Quick Take:
Location: 380 Ave C SW, Winter Haven
What Mike Ordered: 12 Wings (BBQ + Buffalo)
What Katie Ordered: The All-American Burger
Gluten Free Options: Not specifically listed on the menu.
Vegetarian Options: Not specifically listed on the menu (but they do have a black bean burger)!
Final Score: 3.5/5
Price: ~$10-20 per person
For our twenty eighth stop on our Polk Food Quest, we visited Fully Loaded Bar & Grill in Winter Haven's Bowen Yard.
Fully Loaded is fairly new, having opened in May, replacing SoCe Market.
The vibes were high as we got to go and catch part of the Buccs game AND we hit a double whammy location that has us reviewing a burger AND wings.
By the way: if you're new here, the concept of my Polk Food Quest is simple: every week I try a local spot, order the most common thing people get, try a few extras, and rank it on taste, value, vibes, and overall.
This week: Burger & Wings!
Which means Katie ordered their All-American Burger (which was their version of the most basic burger on the menu) and I ordered 12 wings with a 6/6 split of BBQ and buffalo sauce.
How Does This Work?
I order the standard item for that category (for Fully Loaded that was a burger and wings), plus a few extras so I can get a full feel for the menu.
Then I rank the experience on four things:
Taste | Value | Vibes | 
Overall
Taste focuses on the standard item.
The rest reflects the entire experience.
Taste: 3.5/5
The food was pretty good.
But, in my opinion, it's not top tier.
You come to Fully Loaded for the mix of vibes and sports-bar menu items; but not necessarily because you're expecting the food to be amazing.
We were happy with our meal, but nothing blew us away or came close to "Best In Polk" territory.
Here's a quick breakdown for my quick scanners, though:
- All American Burger: Pretty good burger. We were happy with this. It just didn't stand out as top tier. It was fine. Bit overcooked and simple. Just not stellar.
- The Wings: Just nothing really special about these. BBQ were loaded with sauce that tasted like canned sauce. Buffalo was fine. Both were okay, but a lower tier in a wing competition.
Overall 3.5 for taste makes the food good enough to visit, but just "pretty good."
Nothing special to be driving out of your way for.
Vibes: 4/5
This one was harder to rank than taste for me.
As you know I rank vibes based on:
- The Physical Location
- Hospitality/Service
- The Interior/Space
The physical location is great, right in Downtown Winter Haven and within Bowen Yard, the interior/space is great and the bar-style vibes are high — but I almost felt like I needed to knock it down a peg or two because ...
Our server was very nice ... BUT ...
There was only one person tending the bar AND serving all the tables, so I just don't think it was fair to assume she could give each table enough attention — especially knowing it's football Sunday with the Buccs playing.
That said, I understand it's a new spot, so I'm not going to drop it down for that; especially considering our server was still very nice and did a good job working with what she had going on.
Value: 3.5/5
With a 3.5/5 for taste and 4/5 for vibes I think you'd need to be priced very competitively to bring the value up between 4-5.
That said, I understand it's HARD to do that, especially as a new spot like this in a prime location, but I also have to keep it fair.
The price points look something like this:
- Burgers $15-16ish
- Wings: 6 for $12, 12 for $18
- Loaded Fries: $15
- Apps : $10-15
And while I realize prices are going up and this could be seen as somewhat competitive, I just think you could get a better burger, or better wings, for less, by going to other places we've reviewed.
That said, you'd choose Fully Loaded if you're looking to sit down, get out of the heat, and maybe watch a football game.
So keep that in mind with my scoring.
Great location, great space, and good vibes.
Overall: 3.5/5
Fully Loaded gets a 3.5/5 overall, which is still a solid score.
If I was ranking it just on location, space, and vibes for getting out and watching a football game this season, I'd probably be up around 4-4.5.
But, since this is primarily revolving around the food, I think this is a fair score.
Would I bring my visiting family there?
Possibly.
I think there are a lot of great places to eat in Polk County, so there would need to be a very specific reason we ended up back with the family.
Maybe it's hot, the games on, and we're at Bowen Yard already.
In that specific situation, then I'd probably go back!
Here’s how I’d sum up Fully Loaded Bar & Grill:
This is the spot for game day, not date night.
The location in Bowen Yard is great, the space has real character, and the bar-style energy makes it an easy pick when the Bucs are on.
That's where Fully Loaded earns its score.
The food does its job but won't be the reason you go back.
The burger was fine, a little overcooked, nothing that stands out. The wings were the same story: BBQ tasted like it came from a bottle, buffalo was just okay.
Service was still good considering the one server was covering the whole room (and the bar) during a Sunday football crowd.
Bottom line: go for the vibes and the location, keep your expectations for the food at "pretty good," and you'll leave happy.
Before You Go....
Hey!
I want to know what you think of Fully Loaded Bar & Grill in Winter Haven.
Leave a comment below.
The more you share, the better, but anything is appreciated.
Each comment helps The Best Of Polk articles and eventually, the yearly awards!
Have a place you want me to try?
Make sure to comment that as well.
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