The Birch & Vine

I am avid user of Unilocal,but rarely review because it feels that everything that needs to be said, has been said. I just finished eating brunch at Birch & Vine and feel compelled to write a review. I love downtown St. Petersburg and spend the weekend there frequently. I have been coming to Birch & Vine since it opened– usually for lunch or brunch, not dinner. I have watched the quality of their food slowly deteriorate over my last few visits and today was the lowest point yet. Whomever is buying their food is doing the chefs a serious disservice. The avocado (on two out of three dishes) was flavorless and actually hard, tomatoes were also not ripe, so therefore, flavorless. Chorizo (in the breakfast tacos) actually had no flavor– oddly, you could see a lot of it, but could not taste it (at all). Birch & Vine feels like a restaurant that is coasting on its previously well earned reputation and has lost site of the fact that the food needs to, at the very least, deliver on the flavor promised in the menu descriptions.

This is a wonderful restaurant/​hotel that opened a few years ago, and one that I had been eager to try. So far I have been here twice and the food quality as well as service has been consistently excellent. This last trip I had was even better though. I arrived earlier than their dinner hours and so they had a different menu until 5pm. I asked the waitress if I could order from the dinner menu anyway because I was looking forward to specific dishes. She was very gracious and said she would ask the kitchen, and they were willing to let me order the dinner items. My lamb meatballs and vegetable farfalle with goat cheese arrived promptly. The same dinner I had a year ago was just as good as I remember. I loved their lamb meatballs! They were soft and filled with greek cheese. There was Siracha sauce on the plate that I dipped them in. My pasta was fresh with a variety of vegetables in it. I usually don’t go for nuts in the pasta, but the walnuts they had in it gave variety in the texture of the dish. All complemented with goat cheese and cream sauce that was rich, but not too heavy. My waitress checked on me often. I love the accommodating and cheerful service from this restaurant and would strongly recommend. Wish I had a dessert, but I was too full. Pretty sure they are excellent though. Maybe next time.

Perfect brunch spot, for large or small groups, children & even dogs. A great selection of breakfast & lunch items for everyone’s tastes. The cheesy grits are perfect for a relocated southern girl and the quiche is a perfect balance of flavorful filling and crispy crust. Bloody Mary’s are made spicy or normal for individual tastes, but everyone at our table got the spicy & loved them. Located right on Beach Drive and in perfect proximity to the park for prime people watching. Will definitely be back.

This restaurant was gracious enough to seat an entire conference. The waiters were extremely polite and helpful and very attentive. We were offered a limited menu, but the choices were excellent. Everything from the appetizers to the dessert was wonderful. It was far more food than I could ever hope to eat in an entire day. It was a shame that we had no way to bring it home for later. The steaks and the salmon and were amazing. I had the pasta with lamb meatballs which was good but a little spicy. The desserts that we were offered were incredible. I had the icebox peanut butter dessert which I would definitely eat again. The setting was lovely. With part of her group able to sit outside on the veranda. Afterwards we will go upstairs to the Rooftop Bar. The view is gorgeous and it’s nicely done. It even offers several small tent areas for seating as well as a fire pit area.

Great place for lunch right off the water. The tile fish was fresh and nicely pan seared. Great service and beautiful outdoor seating.

For a business dinner, I’m really glad I found The Birch & Vine. Just a short walk from the Renaissance Vinoy, this restaurant caters to those who appreciate good, fresh seafood. While it looked like a great evening to dine outside, we decided it would be best to stay indoors. Our waitress Melissa was extremely attentive along with her other helpers keeping my customers’ glasses filled with Cigar City Jai Alai— an excellent local brew. They also had a great wine list and other craft beers on draught.
We started with crispy gulf oysters along with chicken fried calamari. Most of the group had the orange miso scallops. Done sous vide, these 4 large scallops are placed over truffle grits sprinked with edamame succotash and drizzled with an orange miso sauce.
For dessert, a colleague and I opted for the Balvenie 14 yr over 3 cubes. They came back with a very generous pour. We all left extremely satisfied.

I’m always happy with my food here. It’s always delicious. I had fish tacos the other day. They were wonderful. The Peanut Butter Icebox is great. It’s not overly sweet, just incredibly good.
I don’t recommend the Niman Ranch Lamb Meatballs. They blend the meat. It loses some of splendor in the process. I enjoy the texture of meat. Blending it just makes it weird. The flavor was ok.
The service is great. There is great seating outside. It’s a smart choice if you’re on Beach Dr.

