The same street south of downtown, through Bartlett Park and the Old Southeast. It is quieter and older. The Chattaway has been here since 1951, closed in July 2026 and reopened that September under new owners.
Brothers Josh and James McMullen run a fish house whose roots go back to 1981 on 5th Avenue South. They grew up fishing with their father and grandfather and sell locally caught mullet, grouper and other fish alongside live bait and tackle. I Love the Burg listed it in February 2025 as a fish market with a food truck, and the family says a neighborhood cafe is planned.
A south-side fish camp with a backyard tiki bar and more than 15 fish preparations, by its own count. I Love the Burg describes the big courtyard of palms and nautical odds and ends where children build shell mounds while the grown-ups eat, with live music in the evening. The owners leased the old Coquina Meat Market across the street for a dessert and wine room, and the smoked wings went into Tropicana Field's food hall.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Nueva Cantina's St. Petersburg room sits on 4th Street South below downtown. The group now has four rooms, with others in downtown Tampa, Brandon and Palm Harbor. A limited Halloween menu runs until 1 November.
An Old Southeast dive in a building that has held a bar since 1972. Owners Kelly and Lee took it over in 2022 and joined their names for the sign. $3 drafts, $2.50 beef tacos on Tuesday, a free pool table on Thursday, darts, chess boards and a karaoke machine.
Tchotchke is the daytime diner that opened in 2024 in the room where Munch's Sundries served breakfast for 70 years. Owner Matthew Firosz then opened The Green Room, a bourbon bar with a late kitchen, in the old air conditioning office next door in 2025.
Helen Lund opened The Chattaway in 1951 and her family, later Jillian Frers, ran it for 75 years as a burger garden with an English tea room inside. In March 2026 the property went under contract and the restaurant was expected to close for good; it shut in mid-July. Cullen Mahoney, Ferg's owner Mark Ferguson and Shrimpy's Waterfront owner John John Delladonna bought the restaurant and its 0.70 acre lot in August and reopened it on 25 September 2026. The new owners added a second outdoor bar, a canopy with fans over the patio and a full liquor license, and say the burger stays as it was.
