Warehouse Arts District

Leigh and Mike Harting opened the brewery in December 2013 with head brewer Ty Weaver ... the name comes from the question of how to put their three daughters through college. It started in a 1,600 square foot tasting room and now fills a large warehouse the brewery says serves over 250,000 guests a year. I Love the Burg calls it the biggest brewery in St. Pete, with more than 40 taps of beer, cider, hard seltzer and sangria. This is the original location; a Clearwater Beach taproom and an airport bar came in 2022.

Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.

Allelo

Beach Drive · mediterranean, aegean, small plates

A Mediterranean and Aegean small-plates room that calls itself 'your neighborhood spot for small plates, good times and lots of wine'. Husband-and-wife owners Shawn and Jeanna Damkoehler opened it first, then opened Juno & the Peacock a block north in 2024. I Love the Burg's staff singled out its brunch in June 2026.

Bacchus Wine Bistro

Beach Drive · french bistro, charcuterie, french

A French wine bistro a block off Beach Drive with a menu that changes by season, from French onion soup and foie gras torchon to tuna carpaccio and beef tartare. It pours nearly 100 wines chosen by sommeliers and builds charcuterie boards to order.

Bandit Coffee Co.

Grand Central District · coffee, pastries

A locally owned roaster and cafe on Central Avenue since 2016. It runs a full espresso bar and a kitchen all day, bakes its bread and pastries in-house, and also sells natural wine by the bottle and beer. There is no WiFi, by design, and a dog-friendly walk-up window handles online order pickup. Coffee is roasted every Tuesday and shipped every Wednesday.

BellyUp St. Pete / Over 50

Over 50 St. Pete

Nobody publishes the noise level, and it is the thing that decides the night.

Good places to eat and drink in St. Pete, minus the nightclubs. When a spot gets loud later or draws a lot of kids, the card tells you.

What these spots are known for

The same over 50 spots, sorted by the reasons people actually pick them.

Origin Stories Who built this and why? Rooftops and Patios Can we sit outside? Seafood and Oysters Who is getting good product in? Brunch Where is brunch worth the wait? Live Music Where can I eat and hear a real band? Private Dining and Buyouts Can we take a room? Neighborhood Institutions What has been here forever? Vegan and Plant-Based Where can I eat with no asterisks?

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5 spots

Big C's Chopped BBQ

bbq

A south St. Pete barbecue counter known for chopped chicken, with ribs and chopped beef also on the board. The Tampa Bay Times listed it among the area's Black-owned barbecue spots in March 2026.

Fatty's BBQ & Soul Food

Gulfport · bbq, soul food, southern

Jesse Sapp is the pitmaster, and the name honors his late sister, Kimberley Sapp. The Tampa Bay Times reports he cooks over oak and sometimes pecan on a pit smoker more than 50 years old, at the site of the former Hogley Wogley BBQ, and quotes him: 'We take pride in how we clean our ribs.' Spare ribs, chicken, top sirloin and pork shoulder come with mustard-based sauce, hot or mild.

Hams "R" Us

MLK Street South · bbq

Brothers Steven Johnson and William Delaine have run Hams 'R' Us for 14 years in one of the city's historically Black neighborhoods, rain or shine. The Tampa Bay Times says they cook hot and fast over live oak, laurel oak and pecan. The menu stays short: spare ribs, brisket and chicken, with baked beans and potato salad.

J-New's BBQ & Grill

Highland Oaks · bbq

A take-out barbecue and grill on 22nd Avenue South with seating outside. The Tampa Bay Times listed it among the area's Black-owned barbecue spots in March 2026.

Outside BBQ

St. Pete Beach · bbq, southern

A Tampa barbecue room that first drew its crowd at 1613 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and opened this full-service St. Pete Beach restaurant in February 2026, with servers, a bar pouring beer, wine and sangria, and house lemonade. I Love the Burg calls it Southern-influenced smoked meat done in house, led by ribs and chopped brisket, and flags the fried oysters and a blue velvet cake. The space was Fo'Cheezy Twisted Meltz before. The Tampa Bay Times included it in its March 2026 feature on Black-owned barbecue.

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