Max and Sam’s Bar and Grille
2 1/2 stars
1700 Park St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-360-6525
“Bar and grille” can mean oh so many things, depending on the business behind the moniker. For some, the food is the focus, with the lounge or bar area little more than an added incentive for people who want something more than a dining room as a dinner setting, or for some pre-prandial cocktails. For others, like Max and Sam’s, the bar is the thing that draws people in.
Max and Sam’s developed a following out on St. Pete Beach over the past three years, in a cozy little place complete with piano bar and neighborhood vibe. The restaurant’s new location in Jungle Prada, however, is bigger, prettier and loaded with décor that maximizes the speakeasy image the restaurant tries to cultivate. It helps that the building was constructed in the 1920s — something the owners took advantage of with dark leather couches, art deco poster panels and plenty of rich wood that’s balanced by lighter elements that put a Florida spin on the clubby aura. And, of course, there’s the piano bar.
On weekends, a piano man tickles the ivories for a host of subdued revelers who drink and request ballads and take to the small dance floor, spinning away to the standards. It’s the kind of atmosphere that is tailor-made for creating regulars, where both the other customers and the bartenders learn your favorite drink and musical preferences within hours of taking a seat. Norm!
There’s food, sure, a full menu based on steakhouse classics that fits the elegant throwback vibe of the place. And though the bar is the focus at Max and Sam’s, the food can hold its own well enough to fortify visitors before a night of low-key dancing in back.
