Hey all, we're headed to St. Pete this week and we're looking for cafe recommendations. Older HB threads have mentioned Buddy Brew. But none of the shops have been given great reviews. We're staying near the downtown Common Grounds. Can anyone give us recommendations for excellent espresso and coffee? Thanks in advance.

I don't know about St. Petersburg, but the 1 hour drive south towards Perq Coffee (Sarasota) is well worth it.

EDIT - in addition, there are a few great microbreweries in Sarasota (Calusa Brewing is great!).

Hi. I've heard good things about Bandit in St. Pete. There's also Zeal in Tampa. Please report back with your thoughts!

Perq keeps popping up in reviews. Must be worth checking out. But that's an hour from St. Pete so it'll have to wait for another visit. Thanks for the rec on Bandit and Zeal. We'll give it a go and report back next week.

Buddy Brew has 3 stores in Tampa. The roastery store is good to hit if thinking of buying beans.

I've never been there, but bandit coffee looks pretty chill. They serve a local roaster called king state, which I actually got to try at a local shop here.

Brief St. Pete, Tampa and Ocala report. First off this is not a comprehensive report. We made one visit each to Bandit in St. Pete (Central Ave.) Foundation in Tampa and Symmetry in Ocala. Bandit is pulling shots on a Slayer and the SO was meh. Real nice folks, great vibe and just coffee. But considering their gear I was expecting more. But we only made the one visit so I may have just gotten a bad shot. They did recommend we try Foundation in Tampa and it was very good. They were pulling SO and it was very tasty. The shop felt kind of tense. Not sure why. But if you're in neighborhood check it out. Great varietal characteristics and no bitterness. Nice coffee. The biggest surprise of the adventure was Symmetry in Ocala. Ted the owner was pulling Bold Bean (Jax) SO on a Slayer and it was the best shot I've had in a long time. Rich varietal taste with a long finish. Ted said he was trying to get into roasting and that Zach at Bold Bean had been very helpful. Symmetry is not open on Sunday. Thanks to all for their recommendations. Go forth and drink coffee.

I had a shot of SO @ Bandit and thought it was very tart.

Marleyisdead wrote:Brief St. Pete, Tampa and Ocala report. First off this is not a comprehensive report. We made one visit each to Bandit in St. Pete (Central Ave.) Foundation in Tampa and Symmetry in Ocala. Bandit is pulling shots on a Slayer and the SO was meh. Real nice folks, great vibe and just coffee. But considering their gear I was expecting more. But we only made the one visit so I may have just gotten a bad shot. They did recommend we try Foundation in Tampa and it was very good. They were pulling SO and it was very tasty. The shop felt kind of tense. Not sure why. But if you're in neighborhood check it out. Great varietal characteristics and no bitterness. Nice coffee. The biggest surprise of the adventure was Symmetry in Ocala. Ted the owner was pulling Bold Bean (Jax) SO on a Slayer and it was the best shot I've had in a long time. Rich varietal taste with a long finish. Ted said he was trying to get into roasting and that Zach at Bold Bean had been very helpful. Symmetry is not open on Sunday. Thanks to all for their recommendations. Go forth and drink coffee.

Thanks for the report! Foundation is a new one for me. Were they featuring Sweet Bloom, their own coffee, or something else on the day you visited? I see they have a good chocolate selection, too...

Foundation was pulling Sweet Bloom on our visit. Seemed odd to be using coffee from Colorado but heck it's working for them.