A New Luxe Speakeasy Pops Up in Downtown St. Pete: Bar Chica at Bodega

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A New Luxe Speakeasy Pops Up in Downtown St. Pete: Bar Chica at Bodega

St. Pete has a plethora of hidden gems in and around the city, and now there’s a new speakeasy bar waiting to be discovered called Bar Chica. Once you push past the back door inside of Bodega, you’ll find an intimate room that’s outfitted with gold tabletops, dark blue walls and a lovely cocktail bar. It’s quite romantic yet presents a casual vibe too. Bar Chica is a speakeasy that offers a light bar menu and an impressive craft cocktail menu, on the down low.

Bar Chica is a great date night spot. The moody vibe goes perfectly with the strong and delicious cocktails. If you’d like to sit down and have a real chat, be sure to visit earlier in the night with less people around. Once the room fills up, it’s roaring with laughs and conversations.

Bar Chica Entrance inside Bodega
Bar Chica Entrance inside Bodega
Bar Chica Atmosphere
Bar Chica Atmosphere

The team of bartenders offer thoughtful cocktail creations and the staff is happy to recommend a good sip depending on your style.

Bar Chica La Dona and Lovebird Cocktails
La Dona and Lovebird Cocktails

The La Dona and Lovebird cocktails were both powerful and luscious. The La Dona is more of a slower sip and the Lovebird is a bottoms up kind of drink.

La Dona is a blend of Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Cocchi Torino vermouth, Gran Classico, and Gifford passion fruit liqueur. The mezcal pour was heavy and gave you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling after a few sips.

Lovebird was another fruity one for me and I devoured it so easily. Recommended by the bartender, the Lovebird is Camarena Silver tequila, homemade tepache, hibiscus and lime. Very sweet and refreshing. This is a summer drink for sure.

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Bar Chica Pilsner and Firing Squad Cocktail
Postcard Pilsner and Firing Squad Cocktail

In the mood for a beer? They have a select few that they offer on tap, but trust me, you’ll really want to indulge on one of their cocktails for some major flavors and a stronger buzz.

The Firing Squad cocktail is stellar, and my favorite one, with Dobel Silver tequila, pomegranate, lime and Angostura biters. The freshness is unparalleled and the pomegranate is the main key with this one. I could drink this forever.

The Green Bench Postcard Pilsner hit the spot, per usual. You can’t go wrong with a light and stable beer from the neighbors right across the street.

The food menu is pretty small with just a few items, but what I tried was excellent!

Bar Chica Twice Fried Wings and Chicken Sliders
Twice Fried Wings Mojo Glazed and Chicken Sliders
Bar Chica House Sliders Fried Chicken
House Sliders with Fried Chicken

The House Sliders caught my eye instantly and they come in a few different options like fritz, cuban, fried chicken or tempeh and they’re served with potato sticks. The fried chicken was crunchy and absolutely heavenly. The slaw on the sliders was delightful and gave a light and sweet taste to this comforting bite. The salty potato sticks were also great for an airy and crunchy snack.

Bar Chica Twice Fried Chicken Wings
Twice Fried Chicken Wings – Mojo Glazed

The Twice Fried Wings were insanely good. You must order them, I insist. They also come in a variety of styles, mojo glazed, buffalo, or plain. The mojo glazed wings are close to life changing with a major crunch that you’ll dream about. The garlic, citrus and Cuban flavors really sparked my tastebuds. The chicken itself was fall off the bone good. I will be ordering these again. I do want to try the buffalo style on my next visit too.

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Bar Chica Black Bean Hummus
Black Bean Hummus

The Black Bean Hummus is a unique appetizer served with crunchy Cuban bread and topped with street corn relish. The portion of this hummus bowl is plenty enough for a larger group. For a simple appetizer, it hit the spot with delicious seasonings and of course the street corn topping gave it more character and zest. The Cuban bread was pretty crispy, more like a crouton. It was also pretty thick and slightly hard to scoop the hummus so I would have preferred something thinner like a pita chip, but that’s just me.

This dapper speakeasy is a great addition to the intimate bar scene in downtown St. Pete. It’s a funny thing to experience when you leave Bar Chica, a low lit, romantic vibe and instantly enter Bodega’s bright and busy restaurant. Spend an hour at this luxe oasis and you’ll completely lose track of time, or maybe that’s just the cocktails speaking.

Bar Chica
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 5 stars
    5 / 5 (5 )
$-$$
  • Your Rating


  • Bar Chica
  • (727)623-0942
  • Speakeasy, Cocktails, Bar Bites
    • Thu - Thu 5:00pm - 11:00pm
    • Fri - Sat 5:00pm - 1:00am
  • 1180 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33705, US

Classic Cocktail Bar in Bodega in Downtown St. Pete

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, Lindsey & Mahika 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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