New Champagne Bar in Tampa’s Hyde Park

Bouzy, a new Champagne Bar in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village

Tampa’s highly awaited Champagne bar, Bouzy, is now open in Hyde Park Village! 

This restaurant has all of the bubbly drinks you could want! Lounge around and enjoy a drink as Bouzy has a lot planned this upcoming month! In the coming weeks, they will open both Small Giant, a neighborhood tavern and restaurant, and the wine shop Wine on Water at Water Street Tampa, marking the newest additions to the burgeoning development.

Bouzy was created about 3 years ago and hit a few snags and delays due to the pandemic, just like dozens of other local businesses but renovations on the building, which is located at 1640 Snow Ave., have been underway for the better part of the last year. Now, between Hyde House Public Studio and Clean Juice, the restaurant and bar, Bouzy, has opened on Monday, February 6th 2023. 

In addition to the modern aesthetic, the 2,500-square-foot space evokes the vibe of the 1920s with antique mirrors lining a marble bar that snakes through the space past an open kitchen. Gold accents are found throughout the building, including massive chandeliers designed to emulate Champagne bubbles, as well as banquettes!

Guests will be able to select five to six Champagnes by the glass, six sparkling wines (including prosecco and pet-nat varieties), and ten wines by the glass. There are also QR codes linked to full descriptions for each bottle on the menu to help customers learn more about what they are drinking.

This restaurant has no standing area due to the unique layout and guests are seated at the bar or at one of the tables along the entry wall, which together offer seating for approximately 35 guests while waiting to be seated. The back of the building also offers an additional speakeasy-style Champagne cellar with room for approximately 35 more guests if guests for additional space to hang out and talk while waiting to be seated. It can be reserved up to one month in advance for private parties and gatherings. Guests can also choose to dine outside on the restaurant’s patio, which seats an additional 25 people.

According to the restaurant's menu, the bar is named after Bouzy, a restaurant in a small French village home to several Champagne houses. Jen Bingham is a self-proclaimed bubbles enthusiast. Bingham's carefully curated selection features 80 bottles of sparkling selections and 60 bottles of which are Champagne. The bottle menu is full of Champagnes from France and America, including grower Champagnes, artisan selections from the Champagne region, typically grown and bottled by the same families and individuals who grow the grapes.

According to Cru Hospitality Group CEO Kyle King, it's not just bubbles and wine at Bouzy. There will be a full liquor bar as well as 14 cocktails, including three or four with Champagne. The rest of the menu will feature riffs on classic cocktails, including the Riviera Daiquiri ($15) made with Wray & Nephew Overproof rum, Giffard Banana de Bresil and lime, and the Nouveau Carré ($16), which features High West Double rye, Calvados, Cocchi Rosa Americano, Benedictine and Allspice Dram.

Bouzy is home to a list of small and shared plates inspired by French cuisine, prepared by executive chef Eric Bach, who previously worked at Bern's Steakhouse and Cru Cellars. On the higher end, the menu features a caviar service and several seafood towers (plateaus de mer) featuring a selection of East and West Coast oysters, mussels, crabs and shrimp served with a kimchi cocktail sauce, homemade XO sauce and drawn butter. Guests have the option of two sizes: petite ($110) or grande ($185). 

The menu includes snacks like a caviar sandwich ($18), cheese and charcuterie boards ($21 to $23), a snapper crudo served with allium ash, avocado, apple and fermented peppers ($19) and a smoked beef tartare served with black garlic mustard, house-cured jerky and lavash ($22). Larger plates include entrees like lobster bao buns ($25) and a miso-glazed steamed grouper with forbidden rice and Champagne foam ($39) as well as several large-format dishes meant to share, including a dry-aged duck served in a Parmesan brodo with artichokes and spinach Florentine ($46). A small selection of desserts includes a lemon tartlet with pistachio and meringue ($12), a chocolate budino with macerated berries ($12) and a baba au rum ($14).

A South Tampa staple for approachable and unique wine finds Palma Ceia's Cru Cellars has been in business for over a decade now. Their flagship location on MacDill Avenue opened in 2010, followed by locations at Armature Works' Heights Public Market and in the Westshore Marina District with Torrey Bingham as both an owner and sommelier.

Bouzy is currently open daily starting at 4pm. The restaurant and bar will eventually serve lunch and dinner from 11am to 12am Sunday - Thursday and from 11am to 1am on Friday and Saturday. Reservations for parties up to 8 people can be made through their online website. Public parking is available at the Hyde Park Village parking garages and near by public parking lots.