Wine Dine and Play: Chattaway

Historical Alfresco Eatery

St. Petersburg, Florida

Dined in December 2016

By Sean Overpeck (CFE)

The hidden gem south of downtown St. Petersburg near Bartlett Park is an out of the way restaurant with a tropical garden setting. The area is port of the old Florida historical section of town. When you pull into The Chattaway, the parking lot is a dirt ground, and the outer property is surrounded by cast iron bath tubs. Once inside you feel the warm welcoming and open arms of the staff, treating you like a regular, even if it is your first visit.

Main review:

A slight confussion to me is that on the website, it indicates that the restaurant was established in 1951 by Jillian Frers, originally from england. However when you look at the sign it says it was established in 1921. The menu is made up mainly of American comfort foods, with a hint of British flavor. The heritage of England is seen in the inside dining room where “high tea” is served on dishes straight from an old British manor house.

When you exit the parking lot, entering the tropical garden you pass over a small bridge where the pond below has several variety’s of fish, and assorted plants all around. From there you enter into the patio section of the restaurant, that can seat a good number of people in separate sections, happily nicknamed after British Streets and other common British names like Piccadilly Circus.

My wife and I along with several friends who came in from out of town joined us, as they were about to go home. A few days before they all came in to celebrate our wedding events and parties, so this lunch would be a good farewell and continuing introduction to the real St. Petersburg. The wedding events were based around the history, culture, and food of St. Pete, and the Chattaway was a perfect fit to conclude those wonderful events.

We all enjoyed several selections from the menu from the broccoli cheese bites and the jalapeño poppers. Other entrees from the group included a grouper sandwich, their original cheese Chattaburger which metromix.com rated as the best burger in Tampa Bay, and from the British side, the all too classic fried cod fish and chips.

Other Noteworthy British-American favorites:

Wellington’s Lounge in Dubai, UAE

Harvest Moon Cafe in Sonoma, California

Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wheeler’s of ST. James by Marco Pierre White in Dubai, UAE

Victoria Falls Hotel Restaurant in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

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 the Chattaway 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:	4 of 10
Quality of the Food:	5 of 10
Plate Presentation:	4 of 10
Customer Service:	8 of 10
Wow Factor:	2 of 10
Wine Selection:	n/a

Other St. Petersburg, Florida reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:

Z Grill Contemporary American Eats	Brick and Mortar Rustic New American Fare A top 100 on Wine, Dine, and Play	The Mill Restaurant New American, Southern Twist
Sea Salt Innovative Finer Seafood & Raw Bar At the Sundial	Bonefish Grill Upscale Seafood Chain	St. Pete Saturday Market Organic Farmers’ Market
Parkshore Grill American Cuisine	Fresco’s Waterfront Bistro Seafood & Global Eats	The Oyster Bar Seafood Restaurant & Bar
Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill American Sports Bar	The Avenue American Restaurant & Bar	The Tap Room Boutique American At the Hollander Hotel
Acropolis Greek Taverna Greek Cuisine on Central Ave	400 Beach Seafood and Tap House Vibrant Downtown Seafood Restaurant	The Hangar Restaurant American Comfort Foods & Bar At the Albert Whitted Airfield
Gratzzi Italian Grille Classic and Upscale Italian	Jack’s London Grill British Pub Grub	Metro Diner Classic American Breakfast Chain
The Melting Pot Fondue Restaurant	FarmTable Kitchen Cal-Italian Cuisine At the Sundial	Punky’s Bar and Grill Bar with American Eats

The Chattaway:

358 22nd Ave South

St. Petersburg, Florida

33705

Contact Information:

Maître d or host:	+1 727-823-1594
Restaurant website:	The Chattaway
Serving hours: Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5:00)	Mon-Sun 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
Email or webpage contact:	Contact The Chattaway
Social Media & Accolades:	Facebook link
Social Media & Accolades:	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
Corkage fee’s:	The Restaurant does not list any corkage fee’s however, most American restaurants charge $25.00 per bottle
Restaurant style:	Casual
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 attire
Cuisine style:	Contemporary, Seafood, American, English, Indian & Vegetarian
Experiences:	Great outdoor dining, Good for special occasions, Rustic, Hole-in-the-wall, and a Neighborhood gem.
Payments:	Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express
Parking:	Public lot
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:	Low
Smoking:	Nonsmoking restaurant, and nonsmoking patio
Patio:	Yes

****

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Reviewed by:

Sean Overpeck (CFE)

Picture below was taken at

The Cradle of Human Kind in 2013,

Outside Johannesburg, South Africa

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)