Dead Bob's Bar — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

LOCALS BEWARE.

So i must preface this all with , I am , CORRECTION, I WAS a long time regular at this bar and restaurant since its inception , until TODAY MARCH 29th . The patrons And the atmosphere Are always fantastic . HOWEVER , this atmosphere is no thanks to the not-so-friendly bartenders ( they’ve always been this way ) . The bartenders and staff are the LOWEST of Low-Lifes I’ve come Across , in my years of being in the hospitality industry . On 2 Separate occasions they double charged me. They held my Credit card until the bill was due , in which I told them I’d be paying cash ( I told them this when they first took the card also and they said fine they only hold It to make sure you don’t dine and dash ) . On 2 occasions I paid the cash and then went about my night , only to check my bank statement the next morning and notice that I had been charged the exact same Amount on my card that I had a physical receipt for paying cash . On two separate occasions this happened. I can also state with 100% certainty this also happened to another patron of the establishment , who I know outside of the restaurant .

Because I am , CORRECTION , I WAS a long time regular and because it is the closest restaurant to my home , I swept this under the rug and continued to frequent the establishment , but began NEVER giving my card , always paying cash even if I had to pay each time I ordered something . Since I am a regular they started not even asking for a CC And just starting me a tab and then I would pay cash at the end of my visit. This went well for quite some Time, for many visits to the establishment .

Last night March 28th I stopped in and the same Routine took place . I had a tab , I was ready to tab out , I payed it , but then a conversation commenced with myself and another patron and I ordered more , which equaled a 15$ tab. Because I had paid the original tab I made a mistake And said my goodbyes and left with the 15$ tab open. FORTUNATELY I became aware of this and immediately turned around and came Back within 5minutes . I paid the tab and extended my apologies for the mistake . No big deal , crisis averted….. or so I thought.

Like I said….. I am , CORRECTION, I WAS A regular at this establishment , so I returned today March 29th expecting normal service …..only to be greeted by the frowning face of the bartender from last night who proceeded to tell me I was not allowed to be served, EVEN IF I PAID CASH AS I WENT. He said I’m ONLY ALLOWED TO BE SERVED WITH CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS . I said WOAH , I come here all the time, it was a mistake , of a 15$ tab . I told him I could pay as I go . I also then proceeded to offer him another 20$ cash tonight March 29th as a free tip for causing any “headache” I may have caused him for 5min the day before . He refused and told Me To kick rocks. He claimed he’s NEVER seen me before 🤣 …. Laughable

Now I will say , I do respect and understand that any establishment can refuse service if they so chose I just thought I should Let everyone know out there who takes the time to read reviews , just how unpleasant these people are . You will be served and your bar will be tended by people who are extremely unpleasant . I’ve been in sales , retail , hospitality, and real estate my entire life and I know good customer service and I know the name Of the game is to take care of the regulars who take care of you …. This establishment and its bartenders DO NOT understand this reciprocal process .

I’d love to someday talk to the management team of this place and let them know just how unpleasant their bartenders are , but I fear management does not care, as this unpleasantness has always been a staple of this establishments bartenders . I will NEVER go back to this establishment , and I will most certainly discourage anyone who asks me about the establishment, from going . ( and that’s a lot of people being as I’m born and raised here and own a retail store ) .

Dead Bobs is THE HOME of the UNPLEASANT BARTENDER and below average...

Yo, Dead Bob’s in St. Pete… I ain’t makin’ this up. This place hits harder than Clubber Lang on espresso. You stroll through a weathered path into a no-frills bar that’s part locals’ watering hole, part greasy-spoon shrine. One room spills into a garage-door patio where the Florida breeze fights the booze; just enough to remind you you’re alive.

Inside, it’s elbow-to-elbow warmth. I've been here multiple times and every time when I sit down, I become family. Bartenders hustle 360° around the bar, no pretension, just beer and banter. The chatter buzzes, TVs flash sports, the jukebox hums old-school hits, and the staff? They’re real. Regulars even call it their “Cheers bar,” the kind of place where they know your drink before you even open your mouth.

Now, the food:

Carolina Gold Pork Wings:

Picture this: Pork with wings? What is this? Some barnyard Frankenstein creation? But OH BOY, I ordered it with sticky-sweet Carolina gold sauce drippin’ everywhere. Each bite smacked me senseless with that sweet-tangy soul punch. I wasn’t just eating wings; I was gettin’ beat up by flavor… and loving every bruise.

Philly Cheesesteak:

Then came the cheesesteak. No bougie “artisan” nonsense; just raw, juicy steak, molten cheese, soft hoagie roll. Like Philly street fighting in your mouth. First bite—“Eye of the Tiger” blasting in my head. Second bite—I wanted to punch a meat locker. Third bite—I’m jogging steps in my mind, arms raised like a champ. Pure greasy glory.

The Atmosphere:

Dead Bob’s ain’t your cookie-cutter dive. It’s Florida dive-adjacent, dripping with old-school charm. They’ve even got a bathroom sign begging for respect on the one-person-at-a-time rule… and you know that just invites chaos. It’s tight, it’s loud, and yeah—you gotta yell to get heard sometimes. Parking? Forget about it. But that’s part of the rite of passage and just the gatekeeper to glory.

I’ll always come back because the food is killer, the drinks are honest, the prices are fair, and the vibe is unapologetic. My boy swore the cheesesteak here was the best he’s had in his life. Long story short—Dead Bob’s is the kind of place that’ll rough you up a little like it's your older brother, but then feed you like a king, and send you home smiling.

Come with a fun attitude or don’t...

Let me start this all off with my friends and I either currently work or have worked in the service industry in recent times. Coming here was literally the worst dining experience my friends and I have EVER had. I joined my friends after they had been sitting at the bar before me. The male bartender was kind(?). However, because I joined, we had to move to a table. Our server, JESSICA, was EXTREMELY, rude to all of us. Potentially because we were younger (late 20s) than the rest of the crowd. There was no introduction. No welcome. She took my order and my friends ordered one round of shots. We all ate and then maybe like 20minutes later we ordered one more round. Not only were the shots inconsistent (the bartenders use stop pourers), but this round tasted extremely watered down to the point I could barely drink it. After awhile later and finishing our food, we ask for one more round before cashing out. Jessica asked rudely asked if we were driving, asked the bar if we should have another, and then essentially cut is off. Mind you - I only had one and a half shots and my friends maybe three drinks total. Now if everyone was treated this way it would be no problem but the bar was backed up so there was no way this was the case. My friend who is absolutely afraid of driving and cannot, asked if it was okay for her to have another, and she was still refused. We decided to just cash out, and my tab and another was wrong. So not only did Jessica not ask how we were doing checks, she didn’t even have the curtesy to pay attention to our table and see who had what not ask. The selling point of how horrible I this experience was is that when she brought my change, she made a base and slick remark about the change. The whole experience made us feel so unwelcome and terrible. I hope you all can find a better staff because this was simply not it. At no point we’re we rude. At no point we’re we demanding. We got no check ups at any point. Only a nasty attitude. And this place was recommended to us as well.

Edit: some of our tabs said Jessica. My friend believes...