Wow this was one of the best lunches I have had in awhile. I have been to the canopy many times and have always wanted to eat lunch and dinner here so my hubby and I decided on lunch here since it was gorgeous outside. I was pleasantly surprised that the lunch menu was decently priced $ 10-​$ 15 for most of the items on there. I ordered the trifecta which was the ½ sandwich, salad and soup of the day. I got lucky because what was featured was the chicken Parmesan slider, strawberry and kumquat salad with a vinegarette and feta, and the creamy broccoli and cheese soup.
The soup was hands down delicious. I would seriously come back just for this soup. Usually soup can be salty or watery but this was perfection! Yummy!
The salad was also a hit. The fresh cut strawberries and kumquats on the salad were very good!
The chicken Parmesan slider was also very good. Perfect amount of cheese and sauce. The chicken was very tender.
My husband had the mojo Cuban sandwich and fries. Wow was it delicious. The pork and salami and cheese paired very well together. The fries were also very yummy. I do have to say though for it being lunch the service was kind of slow but the great food made up for it. My hubby and I would love to have a date night and enjoy a nice dinner here!

Small menu, but tasty options with polite service. I have heard that their strongest menu is the breakfast and I wish to return to to try them at their best. Maybe next time!

This was out first time here and it is an excellent date night restaurant. I love both the indoor and outdoor seating options. The downtown St. Pete vibe is certainly evident with views of the park, waterfront and passing pedestrians. Our server was Jessica. She was efficient and did not hurry our meal in any way. Although it was a Monday and the need to turn the tables would be much greater on the weekends, we felt we had enough time to enjoy all of our meal. The food itself was wonderfully prepared and beautifully presented. We left very full and with leftovers. If you want to impress a special someone, the Birch and Vine will do the trick!

Dinner
Beautiful evening. Attentive service from our new friend, Thomas.
Enjoyed– oysters (omg the smoky flavor of the corn and onion mix paired so nice with the wine suggestion) and the sou vide lobster– my favorite combination lobster, butter and vanilla bean– I could have ordered 3 more!
Dinner was filet (hubby) which had great sides Yorkshire savory pudding which complemented the meat and the broccolini was nicely flavored.
I enjoyed the pork– WOW– they do not skimp on the size of the meat. The chutney and sauce was so flavorful. Now the potatoe looked pretty blaze blaze, until you put that duck confit thing in your mouth!!! Explosion of goodness.
Be amazed. Then head upstairs for after dinner drinks and views to die for at The Canopy.
Great pick
Good job
Breakfasts–
Unilocaled breakfast since we stayed at the Vinoy. This place and Cassini came up as acceptable under my Unilocal standards (4 * or more)
Glad we visited Thomas again.
Enjoyed Bloody Mary (add the house made hot sauce) monkey bread (reminded me of Christmas morning as a child) crispy chewy outside, soft delicious inside covered in sweet gooey Carmel sugar and nuts.
Lobster scramble (needs something else to elevate it) and the soft shell crab Benedict — Benedict was not on bread, which I like since I never eat the bread, but rather in potatoes, the best was the house made hot sauce.
All and all I love this place.
You should go. Can’t lose.

The Birch and Vine is a great place for brunch! If you enjoy salads I highly recommend the Birchwood’s Vertical Garden Mixed Green Salad! The greens are fresh (the waiter joked with us on how they pull it right off the wall… literally! At first glance, I thought it was a decoration lol) The salad consists of grape tomatoes, roasted beets, sheep-​goat feta, radish, caperberries, and proscuitto crisps. I also added chicken to mine. It was great! Very filling! The only thing was the citrus-​pineapple vinaigrette was a little too acidic for me. I would get it on the side next time.

I can’t really get over the snooty hostesses. What’s up with that? Why would you pay people to be unfriendly to customers?
We sat on street tables and it’s a nice area amongst the other fancy upscale St. Pete eateries along Bayshore. I would rather go somewhere more homey where I feel welcome. :)

Came for burger week. I had the Niman Ranch Steamed Bun burger, and it was okay. I wouldn’t really classify it as a burger, though. It was more like a oblong meatball taco. The bun was too much, and there wasn’t enough patty. There weren’t many toppings, and it just didn’t do much for me. It wasn’t bad, I just don’t thing the ingredients worked together. It’s not a regular menu item, thankfully, I wouldn’t ever order it again.
The hostess was completely rude, and the server seemed like we were burdening her by being there. The place was nice, but really lacking in several areas. Namely, the customer service area, and the burger area.
Overall, not the most pleasant of experiences. We all couldn’t wait to pay and get the heck out of there, so I can’t say it’s a place I’ll ever revisit.

