Canopy Rooftop Lounge The Birchwood Jason Cline The Canopy Rooftop Lounge

The Canopy Rooftop Lounge

The Birchwood
340 Beach Dr. NE (4th Ave. N.)
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727-896-1080
Map
St. Petersburg's hottest boutique hotel boasts the only waterside top-deck bar overlooking the boats bobbing genially on Tampa Bay.
Openings: Lunch Fri.-Sun., Dinner nightly

Features

The Canopy Rooftop Lounge, St. Petersburg, FL


The Canopy Rooftop Lounge Restaurant Review:


On Beach Drive's ever-more-glamorous restaurant row, the Canopy Bar, with its white-curtained cabanas, low-slung couches and sweeping views of Tampa Bay and Straub Park, stands out as the only one to make full use of the setting. The old Grayl's Hotel was knocked down and a multi-story inn erected by owner Chuck Prather, its flagship restaurant Birch & Vine nestled on the ground floor and the Canopy Bar perched up top (accessible by stairs or elevator). It makes a great one-two date-night punch: dinner downstairs and then sunset viewing above. But the Canopy Bar's food and beverage program is nothing to sniff at. The braised pork belly Cuban, a pressed baguette with luscious meats, Gruyère, grain mustard vinaigrette and house-made pickles, is the best selection on both the lunch menu and the Canopy menu. Still, what charms locals and visitors most about the latter’s offerings are the roasted red curry chicken spring rolls with cucumber kimchi and peppadew coulis (sounds fancy, but really, dig in) and the Niman Ranch lamb meatballs with their unexpected roasted red pepper-raspberry sauce. Beverages span from distinctive house cocktails to a brief list of world-beat wines in a wide range of varietals, all quaffables lent more savor by the vistas.