The Cock and Bull Pub

No Longer In Business

I’m a little torn how to rate this place. I love the old celery factory vibe and perhaps if I would’ve visited at night it would’ve been more appealing. When we arrived, however, the interior smelled like stale urine. Escaping to the back patio only exposed us to stagnant water and mosquitos and a post apocalyptic circus vibe. Staff was nice, but strangely unable to offer useful suggestions. Great bottle selection though, no doubt.

Facebook says they open at 5. Google said 5. Website doesn't work. I show up coming way out of my way and no one is there. Weak shit here.

Nice cozy pub in quiet neighborhood. 40 taps and flights are possible in different sizes. Friendly staff. Impressive bottle collection also. Live music.

Visited here in late August ’16 while in the area for business, Easy to miss location if you are not looking for it. Kind of a roadhouse style appearance to the place from the outside. Once inside, friendly staff, though not hugely beer knowledgeable, but the world does not revolve around us beer geeks. Have about 20 or so on tap and annoyingly they do not list on their electronic tap list the brewer, so I need to figure out who by looking on RB’s website. Food leaves a lot to be desired, I had a flat bread Tapenade and while tasty, the topping was hot and the crust was cold. Huge bottle/can selection - easily over 200, separated somewhat by style, lots of surprises.Decently priced, nothing too out of the ordinary, but to the novice, would be quite impressive. Was here on a Monday evening which was open mic night. Worth a visit, just to experience.

This is an one of my favorite bars. Great beers, nice folks. A hipster dive bar with a great selection.

This a fun dive bar to explore what beers are available in the local area. The bottle selection is displayed in glass door upright coolers behind the bar and was excruciatingly poorly organized, so it is very easy to miss a beer. Ostensibly organized by style, it was painfully obvious that the staff may not understand what beer is which style. The staff was very nice and pleasant, though. Pizza was good quality bar pizza. We left when the rockabilly band made conversation impossible.

(Visited 07/2014): Cock & Bull is on Cattlemen Road west of Sarasota in the Fruitville area. It is not too far off I-75, and parking is available next to the building.

The darkly painted wood building has a smokehouse look, along with a hand painted "BEER" sign which is a nice touch. There is a patio with a fire pit as well. Inside, the bar area is to the left and there are tables to the right. Several coolers full of bottles behind the bar, and the taps are visible as well. In addition there is a large board listing the beers.

Cock & Bull has around 40 beers on draft, including a couple brewed at Big Top under the "Howie’s" label. In addition to that there are craft breweries like St. Arnold, Southern Tier and Swamp Head. The coolers house hundreds of beers, with many local/regional craft breweries, domestic craft breweries and imports. Sample trays are available as well.

Service on a weekday evening at the bar was good. The bartenders were helpful in selecting beers and attentive throughout my visit.

Food at Cock & Bull is essentially pub grub and pizza. My sandwich was pretty good.

Overall this is a solid spot to hit for a good beer selection in Sarasota.

Endearingly ramshackle old building--inside has your typical bar and tables and a couple of rooms with couches, outside has a porch with a pool table, and outside seating as well. A couple dozen or more taps of fine brews (the local/regional stuff tends to go fast) and they will do sampler flights. A huge number of bottled brews. Friendly and knowledgeable employees--had already eaten but at one point they were offering complimentary (I think!) pizza. A must stop if you’re in or near Sarasota.

Great layout - bar seating, a couple of couched rooms, and a nice outdoor area with fire pit. Selection is always good. Bartenders know what they’re talking about, too.

Nice casual feel. Dark with lots of wood- even the feel of the woods. Prompt knowledgeable service. Large selection, including macros if you’re looking for a place to go with non-craft friends. We just ate the pretzel, but it could have been better, I think it was the kind you nuke and spray with water to attach the salt. Plus they no longer served what we wanted to eat and hadn’t taken it off the menu yet. Prices seemed average. Definitely a good local place to go for brews.