Brad S.
Yelp
Overall, I was happy with The Joinery. Not blown away, but pleased.
It is a food hall with a number of options. BBQ, Asian Street Food, ice cream, sushi, Mexican, burger place, and a full bar.
The bar was ok. I had 3 drinks while there (we sat around and played games for a few hours), and my wife had a couple too. Of them, most were good, not great. The Tikka Chance on Me though was awesome! Scotch and coconut curry cream, sounds crazy but it was delicious. Service at the bar was a little on the slow side, and not the most personable. Nice enough, nothing overly rude, just not welcoming. The Ba Boulvardier was ok, the espresso martini was too sweet. It did look exactly like the picture though, so big ups to that.
I ate the Tonkatsu ramen and it was excellent. Pork belly was very tender, flavor of the broth was excellent, egg was jammy, and was made quickly. All positives here.
My wife ordered the Elote (street corn). I enjoyed it, but it is spicy! It was too spicy for the wife. It had good flavor, but definitely more heat and than typical for street corn, and it was a building heat. If you like spicy, don't sleep on it! We also tried the dip trio from the Mexican place, and it was fine. Nothing special, nothing bad.
Our friends ordered the brisket from the BBQ place, so I didn't try it, but they raved about it. They had a side of fried okra that I tried some of and it was excellent.
The biggest benefit here was the atmosphere. Cool vibes, kinda industrial chic, decent amount of tables inside, and lots more outside. Like I said, we hung out for a while.
If you have friends in Tampa and you're in Orlando, I would recommend The Joinery as a good spot to meet in the middle, have a couple drinks and some food and just chill. I'll probably be back for that very reason.