1200 Chophouse – Turf at the Surf

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1200 Chophouse – Turf at the Surf

Walking up to 1200 Chophouse you instantly feel at home. The restaurant is in, what appears to be, a former house with a large front porch. Inside, you are instantly taken aback by the beautiful cowhide covered wall across the room. It compliments the cozy nature of the small restaurant.

Like its sister restaurant, Snappers, 1200 Chophouse does not take reservations. My friends and I arrived around 7 PM on a Saturday and were told it would be about an hour and a half wait. We were a little shocked by the time, but decided to stick it out. They have a large outdoor waiting area with couches, high tops, and a small bar. The small bar was closed during our visit, so we had to go to the packed inside bar for a glass of wine. We ordered our wine and an appetizer and by the time we finished our app our table was ready. The wait ended up being about 45 minutes, so it seems they exaggerate the time just in case a table lingers.

We decided to go with the bacon wrapped scallops to hold us over during our wait. It came with three large scallops on a skewer, each wrapped in a piece of crispy bacon and perfectly seared then topped with a sweet balsamic glaze. The combination of the sweet balsamic glaze, smoky bacon, and scallops were mouthwatering. I wish I had an entire order to myself, but that would not have been a smart idea before ordering a steak dinner.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops
Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Once we were sat, our server came over and described the menu. He explained that all entrees come with bread and a side house salad and since it was our first visit, he would recommend NOT ordering appetizers or additional sides since it was already a lot of food. He then went on to describe the steaks and again suggested NOT ordering any sauces for the steaks because the steaks were good enough as is. While all his reasoning was warranted, I was a little confused by the server encouraging us to order less, as it would lower the bill and in turn lower his tip… but he could not sway us and we did not abide by his suggestions.

Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter
Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter

We started off by ordering the fried goat cheese appetizer. It was a large piece of goat cheese deep fried over a sriracha-citrus vinaigrette and a drizzle of balsamic served with arugula and pickled onions. In my goat cheese-loving opinion, it was a great appetizer but if you don’t like goat cheese or even love goat cheese it could fall flat.

Fried Goat Cheese
Fried Goat Cheese

For dinner, my friends decided to indulge and ordered the Tomahawk Ribeye and I ordered the Angus Ribeye. Both steaks were heavily crusted in a pepper seasoning and cooked exactly as we ordered.

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The Tomahawk Ribeye is a 3lb bone-in steak. The bone-in causes a decadent flavor like no other and with the crusted seasoning it created a mouthwatering experience. I would consider ordering it for just myself next time. Then I would have leftovers for two weeks! Win, win.

Tomahawk Ribeye
Tomahawk Ribeye

The Angus Ribeye was fatty, flavorful, and seasoned perfectly. We shared three sauces: gorgonzola cream, bearnaise, and gouda fondue. While all sauces were equally rich in flavor, my favorite was the gouda fondue. The gouda fondue enhanced the flavors of the Angus Ribeye even further.

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Angus Ribeye
Angus Ribeye

For sides we ordered the onion straws, loaded mashed potatoes, and Chophouse au gratin. The onion straws were served with a horseradish aioli that complemented the onions wonderfully. The loaded mashed potatoes were topped with cheese, cheese, more cheese, bacon, and green onion. The loaded mashed potatoes are not listed on the menu, but I found out about them through my research of 1200 Chophouse before dining. The Chophouse au gratin was your standard au gratin and was nothing to write home about.

Onion Strings
Onion Strings
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Loaded Mashed Potatoes

At 1200 Chophouse, set the expectation that you may wait a while for a table but the steaks are more than worth the wait.

1200 Chophouse
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 5 stars
    5 / 5 (17 )
$-$$
  • Your Rating


  • 1200 Chophouse
  • (727) 367-1300
  • Steak, Seafood, Wine Bar
    • Sun - Sat 5:00pm - 10:00pm
  • View menu
  • 5007 Gulf Blvd, St. Pete Beach, Florida 33706, US

Intimate steakhouse featuring premium cuts, New American dishes & seafood, plus patio seating.

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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