Best Shrimp & Grits in St. Petersburg FL 2021

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Best Shrimp & Grits in St. Petersburg FL 2021

I LOVE grits! I’ve been eating them since I was a kid, and it was always for breakfast, and always cooked, not the instant crap. With a ton of butter and salt, sometimes with cheese, and sometimes with an over easy egg on top.

Shrimp & Grits is also one of the most popular ways to enjoy this ground corn product. These days more places are adding grits to their lunch and dinner menus, and getting quite creative with the extra ingredients.

Fun Fact: Grits are most popular in the south, and a lot of the popular southern food originated from West African slaves. However, grits originated with Native Americans in the south.

For this Best Shrimp & Grits in St. Pete, I concentrated on the more kicked-up versions for most of them. However, one of my criteria is that the grits must stand on their own to make this list. Relying on all the other stuff thrown in there to flavor the grits doesn’t cut it with me.

Also, as I continue to gain more life experience, and try more foods, I’ve learned that I prefer my grits to have a more coarse grind over a finer grind. I also prefer them less watery. Some places didn’t make my list of what I like because they served watery, fine-ground grits. Sorry. Not a fan. They remind me of instant grits.

This is not an exhaustive list. There are many more places in the area that do a great job, but after eating all of these, I have had my fill of shrimp & grits for now. Plus, a top 10+1 list is a lot of work when you actually go to all of the places and eat all of the food. Most of the other top 10 lists on the Internet are either auto-generated by people mindlessly clicking on star ratings, or by an actual writer that never left their house and just downloaded photos.

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These are not ranked from best, to second best, and so on. We’ve come to feel that is not a good way to do it when they are all amazing executions of this popular dish.

These are listed in alphabetical order. <—— Look

1. Cassis – UPDATE January 5, 2022 – after 10 years this one is no longer on the menu.
170 Beach Dr NE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 827-2927
Cassis Website

Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Ragout
Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Ragout

On the brunch menu served daily 8am — 3pm is the Andouille Sausage & Shrimp Ragout at Cassis. This has been one of my favorites for the last nine years. It’s a hearty portion of andouille sausage slices, shrimp, roasted peppers, caramelized onions, and cheddar grits. I’m usually quite full after this one.

 

2. Chill Restaurant
357 Corey Ave.
St Pete Beach, FL 33706
(727) 360-2445
Chill Website

Chill Shrimp & Grits
Chill Shrimp & Grits

This is another one for the large appetite. It’s substantial, rich, and full-flavored. Chill is one of the go-to places on St. Pete Beach for locals and tourists alike.

Creole style gulf jumbo shrimp sautéed with Andouille sausage, onions & green peppers in a special sauce, served over cheesy grits with an over easy egg in the middle.

On the breakfast and brunch menus starting at 8 am.

 

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3. Datz St. Pete
180 Central Ave
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727-202-1182
Datz Website

Datz Shrimp and Grits
Datz Shrimp and Grits

Blackened shrimp, rich cream cheese grits, Indian Makhani sauce and spinach.

Datz’s shrimp & grits are definitely rich and flavorful. The shrimp have a creole seasoning, there’s cream cheese, and if that’s not enough luxuriousness, there’s the Indian Makhani sauce. Makhani is an Indian word meaning “with butter”, but there’s also lots more going on with this sauce. It’s made from tomatoes, fresh cream, cashew nuts, onions and lots of Indian spices—cloves, cumin, chili powder, garam masala, and more.

Datz is known for having some over-the-top foodie creations. Sometimes you need to have that, and this one delivers.

Datz St. Pete Review

 

4. The Lure
661 Central Ave
St Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 914-8000
The Lure Website

The Lure Baby Go
The Lure Baby Go

The “Baby Go” is The Lure’s take on shrimp & grits. This one also has Andouille sausage slices, which are charred, along with sautéed shrimp in a garlic white wine butter sauce over smoked Gouda grits, garnished with scallions and tomatoes. It’s also hearty in its make-up, but being on the tapas section of the dinner menu, it is a smaller portion. It will still fill you up, but you will have no problem getting up and walking afterwards. Note: The Lure offers the dinner menu tapas all day, so you can still have this for brunch or lunch even though it is on the dinner menu.

 

5. Metro Diner
5250 4th St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33703
(727) 324-6088
Metro Diner Website

Metro Diner Charleston Shrimp & Grits
Metro Diner Charleston Shrimp & Grits
Grit Cake Bisected in Charleston Shrimp & Grits
Grit Cake Bisected in Charleston Shrimp & Grits

This one is large and in charge! I suggest not trying to finish it. Either share it or take some home for later.

Charleston Shrimp & Grits – Two fried grit cakes infused with cheese, roasted red peppers and Andouille sausage. Topped with shrimp, sausage, onions and peppers in a shrimp sauce. Garnished with chopped bacon and green onions.

