Whereas other bars are dark, dingy, small, and intimidating, Parks & Rec is open, bright, and fun. They're small, intimate, and meant to drink with the friends you already have, not so much to make new ones (not that you can't). I wouldn't necessarily suggest Red Star Rock Bar or the Ybor City Wine Bar to a 21 year old.
But if you are new to bars/drinking, and you're looking for somewhere to come with a big group of friends, I think this place would be perfect. And I think that my experience here is more so just me being old and bitter (and having three overpriced, weak drinks). "But Mark, you said there was a market." Indeed, I did. I think Reef Donkey was the only beer worth drinking in the entire place (they claimed to have draft lines somewhere, but I never saw them), but hey. I love the 90's, but every bar that wants to pull off this 90's theme seems to be scared to fully commit to it. Complete with a menu that uses the Saved by the Bell background, music that nobody in there is old enough to remember (and if you are, you probably don't care), and overall generic tugs of nostalgia (Look everyone, we have a NES logo floating on the wall! Remember when those were big?). Add to everything else, this incredibly goofy late 80's to early 00's theme. On top of the weak alcohol, and it is entirely possible I just came on an off day, but none of the staff seemed very friendly, and seemingly all of them looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. To give you an idea of how weak the drinks are, I had my buddy Brian, who hates the taste of alcohol, try one, and he was able to put it down without any issue. Their shots are $10.00 a piece, which wouldn't feel like as much of a slap in the face if they didn't taste like the bottom of a bag of sugar.
Which wouldn't be as annoying if they weren't so expensive on top of that. I'm going to go on a limb here and say that the drinks that they make here have next to no alcohol. First, allow me to state that if I ask for a recommendation from a bartender, I don't really want to hear a "well, this is popular." especially when you don't even sound confident in the selection yourself.
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