How is this restaurant one of the only restaurants on Beach Dr. that is not dog friendly on their outside patio? How sad! Just saying.
We went here for our Wedding Anniversary, and sat inside. I should have read the reviews sooner because it was so loud in here. I remember why I’d rather sit outside. I couldn’t even talk to my husband it was that bad.
We ordered a steak for him, and scallops for me, along with an appetizer of lamb meatballs. I also ordered a dragon berry mojito. Our meal was just okay to me. Our service was just okay as well. The nice part about this place is that one can just go upstairs to The Canopy for a drink after or before hand.

I so very much want to give 5 stars and the quality of service was only surpassed by the quality of food, and despite what an eastern philosophical spiritualist might say, it is not just quality… QUANTITY means a whole lot too, especially when it comes to enjoying your meal! Birch & Vine really hits a home run. But I cannot bring myself to give the full 5 stars because there was some room for improvement. Since Birch & Vine clearly appears to be on their A Game, I will be back and have no doubt that things will have inched closer to the perfection I believe they can reach.
This was my first time, but I did a lot of research on Unilocal beforehand. We had a party of 5. My friends parents went with the Wreckfish. It was the daily catch. I tried a little sample and it was very good. The waiter, very knowledgeable, described it like grouper with a little more firmness. It was a pretty good description. My fiancée went with the wedge salad knowing well that should we supplement with the chocolate mousse cake. Oyinda M., a fellow Unilocaler that we know well, described it in such a manner that my fiancée just could not resist trying. It was good, but it could have been better. It is hard to specify exactly what it needed. I hate to say just throw in more chocolate because too sweet is not ideal, but it some a little bit more gooey decadence, it was almost like something metaphysical was missing. Maybe it was because of the late dinner that the cake was just not as fresh as it could have been. Based on the speed my friend devoured his Peanut Butter «Icebox» dessert, I know he enjoyed it very much. I help my fiancée with the cake instead, do I did not sample it. I do know he was pleased and would not be offended if I recommended it on his behalf. Before moving onto the highlights, I will touch on the low lights… my fiancée did not love the wedge salad. She asked for shrimp on top, not realizing there was already something fishy in the salsa. When it came out, it was a bit too fishy and she mentioned there being a bit a spice overkill sprinkled on top of the salad. She thought it needed to be toned down just a bit.
A quick side note about the appetizers. Not sure if it was a late night thing (we did not arrive until about 9pm) or a Tuesday thing, but appetizers were ½ off and so was wine under 150 dollars. We passed on the wine, but did try the roasted red curry chicken spring rolls and the grilled royal trumpet mushrooms. Both were phenomenal in their own very unique right. I thought I read a review about a jumbo crab meat cheese fondue or something along those lines on Unilocal beforehand, but there was nothing on the menu and the waiter did not know of it. That was a little disappointing, but it is preferred to have an evolving menu and a nice place like the Birch & Vine, so that is not a cause for the ⁴⁄₅ stars.
Reading Unilocal reviews made my entrée decision pretty simple. Gorgonzola & Candied Bacon Stuffed Niman Ranch Meatloaf. It was amazing, better than any meatloaf I have ever tried. It almost looked like a chunk of pot roast as opposed to meatloaf. It was so heavenly that I had to do an evil villain laugh out loud. I cannot explain why heavenly things cause my to share my snicker of doom, maybe it is because I feel slight concern that if I enjoy such wonderful dishes I will end up fat and broke and I would have to be evil to wish that upon myself yet I cannot stop eating the amazing meatloaf. So I digress.
Perhaps better than the meatloaf was the Grilled Niman Ranch Long Bone Pork Chop. Wow. My very good friend went with that. He was trying to decide between the pork chop and something else and our very patient and knowledge and professional waiter INSISTED upon the pork chop. BOY WAS HE RIGHT! I could not stop staring at my friend plate and eventually had to propose trading a piece of my meatloaf for a piece of his pork chop. Upon inserting the pork chop into my mouth, I immediately did the evil villain laugh at 2x volume.
Both my fiancée and my friends father were happy with the experience, but I inferred from our discussions and body language and left overs that they were a little less impressed than myself, my good friend, and his mother. I think if I had to point to the one thing it would be to tone done the spices some, or at least ensure the wait staff provide better warnings. It is not that the food was spicy in that it burned like hot sauce, but just slightly over seasoned. It almost seems as though the Birch & Vine could simply to improve, at least for the wedge salad. DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THE MEATLOAF OR THE PORK CHOP. We will be back and we will see if some adjustments can be made to the wedge salad to bring it to perfection. I sure expect to bring the next review up to 5 stars because I see a lot of trusted Unilocalers on here with 5 stars and I know they are no pushovers!

