Pistil House — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Someone recommended Pistil House to me, so l decided to try it. This restaurant/cafe is located in a home in St Pete that is zoned for business use where they have their eatery. It went to the right couple, as this is where this concept of two young people is. The idea of this engaged couple is in a home in what l believe is the Grand Central district. The home has picnic tables outside for outdoor dining along wth a cozy porch, which kind of describes the whole place. It's almost like walking into someone's comfortable kitchen where you come over to chat with them and grab a bite to eat. You can nestle up to the kitchen counter/bar, or you can sit in the many different types of quaint little nooks and have your beverage or food. There is a little room with a cushioned couch and chairs, or a nice big bench table where you could have a group of your friends. The food prep area is surrounded by all things comfortable and relaxing, including the hosts. They greet you like a neighbor and welcome you back into the place like you've been there before. You can line up at the counter to place your order, or you can sit anywhere and be served. The future husband/owner is the chef/cook, and the future bride/owner is at the counter and coordinating all other things going on. The place has more to talk about, but l will go back to that later. The menu is a combination of a short list of weekly items, plus a group of blackboard specials. I thought of saying you can eat in layers here. You can have something light, or you can have a group of different things and eat to your heart's content. They have a weekly sandwich special, which this week was their version of chicken salad, which l saw looked good. They also have boiled peanuts, a salad, and a charcuterie board, which you can customize with different cheeses or meats or vegetables. They have an old family recipe that is their unique combination of cucumbers and Fritos, believe it or not, along with the rest of the recipe. They have home baked focaccia bread, which l had, that you can combine with olives, or jam or other items that compliment it. I chose the homemade strawberry jam, which was delicious. The bread was thick, soft and warm, coated with a flavorful salty butter topping and cut into cubes like a mini cake. I really enjoyed it and it was hearty.. They also have a dessert/breakfast pastry cabinet. I couldn't pass up the bourbon brownie/blondie chocolate chip bar. It was very good also. Well made, chewy and fulfilling. For drinks they have a variety of anything you could want. They have a matcha selection, wine, beer. l had a local kombucha, and they have a glass case with a variety of most things you can think of with or without alcohol. The beer can be bought out of a giant old-fashioned claw tub set near the counter with ice in it to keep the beer cold. As you scan the place, which you really have to see to get an even better feel for it, you feel like everyone has their own little area to have whatever comfort they were looking for. You can be dining with a group of friends, working on a laptop, reading a book, having a casual conversation, having your idea of a picnic, stretching out on a sofa with a friend, sitting at the counter chatting with someone or watching TV, or tucked in a corner with whoever you decide to join you. It doesn't end there. You walk into a flower shop, which the place is named for, with a variety of many different types of flowers, and, you can have an arrangement made for you in the back corner of the house by people waiting to greet you. They also have gifts and local items. Even the restroom is nicely decorated with framed pictures of antiquated motel signs that have a nostalgic look. The home is bright with all the windows and very open. I was sitting at the counter and chatting with who l found out was the owner who introduced me to the busy cook. You really can't help but like the place. It caters to whatever type of atmosphere you want to create for yourself that day. I ran out of review...

I was so excited to check out the Pistil house and unfortunately had a very uncomfortable experience. My sisters came into town and I thought it would be a fun place to check out together.

Pistil advertises themselves as “flowers, beer, and wine”. I had looked at the menu in advance to see if there was food and saw that it was primarily snacks and then they also have a single sandwich special. The special sandwich advertised was something I could not eat due to dietary allergies. I decided to stop at a food truck prior to coming to Pistil and came with a sandwich that fit my dietary needs. When we got to pistil we came inside and all ordered coffee, my sisters got the advertised sandwich, and we ordered a charcuterie board to share. We collectively spent over $80 and tipped. We got a table outside and I started to eat my sandwich. The owner then comes outside and tells me that I cannot eat food from outside places as this is a “restaurant”. She basically told me I had to leave or throw out my food. I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. Since we had just ordered, I ended up throwing out the food I brought since we had spent over $80 at Pistil. What was even more uncomfortable is the fact that I had set my food down in front of her prior while we ordered, and she waited to tell me after we had purchased food and sat down that I wasn’t allowed to have my outside sandwich. She was not friendly or apologetic about this situation and just watched me as I threw everything in the trash. I typically do not bring food to other places, but did not think this was a restaurant as they even advertise their options as snacks.

My sisters and I felt very uncomfortable and we did not want to stay. She does have a small written sign on the door that says no outside food allowed, but I did not see this when we walked in and it’s possible the door was even open when we passed through. She did not address the outside food until after we had ordered from her. We honestly were shocked that she felt like this was the right way to approach the situation after we had just spent a decent amount of money from her menu. I understand that there is a policy to enforce, but this was a simple mistake that anyone could have made. We felt that the owner could have handled the situation better on her end.

Downtown St Pete is filled with great places and positive vibes, but unfortunately this was not it. I sadly do not see myself going back due to this experience and I will definitely be sharing this story to others as I am still...

I unfortunately was a bystander to the outside food situation. I wasn’t going to leave an additional review on the situation at all, however, the way the owners have handled it both in the moment and online just shows that they still are missing the point.

The situation below was a simple mistake any customer could have made which the owners easily could have handled with kindness. Unfortunately, the owner was incredibly hostile to her paying customers (again we spent over $80 on drink and food) and made them feel like a child being yelled at in public. Yes, it was that bad. A table seated next to us after even said to us “woah that was crazy. I would have left if I were you”.

All she had to say was “I’m so sorry, but we actually don’t allow outside food here. Next time could you please not bring anything to eat here as we are trying to promote our own foods?” And we would have felt bad and never left a review in the first place.

She also had no idea she was on her “last bites” of her sandwich until she came out and spoke with us. My sister was the one who said “I just have a few bites left, can I at least finish it?” To which she responded aggressively again saying “no. this is a restaurant and we don’t allow any other food”. She then stood there and watched as my sister shoved the last two bites in her mouth and then threw away the chips. It was uncomfortable and the craziest thing I’ve ever seen at an establishment.

You promote your business on yelp as a “wine bar, beer bar, florist”, and not a restaurant. This causes confusion to customers. I also have never been to a bar in St Pete that has outside seating where you can’t eat outside food, so you all may want to make your written sign on the door larger because this simple mistake will likely happen again.

I want to reiterate again, I did not want to make this review and it is not about my sister having to throw away her food, but it’s the way you handled the situation. Being kind to customers is the key to making a business thrive. I hope you can take a class on customer service or at least on how to talk to people in general. As someone with years and years of customer service experience, a little bit of kindness goes a long way. Good luck with your...