Oblivion is one of the latest beer bars to open in Orlando, located in the space that used to be Straub’s Sea Food Restaurant on Colonial drive. Their opening was highly anticipated, especially since there were some hurdles that forced them to push their opening date back a few weeks. Oblivion was officially opened for business September 29th and I was there to experience Oblivion.
Oblivion preserved the tables and booths from the previous restaurant, providing plenty of seating, more so that you would find in your typical bar. The walls are decorated with graffiti art of skulls and all things Oblivion. The lighting is a little on the bright side; the lights could be dimmer to give the place a more comfortable feel.
Oblivion is a restaurant that serves both craft beers and wines but has more beer than wine. The beers are listed on a separate menu from their food menu and is organized by type displaying draughts and seasonal on the front and a list of bottles on the back. The beer menu is updated regularly; however there are times when new beers go on in between menu updates and those are most likely to be listed on the chalk board behind the bar. You can request a small sample of most beers on tap; the exception goes for some of the seasonal or limited volume beers. I would say that their beer selection is better than average featuring some of the more hard-to-find ones.
Their menu is composed of the types of food you expect from a beer bar, but with a bit of a unique twist. I’ve been to Oblivion several times, enough times to have an opportunity to try a wide variety from their food menu. I’ll start with their burgers. I’ve had three of their burgers so far, ranging from The Plain Jane, your typical lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon to their more unique burger, The Conley, a “burger” featuring an Italian sausage patty, bacon, Tasso and sharp cheddar. Their burgers are juicy and tasty, the meat is of good quality and they are consistent in the cooking temperature. Burgers are served with fries, tots, potato wedges or homemade potato chips, my favorite are the chips, they’re very crispy and not drenched in oil.
A couple of other menu items that I have enjoyed quite a bit are the beer battered onion rings and smoked wings. The batter for the onion rings is made with one of the beers currently on tap, therefore the batter can vary from one day to the next, though it’s usually very crispy, flavorful and served in a bountiful portion that can be shared between two people.
Another item I like are their smoked wings. Nice sized chicken wings seasoned with a house made BBQ rub and smoked resulting in a unique flavor, not typical for what you would expect on wings. Oblivion offers daily food specials such as taco Tuesdays, $.75 wings Wednesday and so on. You can check their website or their Facebook to find out what their daily specials.
Their staff has always been friendly, courteous and helpful. I have had very good service at Oblivion. Although, there was an occasion when there were two very large parties at the same time and for whatever the reason may be, it took a very long time for my food to arrive. There were others around me that had also waited a long time for their meal. It was a bad choice on Oblivion’s part to host 2 very large parties with an understaffed kitchen thus making a very bad impression to a handful of people. This was the only time we have ever had a problem getting our food on a timely manner but outside of that one occasion, service has been quick and easy.
Oblivion Tap Room makes for a great addition to the Orlando beer bar scene. Offering a great beer selection at reasonable prices with the perk of serving food to cure the beer munchies.
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Nice post! I love Oblivion but think the reviews on Urban Spoon are so unnecessarily harsh.
I agree buddy.
So true! I would encourage people to try a place at least 3 times before making a final decision about a place. Thanks for reading see you there later.
I came across your food blog while doing a search for Orlando food blogs a few weeks ago and I’m glad you guys did a review on this restaurant. The food has always been excellent since day one and in the last few months they’ve made changes throughout the restaurant to give it a warmer ambiance. Their smoked wings are amazing!!
Great food blog guys!
Thank you! We enjoy dining with them for dinner. We hope that people give them at least 3 tries before making a judgement towards their establishment. It is relatively a new place and yes, I have also noticed some changes in their dining setting.
Thanks for reading and hope to meet you one day!
Hi! I’ve been following your blog for some time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Kingwood Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the great job!
Thanks for the shout out! I really appreciate the support!