Central Avenue and Beach Drive hold most of the cocktail bars St Pete locals visit downtown. Several restaurants on the same blocks now run full bar programs, and their drinks are made to go with the food on the menu.
Citrus and Fried Food
A cocktail with lemon, lime or yuzu has enough acid to cut through fried or fatty dishes. Tempura, pork belly and crispy rice all taste lighter next to a sour drink. Herbal and tea-based drinks sit closer to seafood and vegetable plates, and stirred drinks made with whiskey or aged rum stand up to grilled meat.
Ingredients From the Kitchen
Restaurant bartenders often pull from the kitchen pantry. A Japanese-inspired bar can use matcha, shiso, lychee, yuzu or sake, so the same flavors show up in the glass and on the plate.
Sake at the Table
Sake works with far more than sushi. A crisp ginjo opens the meal, a cloudy nigori softens spicy dishes and a richer junmai matches grilled food. Some restaurants pour two styles side by side, and guests taste the difference with the same dish.
Order of the Night
A typical order starts with a light cocktail, moves to sake or wine with the main plates and ends with a digestif. A restaurant bar is quieter than the late-night cocktail bars St Pete has on Central, and the bartender knows what the table ordered.
Fortu on Central Avenue serves a Japanese-inspired menu with cocktails built on matcha, cherry blossom, lychee and mandarin, along with a wide sake list.
