Red, White and Booze — Restaurant in Saint Pete Beach

This restaurant was recommended to us by my sister and brother-in-law...sort of. They had rave reviews about Sea Critters, so when we discovered there had been a name change, we were curious if it would be as good as they claimed. We have mixed reviews.

So, we'll start with the good stuff first. The vibe here is fun. We sat outside in the back. The chairs were big and comfy and the live music was great. It was a very good atmosphere. For an entrée, my husband ordered the Shrimp & Grits and it was honestly the best Shrimp & Grits either one of us has every had. I highly recommend it if you go here. Also, the "french fries" are THE BOMB! They are unlike any other french fry I've ever seen and they taste amazing! Order them!

Unfortunately, that was the only bright spot of the meal. I ordered their supposedly famous margarita, and it tasted like any other margarita you'd get anywhere else, so not sure what the hype is about that. For a starter, we ordered the smoked fish spread. It was ok. It had some pickled veggies on it which I liked, but my husband did not. The presentation was a bit lackluster as it looked like it had been hastily slapped on the tray and it had spilled over the side and onto the table when they set it down. My entrée was the most disappointing. I ordered the fish tacos with grouper and paid $2 extra to add avocado. I took my first bite and almost spit it out. After pulling out the grouper and other toppings, I discovered the hidden avocado at the bottom. It was all almost completely BLACK! Now, I've seen some avocado with a little bit of brown here and there, but this avocado had obviously passed on into the afterlife several days before I even arrived. It was so disgusting! I cannot for the life of me figure out why the kitchen would even put it on there?? I would much rather have you tell me that you're out of avocado than to serve black rotted stuff on my tacos! They removed the $2 charge from the bill, but still, there was no excuse for that.

Overall, we haven't written this place off completely. The Shrimp & Grits and french fries were good enough that I would probably give them one more visit. Maybe by next year they will have their new menu sorted out and things will be...

Well, Great location, Great memories when it was Sea Critters, and now, well, it's different. I have expectations that go a little beyond a nice view, which they absolutely have... I frequented this establishment years ago when it was a quaint, authentic, personable, and quiet, hole in the wall. Simple, with friendly service, and truly fresh seafood on a beautiful inter-coastal inlet. The name change seems short sited, and really is a challenge to get past. I would imagine this may eliminate potentially 50% of a possible new customer base that may be interested in going to a place with fresh fish and a cool, Passe-a- Grille vibe( like it was). If you’re going to go to a restaurant named Red, White and Booze, you probably want to leave the kids at home along with any expectations of keeping things classy. Whoosh..... and I love a low key, simple beach vibe…. seems like a short sited business model, imo? Still, since I was back in town visiting, I wanted to see if it was still at all reminiscent of years of memories. As you walk in the front door, you’re greeted by horrendous, bright, LED lighting ( I went at night) reminiscent of the giant, overpacked, low quality beach mega-stores, ouch!. If you can get past the first 20 feet of that initial shock and cluster to the very back of the restaurant, there are some distant reminders of what it used to be. They have added a large outdoor deck, which is absolutely a great addition. However, it mostly just felt like disorganized chaos with average service, lousy music, and mostly people who seem to be looking for lots of Red, White, and Booze. If only the owners could have considered Red, White and Blues.....Would have certainly left the door open for more business, more "hip" In Passe-a-Grille and less of a suggestion for ignorance. And certainly attracted better musicians I would imagine? As far the food.... fairly typical, we had mostly fried food that evening, peel and eat shrimp was fresh ( Ruby Reds?), Meh. Nothing...

First time visiting on Friday evening, there were several of us there, eating, drinking and listening to the live music. We started watching the FSU game, we were having such a great time. In town, from Tampa for a wedding we were waiting on the bridal party to arrive for their rehearsal dinner. We were the only people seated inside, aside from a few people sitting at the bar. When the bridal party arrived we erupted into excitement when all of a sudden the bar tended yelled from behind the bar “keep it down we are still running a business here.” We laughed because all thought he was joking. Then he came out from behind the bar flailing his arms in a very aggressive manner and began yelling at us all to be quiet, saying we were too loud and he was still trying to a run a business” Immediately we all said we were leaving, imagine 32 people in your establishment on a Friday night, filling the entire inside part of your restaurant and after being rowdy for under 5 mins we are being yelled at by your bar tender. Asking to speak to your manager, we quickly discovered that was an even worse situation, speaking to us rudely, telling us to “get out.” He began to get aggressive and told one of the guys in our group to meet him outside. I went back inside to get one persons belongings and he had completely disappeared. As I walked out I was joined by 3 people (whom I don’t know personally) who also walked out as they heard the way your bar tended spoke to us and said they will not be back either. Crabby Bills was more than happy to accommodate such a large group and never once said we were being too loud. All but maybe 6 of us all live in Florida and will never visit or recommend your...