A special offer brought me to The Stadium for the first time. My party arrived on a Sunday at lunchtime, totally unsuspecting of what we would find. Cleveland Browns is the motif: the pictures on the walls; the stencils on the overhead lighting; the waitress’ shirts. I don't want to start a turf war, here. I follow baseball, not football.

The décor is seedy and dirty. The tables are tacky to the touch, the carpeting is filthy. Your flatware is wrapped in a napkin, and you want to keep it wrapped rather than lay it on the table. But this day the place was packed… with, you guessed it, Cleveland Browns fans. A second trip to The Stadium found us seated in the bar: Post-season, no game. The tables here are also tacky to the touch, and overhead lights do little to alleviate the gloom.

I found the service to be slow. On my first visit, I put this off to the fact that it was game day and the place was packed. However, my return visit was mid-week and off-peak lunch time, and it still took more than 45 minutes from the time we finally ordered our food to the time it was delivered.

The Stadium provides entertainment to help pass the time, though. They offer an interactive trivia game that allows patrons to pit their skills against other local patrons as well as nationally against all players. It did provide an enjoyable diversion.

We ordered baby back ribs. Fifteen minutes later, the waitress returned to tell us that they weren’t ready yet. 

We ordered filet mignon, and she came back to tell us they didn’t have that, either. Also didn’t have grouper and another entrée that I don’t remember because none of us wanted it. The chili was okay. Jalapeño poppers were good. Their salad is fresh and, although I’m not a big fan of iceberg lettuce, it is crisp and the blue cheese dressing is creamy and tangy.

We settled on rib eye steaks. Prepared with a dry rub, they are excellent and were served perfectly medium. And the steak fries are crisp and tender. People around us were chowing down on wings like they were going out of style, and the quesadillas were also being consumed in great quantities.

My return visit allowed me the opportunity of tasting the ribs, which were delicious. The onion soup was OK, although the cheese was provolone and could have been browned longer. The burgers are good-sized and grilled to order, and I love the apple wood smoked bacon.

Bearing in mind that this is a sports bar, the food is surprisingly good. Both times we dealt with the little glitches and enjoyed our meals. But be prepared to wait for your food, and I was very put off by the condition of the dining room and the bar.

The Stadium
2349 Seven Springs Blvd
New Port Richey, FL
Phone: (727) 372-8168
www.thestadiumrestaurant.com

Mon-Tues    11 am – 9 pm
Wed-Thus    11 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat    11 am – 11 pm
Sun    12 pm – 9 pm