This is the classiest place I’ve visited in quite a while. The décor is plush and has a romantic feel. We had a drink at the bar and it was phenomenal… a blood orange Margarita with a sea salt rim. Very unique. Jerry, the bartender was very helpful and cordial. He even showed us one of the hotel rooms, which was absolutely beautiful and had a 1920s style bath tub and a four poster bed. It was absolutely gorgeous. The place only has 18 rooms, which I found alluring. It also features beautiful ball rooms for events and a gorgeous roof top bar! I will definitely be back.

3.5 stars.
This is an aesthetically pretty restaurant with a good wine list.
Be prepared. It can be very loud. All that hard wood results in a restaurant where, depending on the other restaurant-​goers, you will have to shout to be heard. We were unfortunately seated by two very loud tables, despite my opentable request for a quiet table. I could barely hear myself think.
The menu is okay. We started out with the calamari, which was very good, and the Spanish cheese and charcuterie plate, which was better. The mains were not as successful. My husband had the long boat fish of the day. It was red snapper, and he said it was only okay, and not a very generous portion. I had the pork chop. The waitress recommended it «cooked through» since I’m pregnant, and that resulted in a dry pork chop drowned in sweet sauce. I couldn’t finish it. We finished with the bananas foster cheesecake, whose texture was just a little off. The bananas could have been a little more bruleed.
The wine list looked good, and my husband felt that the bottles were well priced. For those of us who can’t drink, there’s not much on the menu except for soda and iced tea, although you can order virgin versions of the cocktails. I had the cucumber cooler without the vodka, and it was pretty good.

Birch and Vine is one of my two favorite ‘date night’ restaurants in downtown St Pete. The restaurant serves excellent food, has very good service, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is outstanding both inside and out. While the Mrs and I have been to B&V on several occasions, this review will focus on our experience last night.
I called for a reservation earlier in the day. My wife and I like to sit outside on a little patio with only a few tables just above the sidewalk; perfect for people watching. The woman that took our reservation said ‘no problem’ to reserve a table in this spot and at our respective time (7pm). When we arrived, we were promptly ushered right to our requested table with no wait and no fuss, and the table was made up and waiting for us. Kudos! Many times we’ve been to other establishments where a reservation has been made, we are still waiting 15 minutes past time, and trying to sit in a specific spot is like asking to sit on the moon. Nice job to B&V for honoring our reservation in this way — a very classy and oft-​forgotten way to do start the dining experience off well.
The service at Birch and Vine is very good for the most part. They do employ the team service approach, which is often problematic at other restaurants and can detract from a good experience because of the impersonal nature of this type of service. At B&V each waitstaff member that we came in contact with was professional and friendly. I will say our service was excellent from all the people who stopped by our table. We never wanted for anything. Our water was always full, each person stopping by asked if we needed anything more, and there was no confusion about who ordered what. So my complaint regarding this approach at this specific restaurant is very minor. I will also say that I love it when a manager comes by to check on you, and the friendly guy chatted with us for a couple minutes, made sure we were satisfied, and moved on. Perfect.
The food at B&V is top notch. We started with a delicious carpaccio which was served with a scoop of homemade savory blue cheese ‘ice cream’ which helped to make this the best carpaccio I have enjoyed. It was further drizzled with a balsamic reduction and showered with greenery. Nicely done.
We enjoyed a small ‘side salad’ next, wife choosing the house and I choosing the ceasar, and although a nominal course we both enjoyed our salads. I liked the presentation, which was in something akin to a gravy boat. A classy take on a side salad for sure.
Main courses were wonderful. I had the meatloaf, which is just unbelievably good. It is nothing like your mother’s meatloaf and actually if it is I would love to come eat at your house. It was full of flavor, served with a pureed squash reduction, roasted potatoes and a sweet glaze.
Wife had a lovely piece of Sea Trout served high atop a beautifully done mushroom polenta cake and wow, it was presented well and elicited rave reviews from a picky lady. Wonderful!
So B&V is not cheap, but on Beach Drive it is easy to spend this much and get a much lower quality meal. Our experience at the restaurant has always been good, and we will continue to return here for the atmosphere, food, service and generally classy nature of the establishment. I generally don’t give 5-​star reviews, but they earned it last night.

We had a private room for a small group of us. The interior of the restaurant is classy and just so pretty. Our service was exceptional and non-​intrusive.
The food was delicious: our group started with the tuna, calamari and cheese plate for apps. I personally went with the scallops and was very happy. Plus, any restaurant that has hot gluten-​free rolls available, gets that fifth star. Would love to go back.