in Tampa. Either that or I’ve had one too many of their deliciously sweet mimosa’s this morning.
Their Christmas buffet was quite frankly amazing! Not only was the staff attentive beyond belief, but the selection was positively decadent. From the impressive New England/​Manhattan chowder to the made to order omelette’s and crepes to the deliriously fresh shellfish. As pretentious as a «holiday brunch» for the family can seem this was a delightfully different experience.
Now I know what southern hospitality truly means in a good restaurant in Tampa.