Review: Slim Charmer, St. Pete’s carefully-curated, curious, new cocktail bar and tasting room, signals an even brighter future for the Bay area dining scene

In a small, retro building located next to its sister concept, lies the nonchalantly-cool Slim Charmer—offering no signage other than a snake decal on its door and an elusive motto that beckons the curious diner.

Located in an unassuming building amidst an undeniably-booming stretch of Central Avenue, this newly-opened cocktail bar and tasting room offers an ultra-curated libations list and intimate menu of small plates to match.

When guests walk through the door, they’re met with a dark, cool hallway-meets-dining room, with a six-person bar to the right and a handful of tables and booths lining the rest of the low-lit, slender space. It’s cool in a figurative sense, and literally, too, with the air-conditioning blasting—a welcome respite from the summer heat.

Although Slim Charmer has only been open for about three months, its staff moves with a sense of ease throughout the minimal space, quickly delivering rounds of small plates, confidently pouring wine and slinging frosted martini glasses.

The intimate cocktail bar and tasting room—with a total capacity of 26—boasts an “if you know, you know” type of vibe (said with the least amount of pretention as possible), with ultra-dim lights, flickering candles, black cement-like walls, slatted wooden ceilings and dark tables cool to the touch.

Slim Charmer’s raw bar is a logical first step in the experience, only after a martini (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) or something else from its sprawling drink menu.

Executive Chef and co-owner Rob Reinsmith and Chef de Cuisine Scott Grimm start things off classically with market-price oysters with champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce and horseradish—although these accompaniments can change daily. A delicate crudo misto ($18) with yellowtail tuna and Faroe Island salmon is accompanied by buttery Castelvetrano olives, capers, Calabrian chilis and lemon while its other raw fish option—monochromatic hamachi dish with strawberry-rubarb verjus, pink peppercorns, Espelette and a pop of basil ($21)—offers sweeter and fruiter notes contrasting the crudo’s brininess and touch of spice.

Folks from the Pacific Northwest and Northeast may be more familiar with the razor clam, a mollusk not typically seen on Bay area menus but can still be found on Gulf Coast beaches. Slim Charmer’s rendition is served slightly steamed and chilled ($18), with a wonderfully-balanced yuzu salsa verde and pickled green tomatoes. The acidity of its garnish helps bring out the natural sweetness of the clam, offering a chewy and tart bite to be slurped (or politely-spooned) right out of the slender shells.
The only non-seafood option on “The Raw” portion of the menu is also a must-order: steak tartare that tastes like the most luxurious and refined Big Mac you’ve ever had. The $20 dish features smoked cheddar, pickled mustard seeds, cornicorns and large shards of toasty ciabatte crostini to scoop it all up. The flavors are utterly familiar—not to mention perfectly seasoned—while the composition of the dish makes it exciting and fun to eat. All three dishes on the small plates portion of Slim Charmer’s menu also stand out in their own ways. Ribbons of thinly-sliced speck ham are placed on a large pile of crispy, housemade potato chips ($16) and tied together with a creamy and decadent Parmesan espuma (“foam”) and black truffle. The $17 nduja-stuffed, bacon wrapped dates accompany a smoky salsa rossa that balances the creeping spice of its porky filling and sweetness of the dates. These two small plates, while decadent and savory, definitely juxtapose the fresh and bright flavors of the restaurant’s raw seafood offerings.
Another highlight of the evening is a warm salad of roasted and raw carrots, fava beans, goat cheese feta, cured olives, mint and fried shallots ($16). Filled with herby goodness, the plate is a perfect collection of wonderful textures.

Rounding out the small plate offerings are three toasts: a $16 vegetarian option with locally-sourced roasted mushrooms, smoked mushroom cream, Cambozola cheese and vin cotto on sourdough, as well as an $18 option with little neck clams, pancetta, spring onion, Calabrian chili butter and fennel pollen. And if you’re feeling fancy, there’s $26 stracciatella and caviar focaccia toast with pickled shallots, meyer lemon and chives that Chef Reinsmith—who beat Bobby Flay last year—says will stay a constant on the Slim Charmer menu, despite wanting to change other items seasonally.

