Every meal should be an experience, in my opinion. I love to romanticize and fully immerse myself in every single culinary moment. To be an experience, it doesn’t have to be over the top nor overly expensive – I just always aspire for it to be memorable and intentional. Food is a love language to me and it is always my goal to enjoy and savor every moment and every bite of everything that is consumed. Additionally, I think that there is something important and beautiful about trying as many different dishes as possible with each meal. This is why I love tapas-style dining so much and that’s precisely what you’ll encounter at Bohemios Tapas Restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg.
Bohemios is located on the ground floor of the Camden Central apartments located on St. Pete’s lively Central Ave between 8th St. N and Dr. MLK Jr. St. The restaurant has an expansive indoor bar, plenty of tables throughout that can be reserved online and even some outdoor seating that lines the sidewalk. While they do not have a designated parking area, street parking can be found on Central and the surrounding streets. We visited Bohemios on an early Saturday evening on a holiday weekend and had no issue finding a two hour parking spot one block from the restaurant.
Bohemios in St. Pete has only been open for under a couple of months but this isn’t their first location – their original location is actually in Sarasota. From the time we arrived until the moment we left, the entire staff at Bohemios went above and beyond. We did not make a reservation and opted to sit at the bar where Basha provided us with exceptional hospitality. Additional staff members also checked on and conversed with us throughout our meal as well, including the chef. It’s the simple touches like that that truly make a difference in a dining experience.
Lucky for us, we popped into Bohemios during their Friendly Hours, which occurs every day from 3:00PM – 6:00PM and all day on Sundays. The specials include $6.00 white and red sangria, $6.00 house wine, $3.50 domestic beers and six different tapas for $7.95 each. It’s a fantastic deal that I highly recommend. We took full advantage of Bohemios Friendly Hours and ordered one of each of the six tapas, the white and red sangria, champagne and the house Chardonnay. The six tapas on the Friendly Hours menu are: tequeños, empanadas, pataconcitos, mix ceviche, calamari and meatballs.
The wine and sangrias landed in front of us moments after ordering them. It was a hot May afternoon in Florida and each of the sangrias were crisp and delicious without being overly sweet. The chardonnay that my mom ordered arrived in a chilled wine glass which we highly appreciated – it’s a great touch.
Shortly thereafter, one at a time, our tapas began dropping in idyllic fashion. Our first taste of Bohemios was in the form of their pataconcitos with beef. Pataconcitos are deep fried plantain cups with ground beef. This happy hour rendition is comprised of three bite size cups and we absolutely loved them. They’re savory with a touch of sweetness from the plantains. We couldn’t have asked for a better bite to start our meal.
The meatballs were the next to arrive in their pool of red sauce with a generous side of grated parmesan. These meatballs are on the smaller side and are quite tender. They’re great for sharing between a few people.
After our last bites of the meatballs were consumed, the beef empanadas, calamari and the cheesy tequeños were placed in front of us. It’s important to note that each of the Friendly Hours items comes with three pieces (with the exception of the empanadas – they come with two). This was perfect for our group because each of us was able to enjoy one bite of everything without having the temptation to indulge in more (which we easily could’ve done). The tequeños were, without a doubt, the fan-favorite. These fried delights of dough and queso are served with a cilantro sauce and are essentially an elevated cheese stick and I mean this in the best way possible. We could’ve devoured an obscene amount of these.
Cilantro sauce is served alongside a few of the tapas and this truly helped to cut the rich nature of these dishes. The empanadas are one of said dishes and while the dough and filling of the empanadas were both exceptional, the cilantro sauce elevated the bite.
The calamari was good, but not as memorable as the other tapas on the Friendly Hours menu. The rings of squid are sliced thin, breaded and of course fried. If you’re a calamari fan, you’ll enjoy this version.
Bohemios has a bruschetta section on their menu and the pan con tomate was 100% a must order. It’s one of my favorite dishes because the flavor that it delivers with its array of simple ingredients. It’s a dish that proves less is more when quality ingredients are involved. Tomato, olive oil, garlic and herbs served on crostini – need I say more? We were humming. This is something that I make regularly at home and I appreciate when it’s executed well at a restaurant.
Croquettes also had their own section on the menu and when we noted that, I knew that we had to order at least one. I was set on the Manchego croquettes but Basha swayed us when she mentioned that the Iberian Ham rendition was a must order. We followed her lead and needless to say, we were extremely pleased. These croquettes are stuffed with serrano ham and seasoned potato and we simply went crazy over these.
The last of the six Friendly Hour tapas to arrive was the mix ceviche. This ceviche has shrimp, fish, scallops, cilantro, sweet peppers and plenty of citrus and is served with plantain chips. It is a vibrant offering and we appreciated it after downing an array of dishes that leaned more on the rich side.
We also turned to Basha for the main dishes and she pointed us in the perfect direction with the Lobster Cargo and the Bohemios Churrasco. The lobster was the first of the two to arrive and to be honest, it surpassed all of our expectations. Lobster dishes are often over-hyped, but this dish was on-point. Tender lobster baked in a garlic butter sauce with toasted bread that is sliced thin – it’s truly wonderful. The lobster meat melts in your mouth.
Steak is also something that I feel can be hit or miss when ordered out but the Churrasco grilled skirt steak with pinto-gallo, marinated tomato and onion and chimichurri is a must order at Bohemias. The accompaniments with the steak are what made the dish stand out. Everything that we had at Bohemios was fantastic, but this was undoubtedly the favorite between the three of us. We took the leftover home and they were just as good the next day.
If we resided at the Camden apartments in St. Pete, we would have a hard time staying away from Bohemios, especially with their daily Friendly Hours offerings. If you’re looking for an experience with a group that consists of a number of quality bites, premium service and hospitality and an overall enjoyable experience, look n further than Bohemios.
- Readers Rating
- Rated 4.7 stars
4.7 / 5 (Reviewers) - Outstanding
- Your Rating
- Bohemios Tapas Restaurant
- 727-502-3497
- Spanish, Latin, Tapas
- Sun - 11:00am - 9:00pm
- Mon - Thu 11:00am - 10:00pm
- Fri - Sat 11:00am - 12:00am
- Take Reservations: Yes!
- 875 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, United States
Your destination for authentic flavors with a blend of Spanish and Latin flair in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg's Edge District
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.
I previously gave 1 and a 1/2 stars on accident.