Metro Diner’s Charleston Shrimp & Grits is rich, creamy, and crunchy with the fried grit cakes being crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

This is on the “Lunch & Dinner Favorites” menu, but you can order from any menu at any time of day, and they open at 7 am seven days a week.

 

6. Noble Crust
8300 4th St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33702
(727) 329-6041
Noble Crust Website

Noble Crust Shrimp & Grits
Noble Crust Shrimp & Grits

Some of the best news for 2021 is that the shrimp & grits are back at Noble Crust. It’s a little more New Orleans than Deep South/coastal. It has blackened shrimp, corn, okra, green onions, andouille, and creole sauce, and is spectacularly delicious.

Noble Crust Review

 

7. Parkshore Grill
300 Beach Dr NE #104
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 896-9463
Parkshore Grill Website

Parkshore Shrimp & Grits
Parkshore Shrimp & Grits

Like Cassis, Parkshore Grill’s shrimp & grits has been one of my favorites for nine years. It is available on the brunch menu served from 11am to 3pm on Saturday & 10am to 3pm on Sunday.

Ale Battered Shrimp and Cheese Grits with Andouille Ragout, and Smoked Chili Oil. As you can see the shrimp is battered and fried in this one. Andouille slices are below the shrimp.

 

8. Sea Dog Brew Pub Treasure Island
9610 Gulf Blvd
Treasure Island, FL 33706
(727) 954-7805
Sea Dog TI Website

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Smothered Shrimp & Grits from Sea Dog Brew Pub in Treasure Island
Smothered Shrimp & Grits from Sea Dog Brew Pub in Treasure Island

Sautéed shrimp in a seafood cream sauce with house smoked pork belly, bell peppers, green onion and stone ground cheese grits.⁣

Like most of the dishes on this list, Sea Dog’s is hearty and luxurious, but it is also unique. Nobody else has a seafood cream sauce with house smoked pork belly. This pairs fantastically with their brewed on-premise Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale.

You will definitely be full after this.

 

9. Sea Worthy Fish + Bar
1110 Pinellas Bayway South
Tierra Verde, FL 33715
(727) 623-0468
Sea Worthy Facebook

Smoked tomato Shrimp and Grits
Smoked Tomato Shrimp and Grits

Smoked tomato shrimp and grits – Key West pink shrimp basted with shrimp compound butter with lime and chili, charred Florida corn, smoked confit tomatoes, parmesan and cheddar grits, herb salad.

Sea Worthy Fish + Bar opened in early 2020 by Brick & Mortar Kitchen & Wine Bar owners, Hope Montgomery and Chef Jason Ruhe.

Chef Ruhe is a Master of Masters with his creative, high quality, locally sourced gastronomic feats of genius, and his new invention of shrimp & grits is no exception. It’s smoky, salty, sweet, and umami all at the same time. It is so new that it was not on the menu yet, but will be shortly. The grits were somewhat of the finer grind, but they were also creamy, which made up for the fine grind.

Sea Worthy Review

 

10. Social Roost
150 1st Ave N
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 202-6113
Social Roost Website

Social Roost Shrimp & Grits
Social Roost Shrimp & Grits

Social Roost Shrimp & Grits – Blackened Shrimp, Cheese Grits, Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce, Fried Brussel Sprouts.

Social Roost is a welcome new addition to the St. Pete restaurant scene quietly launching at the beginning of 2021. Everything is spectacular here with the overall concept being all kinds of chicken dishes from around the world. Chef Susan Burdian has cooked at over a dozen different NYC restaurants, and she has cooked for Anthony Bourdain. The regular menu is great, and Lori and I think they have one of the best brunches in St. Pete. You must go for brunch and order the shrimp & grits, and you will be making the biggest mistake of your life if you do not order the Andouille Sausage.

Social Roost Review

 

11. Shrimpy’s Blues Bistro
9524 Blind Pass Rd
St Pete Beach, FL 33706
(727) 575-7222
Shrimpy’s Website

Shrimpy's Shrimp & Grits
Shrimpy’s Shrimp & Grits

Shrimpys Shrimp n Grits – cheese grits with sauteed shrimp, bacon, andouille sausage, tomato, and scallion. Interestingly, Shrimpy’s has several “shrimp” dishes where the shrimp are actually langostinos. Like all of the other shrimp dishes here, the langostinos took it up a notch. It was like having little lobsters instead of shrimp. The bacon and andouille sausage add some heft, and tons of flavor with the tomatoes and scallions providing the high note counter-balance. Most importantly, the grits were rich and creamy and cooked perfectly with just the right consistency.

Shrimpy’s Review

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Best Shrimp & Grits in St. Petersburg FL 2021
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Here's a list of some of the best shrimp & grits in the St. Pete area done many different ways.

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, & Lindsey do not dine anonymously (this would be impossible) and we sometimes get free food (though never expected). However, we dine with the locals and we support our own. You will always get honesty in a respectful manner. We do not include any large national or regional chains in our ratings and reviews. We focus on independent locally owned eateries exclusively.

PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.
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