The narrow south end of the island, below the Don CeSar, where the Gulf and the bay are a couple of blocks apart. People ring a bell here at sunset, and the Seahorse has been open since 1938.
A dinner-only room on historic 8th Avenue run by chef and owner Jason Lutzk, a Tampa native and Culinary Institute of America graduate. The menu changes with the season and adds weekly specials, with ingredients bought from Tampa Bay suppliers. Florida Trend gave it a Golden Spoon for Best New Restaurant. There is a private dining room.
The Falkenstein family from Baltimore bought the site in 1977 and built the restaurant out of what was left of an old hotel. The spot had held Page's Pavilion bathhouse, built in 1912, and later the Casa Bonita Hotel. The family added the first floor in 1986 and the upper floors, a banquet room and the rooftop bar in 1990. The roof deck, the Hurricane Watch, has two bars and a full-circle view of Pass-a-Grille. The grouper sandwich is the dish the restaurant puts forward.
A walk-up counter on the sand at Pass-a-Grille, open from 7 a.m. until half an hour after sunset. An old ship's bell beside the seawall is rung every evening as the sun goes down, and the bell came through the storms intact. Helene and Milton pushed sand and saltwater through the kitchen and it was closed for about four months, reopening in early 2025. Live music runs Friday to Sunday. A second counter operates at 6850 Beach Plaza.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
This is the old Sea Critters Cafe on the bay side of Pass-a-Grille. Regulars Charles and Helen Collom bought it in 2022, renamed it, rebuilt the dock and kept most of the staff. Boats can tie up at the dock and the kitchen will cook your catch. The restaurant's site carries a memorial to Charles Lee Collom.
Live music some nights. Go before the band starts if you want to talk.
Founded in 1938 as one of the area's early drive-ins, the Seahorse was given historic designation by the St. Pete Beach Historic Preservation Board in 2024. Months later Helene and Milton put several feet of water through it and it stayed shut for more than a year. Owners Carlos Calvillo and Anayeri Gomez kept the wooden booths, the memorabilia and the taxidermy when they rebuilt. Breakfast runs to omelets, pancakes and shrimp and grits; lunch to seafood platters, burgers and Cuban-style grilled chicken.
A Gulf Way bar and grill facing the beach in Pass-a-Grille. The menu covers wings, burgers, pizza, sandwiches and wraps, with seafood plates and steak dinners.
A casual bayside seafood bar on Pass-a-Grille Way, next door to Red, White & Booze.
