Wine Dine and Play: Castile Restaurant

Restaurant with 360 Rooftop Bar

St. Pete Beach, Florida USA

Dined in January & December 2016

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

With over 60 boutique hotels in 33 cities across the world, the Kimpton Hotel Group is a small but steadily growing venture. What makes these hotels different from other name brands? Elegance, customer service, great restaurant concepts, and all at lower prices than the competition. My wife and I stayed at two separate Kimpton Hotels from Vero Beach to West Palm, Florida on our honeymoon, and were impressed with both. Before this, we for one of our wedding celebration parties, we booked a restaurant at a third Kimpton in St. Pete Beach called the Hotel Zamora, and the Castile Restaurant.

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Executive Chef:

Chef Nicolas Lebas

Main review:

Before my wife and I got married and had our parties in December of 2016, together we had been to Castile and the 360 rooftop bar once. As I worked overseas, she had more opportunities to return to some of our favorite places more often then I did. My wife chose the Castile 360 rooftop for one of our wedding events because it overlooks the Gulf of Mexico, and it was a perfect location being several stories up to have a sunset party.

Follow this link to read about our wedding celebration events

Castile is a Mediterranean and Latin menu based blend, or a global eats as I refer to it as. The menu is inspired by flavors of the world, coastal seaports, and focuses on sharable plates that are when possible sustainable, farm to table, and organic.

We went for the first time in January of 2016, between lunch and dinner sitting at the bar of the Castile Restaurant, and afterward visiting the roof top to see the bar and the wonderful views of St. Pete Beach. From January to that December when we celebrated our wedding party the menu did change significantly, and the items that we shared earlier in the year were not available for our party. This review focuses on the earlier menu.

While enjoying a few drinks, all we wanted was an appetizer to hold us over, and from the menu there were some very interesting selections. Items like a lobster grilled cheese with cheddar, provolone, and lobster on Texas toast, or yucca croquets with house cured pork belly, cured tomatoes, manchego cheese and yellow pepper jam. You also had classical favorites like calamari, Florida conch fritters, and smoked fish spread. We settled on the flight of ceviche. Three ceviche selections starting with tuna, conch, and shrimp. All were served with jicama lime slaw, fried yucca and plantain chips.

We also shared some truffle fries with parmesan cheese, which no matter what restaurant in any part of the world that you are in, truffle fries are a must.

For those that have no idea, yucca is a root plant also known as cassava. Grown mainly in Mexico, it is also found from Texas to Virginia.The fruit is the most desired part of the plant. Edible yucca fruit only comes from the thick-leaf varieties of the 30+ species of yucca out there. It is about 4 inches long and is usually roasted or baked giving it a sweet, molasses or fig-like flavor.

Other noteworthy global eats reviewed:

First Flight Wine Bar at the Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida

Aubergine in Cape Town, South Africa

Tirquaz Bistro and Garden Lounge in Bur Dubai, UAE

Nine One Five in Key West, Florida

Tradewinds Restaurant in Sandton, South Africa

Qui Restaurant in Austin, Texas

Alinea in Chicago, Illinois

Safar Restaurant at the Dubai International Airport (DXB), UAE

Final notes and observations:

Over all from this experience taking the six factors I use on Wine, Dine, and Play to produce my rating, I give Castile a 2 out of 5 stars, meaning that they were above the average dining experience of most restaurants. The six factors used to get this rating include reviewing of their wine selections; overall customer service from host, bar, service, and management; the restaurant ambiance, noise level, lighting, and bathroom quality; plate presentation, which includes garnish, color, and art; quality of the food, where it is produced, and how it is prepared; and finally the “wow” factor. Did the restaurant wow me in any way not listed in the five factors above? Some restaurants do, but most do not.

Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
Ambiance:	6 of 10
Quality of the Food:	6 of 10
Plate Presentation:	5 of 10
Customer Service:	6 of 10
Wow Factor:	2 of 10
Wine Selection:	7 of 10

Other St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, & Madeira Beach reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:

Rowe Bar Contemporary American Eats	Beachcomber Bar & Grill At the Lows Don CeSar Hotel	Level 11 Rooftop Artisan Bistro
Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse and Hibachi	Castile Restaurant Mediterranean Cuisine, 360 views	Feola’s Relaxed Italian Eatery
Spinners Rooftop Bistro Rooftop 360 Revolving Restaurant	South Beach Bar and Grill Madeira Beach Tavern	The Salty Rim Grill American Eats, Caribbean Flair

Castile Restaurant:

Kimton Hotel Zamora

3701 Gulf Blvd

Saint Pete Beach

Florida 33706

Contact Information:

Maître d or host:	+1 727 456 8660
Restaurant website:	Castile Restaurant
Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)	Lunch: Daily: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Mon-Sun Dinner: 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm Mon-Sun
Email or webpage contact:	Contact Restaurant
Social Media & Accolades:	Facebook Link
	Twitter
	Pinterest
	Instagram

Review basics:

5 stars	is Extraordinary
4 Stars	is Outstanding
3 Stars	Exceeded Expectations
2 Stars	is Above the Average
1 Star	is an Average Dining Experience
No Star Rating	The Restaurant is Basic, Poor, or Appalling

Overall Star Rating:	2 of 5 Stars: Above the Average
Wine List:	Click here to view the restaurants wine list
Corkage fee’s:	The Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
Restaurant style:	Conservative
Reservations:	Not Required Walk-Ins: Accepted, but not guaranteed
Child policy:	The Restaurants reviewed on this site may have a child’s menu or cater to them; however for full enjoyment of food and wine, it is recommended for children not to be in attendance, unless they have been trained in proper etiquette. Hire a Babysitter!
Dress code:	Casual, or Conservative attire
Cuisine style:	Contemporary, Modern, Global, Lounge, Seafood, American, French, Mediterranean, & Vegetarian
Experiences:	Trendy, Lounge, Business parties, Romantic, Great bar, Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Scenic views, Intimate, and a Neighborhood gem.
Payments:	Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
Parking:	Valet, or Hotel Parking
Wifi	The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
Noise level:	Medium
Smoking:	Nonsmoking restaurant, and nonsmoking patio
Patio:	Yes

****

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Wine, Dine, and Play’s Favorites

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Alinea Chicago, Illinois, USA	Tetsuya’s Sydney, Australia	The Test Kitchen Woodstock, South Africa
Aubergine Cape Town, South Africa	Qui Restaurant Austin, Texas, USA	Restaurant Le Gabriel Bordeaux, France
Vue de Monde Melbourne, Australia	Constantia Uitsig La Colombe Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa	Grill 225 Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Leopard Hills Lodge Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa	La TABLE de Joël Robuchon Paris, France	Brick and Mortar Saint Petersburg, Florida USA
Quay Sydney, Australia	Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud Dublin, Ireland	The French Laundry Yountville, Napa, California, USA
The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français Franschhoek, South Africa	At.mosphere Dubai, UAE	Commanders Palace New Orlean’s, Louisiana, USA
Attica Ripponlea, Melbourne, Australia	5A5 Steak Lounge San Francisco, California, USA	Rioja Denver, Colorado, USA
Mr. Todiwala’s Kitchen London, United Kingdom	Zuma Dubai, UAE	Reflets par Pierre Gagnaire Festival City, Dubai, UAE
McCrady’s Charleston, South Carolina, USA	Cook'n' With Gas Bistro Christchurch, New Zealand	Berns Steakhouse Tampa, Florida

So many great wines in this world, here are a few of my favorite tastings:

Meerlust Wine Estate Rubicon Stellenbosch, South Africa	Hoopes Vineyard Napa, California, USA
Jonata Winery Santa Barbara, California, USA	Yarra Yering Yarra Valley, Australia
Penner Ash Wine Cellars Willamette, Oregon	La Motte Franschhoek, South Africa
Biltmore Estate Winery Asheville, North Carolina, USA	Bergström Wines Willamette, Oregon
Silver Oak Alexander Valley, California, USA	Eagles Nest Winery Constantia, South Africa
Ghost Block Vineyards Yountville, California	Pahlmeyer “Jayson Wines” Napa, California, USA

Reviewed by:

Sean Overpeck (CFE)

Picture below was taken in 2007 at a

catering event in Atlanta, Georgia

About Sean:

I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta, Georgia prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra. Since that time, over 250 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide. There are articles on exotic world locations such as Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; ethnic country cuisines such as Afghan, and Peruvian; tasting tours of world cities like Charleston, Cape Town, and Dubai; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, with much more to see and write about.

Who is John Galt?

“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,

But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)