Grand Central District, Wednesday to Sunday

St. Petersburg · 7–8 hours · morning

Eleven stops from the Warehouse Arts District up through the Grand Central District and out to the EDGE District, about thirty-five minutes on foot end to end and no car needed. A concrete-studio coffee bar with a patio, an early coffee and liquor bar with a queue, a Vietnamese coffee house, a funky kava cafe, a Moroccan courtyard, a croissant, a surfboard-hung wellness cafe, a light-roast roaster pulling berry-forward cortados, the single-origin flat white at The Under Grounds, a spacious hotel coffee bar, and a glass of wine in the lobby bar next door to finish. Eleven is far too many for one day, so treat it as a menu. Closed Mondays, when Balance House is shut.

The route

1. Coffee Concrete
Downtown St. Petersburg
Start south of Central Avenue, early. It opens at 7:00 and shuts at 4:00. A big, funky coffee bar inside a concrete design studio, with art, an airy backyard patio and a car on display. Order the latte. It is a ten minute walk up to Bandit.
10 min walk to the next stop
2. Bandit Coffee Co.
Downtown St. Petersburg
It opens at 7:00, shuts at 3:00, and there is a queue even on weekdays. A full espresso bar that also pours wine, cocktails and beer. Order the scrambled egg sandwich, and the shaken latte if you like it cold. No wifi.
4 min walk to the next stop
3. Say Coffee House
Downtown St. Petersburg
A Vietnamese coffee house with a spacious room and plenty of seats, open from 8:00 and closing at 4:00, the earliest close after Bandit. Our Biscoff Latte was overly sweet even ordered less sweet, so try the classic phin coffee or the matcha instead.
3 min walk to the next stop
4. The Muddy Root Kava Cafe
Downtown St. Petersburg
An alcohol-free kava cafe with sofas, bar seats, window seats and a canopied patio, open from 7:00. The decor is funky, the wifi is strong, and the latte was pretty decent. Kava is the main event here, so ask what to try.
2 min walk to the next stop
5. Ruya
Downtown St. Petersburg
A Moroccan-inspired coffee and wine lounge with a shaded courtyard patio. Come for the room and the patio, and try the mint tea, since our cold brew was bitter and the chocolate mousse too dense. Opens at 8:00 as reported, so check Instagram if you arrive early.
1 min walk to the next stop
6. Black Crow Coffee Co. Grand Central Dist
Downtown St. Petersburg
Open from 7:00. Take the croissant, which is moist and properly good, and skip the cortado, which ran burnt and under pulled on our visit.
1 min walk to the next stop
7. Balance House Cafe
Downtown St. Petersburg
A minute on, and open from 8:00. A new wellness cafe with surfboards on the walls and a long menu of matcha, protein drinks and espresso. Order something less sweet than the seasonal latte. Closed Mondays.
4 min walk to the next stop
8. Sun Bear
Downtown St. Petersburg
A no-frills roaster with a record player, open from about 9:00 and shut by 4:00. Order the cortado, which tastes of berries, and ask for a taste of the cold brew. Chat with whoever is behind the counter. The Under Grounds is 220m on.
3 min walk to the next stop
9. The Under Grounds Coffee Co
Downtown St. Petersburg
The best cup of the route: the single-origin flat white, with a banana muffin in the naturally lit room. It closes at 2:00 on Tuesdays and 5:00 the rest of the week, so on a Tuesday come here earlier. Rose's is an 8 minute walk east along Central Avenue.
8 min walk to the next stop
10. Rose's Coffee Bar
Downtown St. Petersburg
A long sit. A spacious, well-dressed coffee bar on the ground floor of the Moxy hotel, open until 6:00, with plenty of seats and a terrace. Our cold brew was flat and a little bitter, so skip it and try an espresso drink. Bar Moxy is in the same lobby, for when it closes.
11. Bar Moxy
Downtown St. Petersburg
The finish, in the same hotel lobby and open until 11:00 at night. A posh, lively bar where the Albariño was excellent. Ask for a clean glass and check it before you drink, because ours arrived dirty.