Modern Chinese restaurant Hales Blackbrick opens second location in South Tampa

Only a few months after announcing the second location of their Chinese eatery, Chef Richard Hales and his wife/partner Jenny have opened the doors to their new Hyde Park restaurant.

Hales Blackbrick’s second location soft-opened on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1809 W Platt St. in Hyde Park, right around the corner from other concepts like Gasparilla Pizzeria and Don Rigatoni.

The newly-opened eatery shares the same Chinese-Floridian hybrid menu as its flagship restaurant at 4812 N Dale Mabry Hwy., which opened out of the former Pop ‘n Sons diner in 2022.

While modern iterations of traditional Chinese fare are the star of the menu (think dumplings, char sui, Sichuan-style eggplant, dan dan noodles, steamed tofu), Chef Hales also features techniques and flavors from other Asian cuisines. He also finds culinary inspiration from his own Filipino background, with his family’s 100 year-old lumpia recipe on the menu, too.

Other specialties include Hales’ whole Peking duck, cumin-rubbed lamb chops, Kung Pao-style bison ribeye, alligator smothered in General Tso’s sauce and a lamb t-bone chop served with green Sichuan peppers and snow pea tips.

In addition to a la carte options and family-style, shareable platters, Chef Hales also offers a prix-fixe, $125 tasting menu that features an amuse bouche appetizer, four savory courses and a seasonal dessert.

While Hales Blackbrick’s original location offers a more casual ambiance (perhaps to pay homage to the building’s previous tenant), the newly-opened Hyde Park location features sleek decor, low lighting and a more higher end atmosphere.

Native Tampeño Hales moved back to Tampa a few years ago with his family to re-integrate himself into the Bay area’s now-booming restaurant scene. He spent the last two decades traveling throughout Asia, working in NYC’s bustling hospitality industry and operating restaurants in South Florida before returning to his hometown to open his debut Tampa concept. 

Despite the flagship restaurant of Hales Blackbrick in Miami closing a few years back, its website states that another location is reopening sometime in 2025.

Hales Blackbrick in Hyde Park is now open from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays.

Head to @halesblackbrick on Instagram or Facebook for the latest news on the restaurant’s second Tampa location. Walk-ins are accepted, but reservations via Opentable are recommended.

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This article appears in Dec 26, 2024 – Jan 1, 2025.