10 overlooked and quintessential Tampa Bay dive bars you should try right now

National Dive Bar Day is on Friday, July 7 and there’s no shortage of essential dive bars in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. But there are of course varying opinions about what constitutes a dive bar in modern times.

The internet broadly defines a dive bar as “a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks.” The late Anthony Bourdain once described some of his favorite New York City dives as places where “it’s okay to drink during the day,” and even an establishment where there is “an element of danger.”

While it’s true that prices have gone up everywhere and less people these days are interested in roughing it, there are still a few good spots left where you can get a drink for a fair price and not be surrounded with the influencer crowd.
With the life of Ernest—a longtime resident iguana of Mahuffer’s on Indian Rocks Beach who passed away in November—in our hearts, we’ve rounded up 10 essential Tampa Bay dive bars not on Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s past lists.

We’re talking places where the owners make their own pickles, or use wood burning fireplaces to keep the place warm in January. The places that open at 8 a.m. for your hair of the dog or make you walk through a back alley to get in. These are the holes for advanced dive bar goers looking to go even deeper. So hit that ATM, raise a PBR and dive in (and don’t forget to wash your hair afterwards since most of these spots still allow smoking).