Floyd's Kitchen: Come For The Atmosphere, Happy Hour

When it comes to date night or an evening out with the girls, I love to find new locations that offer a unique atmosphere. I am even willing to sacrifice menu options if I feel like I have discovered a diamond in the rough. For a recent night out with my sister, I decided to check out Floyd’s Kitchen on N. Tatum Blvd. Is Floyd’s a diamond in the rough? No, but it could be a very nice pearl.

Floyd’s Kitchen is the kind of place you drive by everyday on your way to work and say, “We should really check that place out.” Deciding to do just that, we walked into Floyd’s around 8 p.m. on a Monday night. I was pleased to see an acoustic set underway and a few groups of people seemingly enjoying their time; the live music was quirky but sounded great. Apparently, every Monday night consists of happy hour prices all night and live entertainment.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and inviting. I immediately felt like I was out of Phoenix and in a small-town, hip hangout. As for the décor, it was a confusing mix of Hollywood movie star pictures and digital art. However, for some reason it works!

The menu offered a good variety of choices from comfort foods, such as meatloaf, to more sophisticated choices, such as Mahi-Mahi — all at reasonable prices. Floyd’s also provides a small but efficient wine list and a creative martini menu.

Our dinner included:

Appetizer — With a decent amount of options for appetizers, we chose the Maple Bacon Wrapped Shrimp ($12). It consisted of very large shrimp atop a roasted red pepper sauce. The shrimp was fabulous, and the portions were large. The red pepper sauce was a bit bland, but did not take away from the excellent taste of the shrimp.

Entrée — We decided to sample two entrée options. The first was the Chicken Picatta ($11). The dish was comprised of lightly breaded, all-white chicken, topped with picatta sauce and served over mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. I would not recommend this dish. The picatta was missing the caper punch expected in a good picatta recipe. The vegetables had zero seasoning, and the mashed potatoes had an odd aftertaste. Overall, the dish was very disappointing.

Thankfully, we also ordered the Rigatoni and Meatballs ($12). I chose this dish because of the mozzarella-stuffed meatballs described on the menu. Served with marinara sauce and garlic foccocia bread, the rigatoni dish was a great choice. The meatballs were amazing; I would order this again.

Dessert — Oddly enough, I don’t believe that Floyd’s Kitchen serves dessert. We were not offered dessert, and the dinner menu nor the company website did not provide any details. Before I could ask, our check was brought to our table.

I would recommend Floyd’s on a Monday night for an interesting place to enjoy happy-hour prices, live entertainment and food. Don’t expect gourmet quality or unique pairings, but do expect a distinctive atmosphere that could easily become a neighborhood hangout.

Floyd’s Kitchen Rating:

Food: 3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5