Article by Nanette Wiser
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve got some of our local faves, known for throwing huge parties where the wearing of the green and cheers of Slainte make everyone Irish for the day. Check their Facebook event sites for details. Most local bars offer St. Paddy’s celebrations, so plan to stop in at VIP, Irish 31, Sloppy Joe’s, O’Maddy’s, Yard of Ale and more. It is a triple whammy this year, coinciding with voting day for local municipal elections and the beginning of spring break.
The Swigwam & Chill are getting a head start with an advance celebration on Sunday March 15. The Shaded Keg will join in with specials on over 50 varieties of your favorite beers on tap! Live music, fun games, costumes, lots of green beer. They are celebrating Swigwam’s 10th anniversary with Chill Restaurant and others serving up corned beef and cabbage. Festivities start after the Sunday Market clears out, at about 4 pm! Sponsored by Swigwam Beach Bar, Chill Restaurant, Corey Area Business Association and the City of St. Pete Beach.
Courigan’s Irish Pub: Where the rugby and soccer fans hang, both for the Irish beers and gravy drizzled over fries near the Saturday market. This DTSP hang-out serves up darts, trivia, beer and food specials plus corned beef poppers, basket o’chips with Guinness gravy, poutine (fries with gravy and melted mozzarella, banger brats, corned beef, Reuben and more shepherd’s pie.
Dog & Parrot Beach Pub and Grill: This IRB bar serves up a tented party, live music, corned beef and ice cold Irish brews for St. Patrick’s Day, but every day it’s a gathering spot for Celtic fare and beers.
MacDinton’s St Pete: The Tampa original is very much in the jig of things in both SOHO and downtown St. Pete with beer and shot specials, karaoke Thursday, open mic live jam Wednesdays and all the sports you like to watch (EPL, La Liga, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa Cup soccer, finals). Try out the Gaelic chips (crumbled blue cheese, Tullamore Dew BBQ, malted vinegar fries, Mac Reuben, Bangers & Mash.
Finley’s Irish Pub: This is ground zero for St. Paddy’s Day revelers, with tents and music and all your favorite staples. The dozens of Irish beers, whiskey selection and service are top-shelf.
Guinness, the band is there March 5, 6, 13, 14, and 17, so you’re sure to run into a number of folks from the old Harp and Thistle. The food is delicious, from the meatloaf and dry wings to the burgers and Reuben. Don’t miss their famous Drunken Chicken sautéed with Irish Whiskey and Reuben Roll appetizer. There’s a trivia night, blues jam Thursday and live music Saturday night, even a comedy night once every six weeks.
Mickey Quinn’s: The Irish beers on tap are icy cold (Smithwicks, Guinness, Harp’s), the casual fare yummy and the games are always afoot (billiards, darts, arcade) with lots of TVs for watching sports. Each Mickey Quinn’s has its own lunch and dinner menu with specials, but I particularly like the wings and fish n’ chips at both locations and the shepherd’s pie poppers and bangers and mash at the Seminole pub.
O’Keefe’s Tavern: Irish all year round, the Tavern goes wild on for three days during St. Patrick’s celebration week and is home to one of Florida’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parties. With live music & dancing, over two tons of fresh corned beef and plenty of green beer, you gotta go at least once. All year round, you’ll find traditional Irish dishes such as an Irish
breakfast skillet, Guinness meatloaf, corn beef sandwich and
seven-course Irish dinner (six drafts, one boiled potato).