4 out of 5 stars
1903 Market Street, Tampa. Small plates: $7-$21; desserts $7-8; beer/wine/cocktails: $5-$13; group cocktails: $51-$59.
813-296-2702; mbirdtampa.com.
M.Bird marks my fourth visit to Armature Works for CL. It’s clearly one of Tampa’s new “hot spots.”
The new rooftop bar (21 & up) is hot—as in swarming with people and hot as in peppered with a beautiful young crowd dressed to attract attention. But unlike Height’s Public Market, Steelbach, and Oak & Ola, where it is possible to sneak inside for a breath of A/C, M. Bird is a stunning water view rooftop with cocktails, small plates, and flies. There are lovely padded banquettes and umbrellas to shield you from the sun … but it’s humid and HOT.
Luckily, there are three delicious group cocktails called “social intoxicants” served in enormous silver Caesar urns with super long red bendy straws to be shared by up to six diners. They resemble a giant spider, but are most refreshing and help to beat the Florida heat.
M.Bird is essentially a rum (or rhum) bar with+ 40 options ($5-$46) showing you just how versatile distilling sugarcane can be. We drink some lovingly mixed cocktails with funny names, e.g. I Left My Wallet at Le Secunda or Oobee Doo. Obvious attention has been paid to glasses and garnishes. There are old fashioned coupes and dendrobium orchids, which are always a nice touch.
The small plates are universally appealing. The skewered steak pinchos are served Argentine style with chimichurri. The meat is nicely pink and juicy and the sauce pops without overwhelming the beefy goodness.
Even better is the bowl of chopped steak tartare mixed with egg yolk, spicy catchup, and capers sitting on garlic aïoli and topped with crisp onion straws. One smear on the accompanying grilled crostini and you’ll be a convert.
The egg rolls filled with jerked chicken have a distinct punch on the finish, which is ameliorated by a not too sweet pineapple dipping sauce. Our attentive and friendly server announces that they’re very popular and it’s easy to see why.
The burger of local Iberico pork is topped with guava catchup, rum-glazed onions, and melted fontina cheese. There’s a lot of bun, but it’s quite tasty and the house-made strips of crisp plantain chips are notable.
The quartet of thin lamb chops seasoned with Middle Eastern Za’atar are underdone. I don’t mind rare, but my table says “no way.” However, the large couscous pearls coated in the garlicky Lebanese toum are scrumptious. And the cooling cubed cucumber and tomato salad provides a nice contrast.
Both of the tacos we try are superb. The fresh grouper pair uses soft tortillas to wrap the sweet Thai and lime glazed fish, adding shredded cabbage, radish, scallions, and wonton crisps. It’s a wonderful combo that elevates the fish and provides plenty of crunchy texture on the palate. The Cuban taco is essentially Tampa’s most famous sandwich given a Mexican twist. The slow roasted pork is topped with sweet mustard slaw, pickle relish, melted Swiss and shards of crispy prosciutto. This duo is also a big hit with my tasters.
And under the wryly humorous carnivore-centric rubric, “Bad Hunter” are the vegetarian plates. They are equally enthralling. Panzanella features garlic herb croutons which you can top with sugar snap peas, heirloom cherry tomato bits, julienned radish and grilled mango tossed with some red wine vinaigrette. Of course, the smear of ultra creamy burrata curds makes the dish.
The naan wrap is actually open-faced and layered with wonderful firm curried chickpeas obviously made from scratch. They’re topped with fresh tzatziki and pickled cucumber and tomato salad which makes for a surprisingly flavorful bite.
The best plate, which is clearly in the running for a BOTB accolade in a few months, is the quartet of vaca frita tostones. The crisp plantains are the base for a pile of rich, shredded short ribs that are garnished with a touch of mojo, pico, and some spicy mango crema on the side. My table is speechless, except for a few enraptured moans.
Up against these delights, the warm marinated mix of green and ripe olives is a bit dull. They could use some citrus zest to punch up the flavor a bit. The whipped feta with burnt honey is a clever substitute for hummus and piling it all on a wedge of naan makes for a nice mouthful, but it pales in comparison to the other plates.
Bird offers a trio of desserts, but the signature rum sponge cake is dense and scone-like. It almost seems stale, but it’s topped with nuts plus seductive blueberry sorbet and surrounded by a balanced spiced rum sauce that provides subtle grace notes.
More in your face are the inventive “boozecicles.” These are foot long alcoholic freeze pops. Both the cucumber gin and tonic and the Bahama mama are cooling, refreshing, and just plain fun. They instantly recall fond memories of your youth on a summer day when you’d do your best to convince your parents that one pop wasn’t enough. The same is still true.
The surprise of the dessert menu is the mini donuts. To help give you some context, I’m not really a donut fan. But these small warm Italian bomboloni glistening with granulated sugar are simply terrific. When you tear the fried dough into pieces, there are three small squeeze bottles filled with decadent sauces: Bourbon chocolate, tequila mixed berry, and peanut butter sauce, which is more reminiscent of Asian cuisine than a PB&J.
M.Bird is another triumph for Tampa Heights if you can stand the heat.
CL Food Critic Jon Palmer Claridge dines anonymously when reviewing. Check out the explanation of his rating system, or email him at food@creativeloafing.com.
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This article appears in Jun 13-20, 2019.