May 18, 2011
Nice casual local pub. Has a bohemian feel. Beer selection is good and staff is nice. It can get quite busy and the number of tables is limited.

May 16, 2011
This place seems to have hit stride and is one of the best true local-owned neighborhood bars I have ever been to. Along with the Refinery, Ella’s and Cappy’s it seems to be spearheading the Seminole Heights business revival as the featured bar. Brilliant rotating tap selection, and extensive chilled bottle selection. If you live locally, this is the place in town to drink USA craft and European beer, served in the proper glass ware. One day can have a totally different brewery tap selection from the next, and they seem to get in lots of limited editions and seasonal offering that you will not find anywhere else in Town. For those that like Budweiser products, and entry level beers like Bass and Heine, this place is the step up, and will not serve any of those products. The Food: Excellent pub fare, that just won a bunch of local awards. Downside is that sometimes on the weekends the food can take a bit long. Lunchtime service is fast, but as the bar opens at 4-5 if you are there for lunch and a pint you will have to settle for lunch and a bottle, which is my only real complaint. Monthly event series, acoustic shows, bluegrass nights, movie nights that they somehow always put on for free (which makes me wonder why I pay a cover at a few places down in Ybor to see the same shows). No open mic night, thank god. The place can vary on clientele and atmosphere depending on when you go. It can range from business folks on the way home stopping in for a pint to a group of hipsters on fix geared bikes to local politicians.

March 31, 2011
Rated an A+, I was very skeptical because it had 2 reviews and its a southern bar. However, it was .10 miles away from the Refinery (must go) where we were having dinner so I suggested to Sean9689 and the ladies we head here before dinner for drinks. If you don’t read anything else, the next statement is all you need to know, don’t waste your time... Located on a sleepy and not well lit street, I feel like I’m pulling in to a cantina in a foreign country. The Independent has a coffee shop then the beer bar. An outside patio that I’m sure is great during warmer moments, a small boring looking bar, tables to the back. The draft list is written on a chalkboard that is very hard to read due to its color and poor lighting. Upon reading it, maybe it was to disguise the crappy beers on tap. 12 lines of mediocre dribble I can get anywhere; Titan IPA, really? No local pours at all. The bottle list is about 40 bottles of equally accessible stuff, this time a whopping two local brews. What they do have is way overpriced... The bartenders weren’t overly friendly, didn’t engage long enough to know if they knew anything. An average craft beer bar that need not be visited with CCB or Datz so close.

March 13, 2011 [ Updated July 7, 2011 ]
i have to say i like the Independent in St Pete better. this place is ok, but lacks character. the inside looks like the interior of a sauna, all flat wood and concrete with nothing to break up the blandness. the outside is ok but not much to see. beer selection is good as expected, as is value. just not a very interesting place.

January 28, 2011
Renovated gas station. Serving as a bar and a section that’s more of a gastro pub. It does have this ’starbucky’ atmosphere of mostly college crowd surfing on their laptops with a mix of new craft beer crowd. The staff inside reminded me much of the Mellow Mushroom ’cool’ peeps. Nice outside area with enough room inside although I could see how this could easily become clustered during peak hours. Beer selection was nice and a little pricier than what other bars have. Ample bottles to chose from and some nice draft offerings.

January 3, 2011
Funky little gargage beer drinking bar. Decent selection for such a small place. I didn’t have any food but it was nice to see that they had a decent menu and several people were ordering. Very eclectic crowd but then again Seminole Heights usualy is. I thought they did a very clever job building out the bar from an old gas station. Not my cup of tea because to me it feels more like college bar but I can certainly see why they are popular in the neighborhood. I counted 105 bottles of beer on the bottle menu so I guess they’ve added some.The only real complaint I had was that the chalkboard menu was extremely hard to read at night. The lighting on it was poor and you could hardly read the top 2-3 drafts. I didn’t eat or my rating would be higher. Not many places to go to in Seminole Heights so if you’re in the area I’d say stop in and give it a try.

December 8, 2010
Needed somewhere to hang until I could crash at a buddy’s, and this place was suggested.

A cozy, small, dim place with some dartboards, a bar, a few tables... nothing crazy, but nice. Bartenders and patrons are definitely of the "hipster" clientele. Nothing wrong with that, just be prepared for crazy beards, huge glasses, etc.

No complaints about the service. The bartenders were both prompt, polite, very friendly, and knew quite a bit about beer. Weren’t afraid to give samples of taps, answer questions, show us bottles, etc.

Pretty decent selection, but could be better for the area. A couple CCB brews and a whole bunch of European lagers with some other stuff thrown in. Pretty solid bottle collection.

Didn’t try any food, though there seemed to be a restaurant of sorts.

The prices were pretty steep. $6 for a pint of Jai Alai is pretty damn expensive, but alas it’s what I ended up drinking a couple of anyway. I think the cheapest pint was $5, and that was for OK, which sells about $3 most anywhere else.

Overall, if you’re looking for a place that’s open late during the week, it’s a pretty solid place to stop. It was practically empty, everyone was friendly, we got to play darts, and there are some decent brews. However, you’re better off hitting the breweries and a few other bars if you can.

May 13, 2010
Stopped by on a Sunday evening after dinner at Ella’s. Limited draft and bottle line up. Was happy to find Avery’s Maharaja on draft. Nice vibe to the place although there was only 10 people there. Bartender was nice and provided samples when we asked. Overall a decent stop.

April 6, 2010
Great to see a decent bar in Seminole Heights. I liked the St. Pete one so having it on this side of the bay is great. I get beers here on draft I just don’t get at other places they work a lot more with one of the distributors thn most of the bars that emphasize craft and import beers. Lagunitas Cappucino Stout was an extra special treat on New Years Eve.

December 1, 2009
A converted gas station that serves as one of historic seminole heights’ new watering holes. Seating is ample with both outdoor patio and interior bar and bench seating available. Crowd is a mix of artsy and locals, but does not border on pretentious. Selection is admirable, if not exactly my taste. A wide variety of tasty offerings from abroad... but disappointingly, not a large selection of american craft brews. Bartenders are amiable and approachable. Glassware abound... but be sure to ask for the appropriate choice, as the staff may not be versed. I dig it with my only knock being that the beer selection looks like it was picked to seem like a great list.... without actually being a great list