Recently we were invited out to try one of the newest restaurants in Jax, The Copper Tap House. The vibe of the restaurant is very much like a hip Vegas bar. There’s cool mood lighting. They have nice big flat screen TV’s over the bar. When you walk in you get the impression that this is a really chill place to hang out. Copper Tap House is known for its beer and slider selections. I’m tempted even to call it a beer and slider joint but it’s definitely more than that.
Slider Trio @ Copper Tap
Food: We started with Baked goat cheese dip pomodora dip-smooth and creamy California goat cheese baked with herbs,spices, and freshly baked roma tomatoes. I’ve never seen a goat cheese dip on a menu in town before so we had to give it a shot. The dip was slightly spicy with full flavor and wonderfully sweet toasted crostini’s which balanced out the spice from the cheese. The dip was very different from the norm and also very good. We decided to try a few sliders since there were so many of them and they looked so interesting. We realized pretty quickly that with most of the unique sliders you will either love them or hate them. We started with the huevos chorizo slider-spicy chorizo sausage grilled and topped with an over medium fried egg. This slider had good flavor. The egg was cooked perfectly over medium with solid white and runny yoke. If you like chorizo and eggs you’ll definitely like it.
Chorizo Huevos Slider @ Copper Tap
Next up was the Kalua pig slider-Hawaiian barbeque sauce covering smoky pulled pork. This one was absolutely fantastic. It’s some of the best pulled pork I’ve had in Jax. It would put most BBQ places in Jax to shame! Then we tried the Duck breast slider-ground duck patty grilled and topped with wasabi cream sauce. If you’re a big fan of wasabi you’ll love it and if you’re not you probably won’t like it. I wasn’t a fan since the wasabi sauce was really overpowering. If you’re a big fan of duck I’d suggest ordering this and asking for a sauce that you do like substituted for the wasabi cream sauce. Next up was the Scallop burger-tender bay scallops topped with a cilantro lime mayo. This comes as a scallop cake similar to a crab cake. The waitress warned us when we were ordering that we’d either love this or hate it. If you love scallops and crab cakes you’ll probably love this. If you aren’t a fan of both of those things you probably won’t like it. It’s very hit or miss. I loved it. My dining companion hated it.
Scallop Cake Slider @ Copper Tap
We also tried the Rosemary roasted duck breast($16.99)-duck breast seasoned and roasted to a perfect medium, served with demi glace and roasted red skin potatoes. The duck breast had good flavor and was priced affordably for duck breast. The only complaint I have about with the duck is the skin on top should be slightly crisp and retain a bit more flavor than this one had. The potato wedges that came with the duck breast were very good.
Duck Breast @ Copper Tap
One of the cooler things they offer at Copper Tap house are regional beer selections. There are 4 regions each with 6 different 4oz beers brought out on a platter shaped as a map of the region. We tried the Midwest beers. The standout in the region was the Vanilla Porter. It was creamy but not too sweet. It’s worth a try.
Midwest Beer @ Copper Tap
Service: Our waitress was fantastic. She could explain every slider, entrée, and beer on the menu. She suggested a variety of beer and slider pairings. She was very attentive and completely on top of things. She was one of the best waitresses we’ve had for a review.
Beer Menu @ Copper Tap
When I was in college at UNF we were always up late and there was nowhere to eat after 10 besides The Ale House. Copper Tap house is open til midnight weekdays and 2am on the weekends. They serve food this entire time. If you’re up late and need somewhere to eat I doubt there’s anywhere else open at this time in this area with food that’s more tasty.
Positives:
- Great sliders
- Great regional beer samplers
- Kitchen open late
- Cool environment
Negatives:
- You’ll either love or hate the sliders
From time to time we’re invited out to try a new restaurant or try new menu items at a restaurant. This meal is usually comped as this one was. We’re under no obligation to write a positive review or any review at all when we’re invited out to try a place. If a place is bad we’ll still tell you it’s bad. In the case of Copper Tap House they invited us to come out and try the place then at the end of our meal ask for the manager who will have our name and comp the meal. This is a great way to do things since the waitress never knows we’re food reviewers we don’t end up with special treatment.
