Take a Break from the Sea and Relax at Sea Grapes Wine Lounge

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
Take a Break from the Sea and Relax at Sea Grapes Wine Lounge

In the heart of St. Pete Beach, right next to the Post Card Inn, sits Sea Grapes Wine Lounge & Light Fare. Sea Grapes is a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of the beach. It has an inviting feel with a couple of comfortable lounge seating areas, a large community table and a bar to sit at with the Sommelier.

Sea Grapes features a menu including cheese and charcuterie boards, chef creations (sharable plates), small bites (bar bites), and desserts. There are also take out options that include catering or a full picnic set up.

Sea-Grapes-Interior
Sea Grapes Interior

On the night I visited with my friends, Brianna was the Sommelier. She was knowledgeable and made sure we were the happiest with whatever wine we chose, which included several samples. We settled on the Paul D. Zweigelt, an Australian berry forward wine.

Paul-D-Zweigelt
Paul D. Zweigelt

Sea Grapes also serves three wine cocktails: Xalar Spritzer, Sea Grape Mimosa and a Port Sangria. I knew on top of having my glass of wine, I wanted to try one of the cocktails. Brianna told us that the Sea Grape Mimosa was their signature and a must try. The mimosa is made with fresh pressed Sea Grape juice from the beaches of St. Pete.

The story goes; A woman, Heidi, who calls herself the Sea Grape Queen harvests sea grapes off (well harvests the naturally fallen sea grapes) of the trees in St. Pete Beach. She then creates her own sea grape juice and shares it with Sea Grapes. The mimosa is then made with the fresh sea grape juice and prosecco.

This drink was refreshing, slightly tart, slightly sweet and the ideal post beach day drink.

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
Sea-Grapes-Mimosa
Sea Grape Mimosa

We decided to start off with a cheese and charcuterie board. There are three size options for the boards: single item, small board (4 items) and large board (6 items). We went with the large board and chose three cheeses and three meats. Our choices included 2-year aged gouda, Moliterno Al Vino (semi hard, wine infused sheep’s milk cheese), Secret De Scey Morbier (semi soft, funky cow’s cheese), Coppa Dolce (cured pork with pepper and juniper), Duck Prosciutto (duck, star anise and orange peel) and Wagyu Beef Bresaola (eye round, juniper, cinnamon, clove and peppercorn).

The board was served with several accoutrements including:
Marinated Olives – House made, slightly spicy with thyme, bay leaf and red pepper
Beet puree – House made, earthy with a bit of sweetness
Blackberry Jam – House made
Whole grain mustard – House made, the whole grain mustard made it very spicy and earthy
Sea Grape Honey – Super sweet and delicious, made by a local beekeeper
Spiced Cashews – house made, palate cleanser
Apricot Cherry Mustarda – house made
Basket of bread – Made locally from Crumb Factory

Cheese-Charcuterie-Goat-Cheese-Stuffed-Peppadews
Cheese & Charcuterie & Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews

Along with our board we added two small bites, the Beer Pickled Veggies and Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews. The pickled veggies were a very unique flavor with the beer pickling it made it a little bitter along with the typical pickled tang. The Goat Cheese Peppadews were spicy/sweet from the pepper and rounded out by the creamy, tangy goat cheese.

MORE FOODIES READING  Superstitious or Not, Everybody Needs Good Fortune in Their Life
Beer-Pickled-Veggies
Beer Pickled Veggies

While you are dining at the bar, you can see Chef Ryan perfecting every dish. He is focused and makes sure everything is executed well. Chef told me the serendipitous story of how he became part of the Sea Grapes family. After working in several restaurants and fine dining, he and his wife moved to Florida and his wife picked up a nannying job with a family. The family happened to mention to Ryan that they were in talks with a few restaurant groups to open a new restaurant in St. Pete Beach. Ryan shared his history… and well, the rest was history. The four of them joined forces and opened Sea Grapes together. Ryan’s wife is also a big part, as she runs their marketing and social media.

After having the cheese and charcuterie and watching Chef Ryan work so diligently in the kitchen, we knew we had to try some of the Chef Creations. We decided to order the Crostini Trio, Beef Tartar and Burrata.

The Crostini Trio comes with three bites of each option, which includes:
Whipped ricotta and n’juda topped with a roasted red pepper-tomato relish – This bite was very savory with the n’juda whipped into the ricotta and then rounded out with a sweetness and spice from the red pepper and tomato relish.
Arugula pesto, sheep milk pecorino – This bite was a little bitter and peppery from the arugula and then brought to life with the fresh herbs and earthy pecorino.
Beet puree, goat cheese, pistachios – This bite was very earthy from the beet and pistachio and then balanced out with the goat cheese adding some tang and sweetness.

Crostini-Trio
Crostini Trio

The beef tartar was completed with cured egg yolk, pickled shimeji mushrooms, beet-mustard, micro basil and grilled olive-rosemary bread. This dish was a total umami bomb, especially with the most terrific pickled mushrooms. I could have asked for a bowl of those and been happy for the rest of my days.

Beef-Tartar
Beef Tartar

We finished off our meal with the Burrata. While we didn’t order a true dessert, this could pass as one. With grilled peaches, blackberry gel, arugula, basil oil and speck this dish danced in my mouth and was the best way to end our meal.

Burrata
Burrata

Sea Grapes was such a wonderful experience, made even better by Brianna and Chef Ryan. They both took the time to make sure every drink and dish was served the right way. While they were trying to shut down the restaurant, we were enjoying ourselves so much we ended up overstaying our welcome a little (maybe a lot) past closing time. This is truly a place that makes you feel like you’ve known the staff forever and makes you never want to leave.

Sea Grapes Wine Lounge & Light Fare
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 5 stars
    5 / 5 (12 )
$$
  • Your Rating


  • Sea Grapes Wine Lounge & Light Fare
  • (727) 500-0052
  • Wine Bar, Charcuterie , Small Bites
    • Wed - Thu 11:00am - 9:00pm
    • Fri - Sat 11:00am - 10:00pm
    • Sun - 12:00pm - 6:00pm
  • View menu
  • 6390 Gulf Blvd, St. Pete Beach , FL 33706,

Wine Bar & Small Bites in St. Pete Beach

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.
ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:



More Foodies News, Reviews & Recipes


Comments are closed

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
St. Petersburg Foodies