Proper Bars in Downtown St Petersburg.

[CuthbertRizla]

Mrs CuthbertRizla and I will be in St Petersburg for a few weeks soon and we'd like to plan a bit of a bar crawl one late afternoon/early evening - you know, the sort of lazy mooching around a place you like to do on holiday.

We like our bars to be unfashionable but not divey with a decent selection of beers although we're not averse to somewhere trendy if the sudden urge to sink wildly expensive cocktails overtakes us.

The older the better with wooden floors and not to much faux stuff around.

Just a good bar with pleasant bar staff where we can sit late afternoon and watch the evening crowd come in and then perhaps wander over to another one or two before catching something to eat.

We like to bar hop most of the places we visit as we find it's a good way of getting the real feel about a place and, of course, it's a pleasant way to get hammered.

We'd be most grateful for any recommendations.

Thank you in advance.

[CuthbertRizla]

Just wanted to bump this to see if there are any more recommendations as we're in town in the next week.
Thanks.

[LilMsFoodie]

We liked The Moon Under Water which is near the Vinoy. They had some cooling device that allowed someone to sit outside without dying of heat. Nice beer selection.

-----
Moon Under Water
332 Beach Dr NE, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701

[Veggo]

"Proper" summons up the Vinoy on the bay, already mentioned, and the piano bar at the Don CeSar, which has the advantage of a western sunset orientation on the Gulf. Both are old school timeless elegance.

[laboheme]

You might enjoy a tour of some of St. Pete's new cocktail-centric bars--Bar Milo (300 Central Ave) and Mandarin Hide (231 Central) are both charming and with a bit of a speakeasy vibe gone modern. I love to wander down to Fresco's and enjoy the waterfront bar in the middle of the marina (that they make one of the best bloody marys in town doesn't hurt either...300 2nd Avenue Northeast www.frescosbistro.com) If you or your wife enjoy sangria, you can't miss Ceviche's sangria (especially the sparkling one) and their tapas menu makes a great dinner stop for the end of your crawl. For more beer centric places, try the Ale and the Witch (111 2nd Avenue Northeast www.thealeandthewitch.com) for a great selection of diverse brews and the Independent (29 3rd Street North www.independentbeer.com) is a must. Of course, for a splurge you have to consider the bar at the Vinoy...it's just too pretty to miss. And the Luca Bar at Red Mesa Cantina is terrific too...great happy hour and killer margaritas with a great patio around a huge fountain. Hope you guys have a wonderful time!

-----
Red Mesa Cantina
128 3rd St, Saint Petersburg, FL

[askdrtodd]

Excellent recommendations. Really looking forward to Mandarin Hide, Zane Lampry was there last night and if it got his attention it's probably worth taking a peek!

[Little T.]

+1 on the Ale and the Witch if you want to drink some good beer.

If you are doing the downtown bar crawl thing, maybe Ruby's Elixir ? Have not been there so I don't know but, just a thought! :-) http://rubyselixir.com/

Then, you will be closer to Red Mesa Cantina, as 'laboheme' has suggested. Also, I will say Z Grille has a nice bar backed by a great selection of wine, spirits and craft beers (plus really good food) http://www.zgrille.net/spiritz.html