American cocktail cuisine. That's the focus of the Station House restaurant, which is part of a five-story downtown St. Pete mixed-use development at 260 First Ave. S.
The restaurant, headed by Alex Gilmour and Ro Patel, held its soft opening 4 p.m. Wednesday, and is housed in the building's cozy ground-floor space, formerly occupied by Café Alma.
Regionites may pair their craft cocktail creations with fare like "Grits + Grunts," Station House's reimagined shrimp and grits dish.
Farewell to a 600 Block dive bar
The 2-year-old karaoke bar Octave got weird with loyal patrons one more time Friday. Ridiculously cheap drinks ($1-$3) were served during the spot's final night of operation.
Led by Amy Dee, the dimly lit dive bar at 661 Central Ave., equipped with classic bar pastimes (pool, darts, arcade games), threw concerts, DJ nights, watch parties and more. The two-for-one happy hour happened daily.
On one side of Octave, imbibers could experience jukebox metal jams and flicks like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas via flat-screens, while the bar's other half let neighborhood karaokeists entertain the masses.
Don't worry, there's still sake
Nearby, the new @548 bar at 548 Central Ave. replaced The Sake Bomb, which opened in 2009 and specialized in centuries-old rice wine beverages.
Under new management, @548 is a full-liquor joint with drink specials, pool and lounge areas. Free shots pour at 5:48 p.m. every day, and Tuesdays bring $2 sake bombs.
The grand opening celebration will be hosted at 8 p.m. Wednesday on New Year's Eve.
This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2014.