🍾🍷🥃 Current Preferred Watering Holes in St. Pete Florida 🍾🍷🥃

 

It should be no surprise to anyone who keeps up with us that our new favorite vacation (or long weekend) spot is St. Petersburg Florida!  So, when our daughter said she’d like to visit for her college graduation trip, of course we said YES!

After a few relaxing days on St. Pete Beach (and lots of frozen rum drinks) we made our way to downtown St. Pete for three days of showing the kids around some of our favorite spots in the downtown area. And here they are . . . the list is certainly NOT exhaustive. We find new places we like every time we visit!

First, it might surprise you that there are now three speakeasy bars in St. Pete! That may be nothing compared to NYC, which has dozens or more, but it’s more than some cities that we’ve visited. Sounds like a recipe for a night of fun.

One of the best all around is The Saint – it’s way out on Central in the Grand Central District, but worth the trip any night of the week. We highly recommend going on Wednesday for the burlesque show! The theme is a bit irreverent so check your inner prude at the door . . . the servers are dressed as nuns and priests. The night starts with a weekly “sin” that you must confess at the door, and it goes from there. The specialty drinks are a show in themselves (think flames, smoke and bubbles) and very tasty. They also have a good selection of spirits and can whip up a great Manhattan if you ask.

From there, we worked our way back toward downtown with the next stop at one of the newest bars in town – Dirty Laundry. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like!  The bar up front is a standard coffee bar with some alcoholic drinks surrounded by a laundromat. Spoiler alert – you pick up the pay phone and dial the code aka “doing your laundry” and then enter through one of the washing machines to a fantastic tropical-themed bar complete with a patio, live music AND a great selection of mojitos and other drinks. This one wins the #tipsypick for best new bar for us!

Next, we went to one of our favorites that we visit every time – Bar Chica. Hidden behind a wall at Bodega St. Pete, this is a much quieter and more “speakeasy” vibe than the previous two we mentioned. The cocktail list is solid. You can grab a bite at Bodega, which has Cuban and other Latino foods, but you can’t bring it in to the back room. Most people walk right by this space without even noticing. It’s that cool. 

Now we’ll say that we have so many other places that we highly recommend, and it would take a lot of time and words to go through the full list. We love St. Pete! But here are a few additional spots outside the Speakeasy category.

If you like wine, our hands-down favorite is a kitschy place called Dracula’s Legacy. Yes, it is exactly like it sounds. The owner is from Romania, and she takes the theme to the next level. BUT don’t ignore the fact that they have an excellent wine selection, including multiple flights where you can taste a variety of pours without over committing. They also have a fantastic charcuterie board and other nibbles. It’s a bit #offthetipsypath, but totally worth looking for!

Another wine bar that you might have to look for is one we found on this latest trip called Bar Chinchilla. It’s literally a small storefront with no more than 14 or 15 seats. But they have a great wine selection, an AMAZING Happy Hour Special and they do things like wine tastings regularly to help them stand out.  We even met a couple of kindred spirits - another couple that blogs about drinks and things. Check them out at Let's Do Dranks. We’re glad we found this one!

Speaking of wine bars, we stumbled upon a very cool date night spot right in the middle of the madness that is the 200 block of Central Avenue. Sauvignon Wine Locker and American Trattoria is pretty well hidden on the second floor above some of the busiest bars on this block. We followed the sign on the street up a staircase and to a double door that led us to an Italian bistro setting with fantastic food and wine! Excellent stop and definitely #offthetipsypath!

As for cocktails, we have a few that we tend to visit, and we took our daughter to this time. One is Flute & Dram. Located right on Beach Drive, they have one of the top Happy Hours in town, including a great Old Fashioned and Manhattan.

Another excellent happy hour with an even better view is at Birchwood Canopy, a rooftop bar with some of the best views of the bay. Our daughter was also impressed.

You may know that we like a good bourbon cocktail, and Mandarin Hide never fails to deliver. They have a smoked Old Fashioned that we think is one of the best in the city. And who doesn’t love a bathtub photo op?

We are also pretty fond of the theme and the drink selection at No Vacancy. It’s owned by the same people who have Dirty Laundry, so they know a good theme when they see it. Insider tip – the Seafood Nachos are to die for! And Club 201 at the Detroit has an added bonus of live music most nights of the week, as does Ruby’s Elixer. If you just want creative shots, then Pour Judgment is your place!

Our hotel bar, HyBar, also turned out to have a very tasty Old Fashioned made with the bartender’s own recipe, which included bitters from New Orleans (another of our favorite places). Three cheers for #hotelbars!

Like we said, there are so many other places, and we find new ones on every visit. Did we mention there are about a dozen breweries on Central? We’ll save that for another time (and yes, there will be one).

Tipsy Picks:        Best new bar – Dirty Laundry

                    Best happy hour with a view – Canopy

                    Best Date Night spot – Sauvignon Wine Locker and American Trattoria