St. Petersberg Florida?

[Farmer17]

Taking my wife and adult daughters and their husbands to St. Petersberg Fl on Wednesday and wondering if anyone has been there and has any recommendations on places to eat or things to do or avoid? We were hoping to do some snorkeling and other excursions and eat some good food.

 

[sjmjax]

I grew up there but no longer live there. (Wish I did).

Snorkeling isn't that great. Waters nice but it's mostly sandy bottom beaches. Best snorkeling would probably be Egmont Key around the old gun emplacements. However, need a boat to get there.

The Pier is worth a visit. And nearby Beach Drive has a lot of nice restaurants. The downtown area on Central Avenue has undergone a major reawakening and now a major nightlife scene.

Also near by is the Dali museum. Well worth a visit if you like his unique style of art.

Couple of favorites that have been there forever would be Ted Peter's (Pasadena) for smoked fish or Athena Gardens (near Tyrone mall) for excellent Greek gyros and the Floridian (Treasure Island) for Cuban sandwiches and black beans.

Interesting history and nice beaches at Fort DeSoto Park.

Treasure Island beach is nice and often has interesting events going on such a sandcastle competitions, sunset drum circles and such. Pass-a-Grille beach is another favorite local beach.

St Pete also has a lot of good micro breweries to explore if you're into that sort of thing.

I'll see if I can think of anything else.

 

[iby]

Taking my wife and adult daughters and their husbands to St. Petersberg Fl on Wednesday and wondering if anyone has been there and has any recommendations on places to eat or things to do or avoid? We were hoping to do some snorkeling and other excursions and eat some good food.

We stayed at the Hilton there several years ago and the food was great

 

[sjmjax]

A few more suggestions:

Not in St Pete but across the bridge in Tampa is the iconic Berns Steak House. Expensive and often difficult to get reservations. Extraordinary experience. Be sure to read the background history either online or on the menu. One unique fact was that Bern was a vegetarian.
After dinner, they offer a tour of the kitchen and wine cellar.(May have been suspended). Use to be conducted by your waiter. Lately it's been more of a tour group affair.
Then go upstairs to a separate restaurant for dessert. Unique and house made desserts accompanied by cocktails, cordials, rare dessert wines and more.

On the other end of the spectrum, VIP lounge on Treasure Island.
A dive, hole in the wall, a favorite local hangout and popular with repeat visitors. They've opened additional restaurants but the tiny one on TI is the original. You might even see my little brother there sipping on a bourbon on the rocks and flirting with the bartender. Food is Tex-Mex and is pretty good.

The Hurricane on St Pete Beach. Food is so so but the view from the open air, rooftop lounge is worth the price of a drink or two.

 

[sjmjax]

Bella Brava for Italian on Beach Drive downtown near the pier. I've always enjoyed their food and they make some very good cocktails.

It's kind of traditional to have a grouper sandwich when in St Pete. THE place use to be Dockside Dave's. Like the VIP a little hole in the wall at a marina where the sandwich's were cooked on a grill that probably hasn't been cleaned since the Eisenhower administration served with great waffle fries and worlds best horseradish sauce (real sour cream and lots of horseradish).
Unfortunately, Dave sold out some years ago. New management changed everything and tried to cookie cutter it. Sadly not the same.

Still a worthwhile quest is to find a new favorite.
Make mine blackened with provolone!

 

[CGhelofxr]

Doc Fords on the pier in St Pete…..in Tampa there is The Columbia restaurant, excellent Cuban food…..Clearwater Beach has the Palm Pavillion and Tarpon Springs you can find Rusty Bellies.

 

[Bugkiller99]

Go see the Chihully Collection. Glass artist. Amazing work, just beautiful beyond description. Make sure to go across the street to the demonstration on how they make the art work.
The Chihuly Collection | Visit St Petersburg Clearwater Florida