Copper Shaker – One of the Best Kept Secret “Restaurants” in St. Pete

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Copper Shaker – One of the Best Kept Secret “Restaurants” in St. Pete

Let me tell you a little story about Copper Shaker. Spoiler alert: It’s a foodies hidden gem… but back to my story—we feel like family here, and it’s not just because WE feel that way. It’s because THEY make us feel that way, and because they are like a family themselves too. We recently returned after over a year hiatus because of stinkin’ covid, and our hearts were warmed to see all of the familiar faces that we’ve come to love. It really says something—especially after the peak of covid—about the ownership and management of the place that all of the same fantastic people are still there.

It all started back in late 2013 when Cask & Ale opened in the spot that is now Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern. They had a great three year run. I won’t go into why they closed, but later the same crew opened Copper Shaker in June 2017. Back in the Cask & Ale days, we always thought they had great food, but ironically, it was underplayed—it was one of the best kept secrets in town—in a small town that doesn’t really keep too many secrets.

When Copper Shaker opened, it was the same—great cocktails, and shhh—don’t tell anybody, great food too. Then they opened a second location in Ybor City, and brought Executive Corporate Chef Anthony Decker on board. He cut his teeth at some fancy places in New York City, and just when we thought the food couldn’t get any better—it did. And now …. they DO want everybody to know about it.

We know that we’re still wearing masks, and that not everybody is vaccinated yet, but Copper Shaker is a large space with huge booths that make it easy to social distance.

They have a regular menu, plus a few special menus, including a “large format” menu for larger parties with a few of the options being an Italian Feast (I want to do this one next time), Bo Ssam (Korean Slow Roasted Pork), Mediterranean Whole Roasted Fish, and we chose the Tomahawk Rack Chairman’s Reserve® Beef. There are a few other options as well. You can see the full menu at the end of this article. The large format dinners are designed to feed 6-8 people. Our sixth couldn’t make it, so we had a party of five, and some tasty leftovers to bring home.

With our choice of the Tomahawk Rack we actually received several more items than the menu shows. We were told that they like to surprise you by over-delivering. Sorry. I’m going to ruin your surprise, but first—drinks!

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Last Summer
Last Summer
Stolin Huffy
Stolin Huffy

Copper Shaker is known for their fantastic, original cocktails. Pictured above we have the Last Summer – Grey Goose vodka, strawberry, mint & lime; and Stolin Huffy – Stoli vodka, orange, lime, cantaloupe, ginger beer, bitters.

Starters
Starters

I always study the menu before I go to a place and when the starters arrived, I knew right away that there was a lot more involved than the menu described.

Smoked Salmon Platter
Smoked Salmon Platter

The Smoked Salmon Platter included caviar, passion fruit, Meyer lemon, ninja radish, Vermont creamery butter, and multigrain crackers.

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Italian Meats
Italian Meats & Cheeses

The next platter included imported Italian Speck, Prosciutto, Bresaola, and 18 month-aged Parmigiana.

Italian Cheeses
Italian Cheeses

We had some more Italian cheeses on the third platter, which included Smoked Mozzarella, Mozzarella di buffala, and Burrata. There was also some pink sea salt, long stem artichoke hearts, pickled peppers, and gooseberries. It was the first time we ever had gooseberries. They look like little orange heirloom cherry tomatoes, and tasted mostly sweet with a little bit of sour.

Now it’s time for a huge hunk of cow!

96 Ounces of Deliciousness
96 Ounces of Deliciousness! (That would be six pounds) Dry Aged USDA Prime

Chef Humberto Frutos sliced up the roast and drizzled with Sicilian Frantoia extra virgin olive oil, while Alec Gutierrez served.

Lyonnaise Potatoes
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Roasted Wild Mushrooms
Roasted Wild Mushrooms
Prime Rib All Sliced Up
Prime Rib All Sliced Up & Drizzled with Frantoia (Sicily) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Hope You're Hungry!
Hope You’re Hungry!
Bourbon Sauce
Let’s Try Some Bourbon Sauce
Dessert
Dessert
NY Style Cheesecake
NY Style Cheesecake
Four Fingers Bourbon Brownie
Four Fingers Bourbon Brownie

Alec having fun with the torch on the Four Fingers Bourbon Brownie – 120 proof Iron Smoke Bourbon, S’mores Brownie, Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

To sum it up, everything was perfect, and absolutely delicious!

Espresso Martini
Espresso Martini

Photos and Videos by Lori Brown 

Copper Shaker Large Format Menu

Copper-Shaker-Chateau-Menu

Copper-Shaker-Food-Menu

Copper-Shaker-Happy-Hour-Late-Night-Menu

Copper Shaker
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 4.7 stars
    4.7 / 5 (34 )
$$
  • Your Rating


  • Copper Shaker
  • (727) 351-2569
    • Mon - Sun 4:30pm - 3:00am
  • 169 1st Ave North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, US

Clever Cocktails, and a Foodies Paradise

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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3 Responses

  • Loved this article. It also made my mouth water. Just moving to St. Pete this past October; I am always looking for new places to eat. I came here and began delivering for Uber Eats and it has been such a rewards job that has opened me to a view of this for city not many see. Thats when the foodie in me began to surface. Still in all my adventures I did not know of this place. Can not wait to give it a try.

  • I grew up here and my family cooker at home a lot, we always considered dining out a treat and would pick a special place to go, Thus looks like one of th8 places and can’t wait to go! Thanks for the great read

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