Slim Charmer’s drink options actually take up more space on the menu than its food offerings (diners must literally flip past several pages of drinks before finding the food).

Beverage Director Sydney Knowlton told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the spirit-forward cocktail list ($12-$15) reimagines classics in its enhancement of the room’s dark, and sexy, date night vibe. The apple martini is actually a re-definition and refinement of an often-bastardized American staple, with a 50/50 gin martini, espresso martini, and lychee martini showcasing the individual strengths of a small front-of-house team made up of all bartenders. A small, but mighty, wine list is focused on honest winemaking and breaks the trend of cocktail bars that hit home runs with spirits while phoning in the grapes. Throw in the N/A options, and Knowlton’s stacked lineup makes Slim Charmer a true destination.

Despite offering a smaller menu—largely due in part to its literally tiny kitchen—there still feels like there’s quite a selection of flavors and techniques on display.

For now, the only large format dish on the Slim Charmer menu is an $85 dry-aged, 16-oz. steak accompanied by ramp butter, roasted garlic and a cheesy arugula salad. For the steep price tag, it may make more sense as a shareable, group-centered item, but its flavors were nonetheless comforting and well executed.

Slim Charmer’s menu feels like a “choose your own adventure” game of small bites, easily shareable plates and dishes that cater to a variety of (good) tastes. If Wild Child—Slim Charmer’s sibling concept, opened in 2020—is marked by its Asian-Latin fusion with bright flavors, herby garnishes and pops of acid, Reinsmith’s new venture dims the lights a bit with notes of savoriness, richness and umami that match its sleek, cool atmosphere.

While both restaurants share the overarching “New American” description, Reinsmith says he didn’t want Slim Charmer to be “Wild Child 2.0,” citing more of a Mediterranean and European influence instead.

“Wild Child is a more up-tempo, kind of vivacious restaurant where this is a more tamed, more intimate and laid back environment,” Chef Grimm told CL.

Most nights, Reinsmith works shoulder-to-shoulder with Grimm—who cut his teeth at Wild Child for several years prior—in a tiny kitchen that maybe spans 100 square-feet (roughly the size of a food truck, if not smaller). Armed with one induction burner, a sandwich press, a hybrid oven and a cold line that contains a sea of little nine pans, its menu was designed to be somewhat easily executed by just two people.

A chef’s creativity can be showcased through the quality and seasonality of ingredients, but also through limitations of space and equipment. Realizing how truly small the Slim Charmer kitchen is, the level of execution and technicality showcased from Chefs Reinsmith and Grimm becomes a tad more impressive.

“This has been a good lesson in restraint, every single component in one of those nine pans definitely needs to be there,” Reinsmith says. “The menu was designed in a way where we can get away with these impactful, bold flavors although it’s easier to execute—the toasts are a great example of that.”

Throughout Slim Charmer’s menu are whimsical little phrases that help characterize the martini bar, like “crafted for the curious” and “sip boldly, dine fearlessly.” Constantly evolving, this tasting room concept does not stick to a traditional appetizer-entree-dessert type of structure. It invites a diner and a drinker who has an open mind—someone who isn’t worried about getting in and out in under an hour. Slim Charmer is not turning and burning tables, but delivers a cozy and curated hospitality experience with a killer beverage and food program to boot.

Slim Charmer’s debut menu can be characterized as balanced and cohesive, with future plans to change certain dishes as often as every few weeks. It might be dimly lit inside, but the future is very bright at 2706 Central Ave.

Reinsmith’s new venture dims the lights a bit with notes of savoriness, richness and umami that match its sleek, cool atmosphere.

The new bar and restaurant from the minds of Wild Child offers a touch of luxury, without feeling too traditional or pretentious. Its effortlessly-cool ambiance is supported by a curated menu that juxtaposes raw, acidic seafood preparations with comforting plates that help fill bellies after a few stiff drinks.

For now, Slim Charmer is open from 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays and 5 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, with plans to expand operating hours in the future. Its kitchen closes an hour before the bar closes, so make sure to follow last-call protocols.

Reservations via Resy are definitely recommended, although Slim Charmer keeps its bar open for walk-ins. And if you can’t snag a table right away, you can always grab a drink on Wild Child’s patio next door.

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This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2025.