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Hours
Sun
11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Mon
11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Tue
11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Wed
11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Thu
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Fri
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Sat
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Food and ambience
Local cuisine, American, Bar, Seafood, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options
Special occasions, Romantic, Scenic view, Large groups, Bar scene
Is this restaurant good for scenic view?
Details
About
Bongos Beach Bar & Grille is located directly on the sandy beach, behind The Bellwether Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach. What would a trip to the beach be without a tropical drink, palm trees and the perfect view? Enjoy all that plus a festive menu and daily live music at Bongos. Sip on your favorite tropical cocktail while you watch the beautiful sunset. Serving great appetizers, burgers, wings, sandwiches, salads and much more.
PRICE RANGE
$9.00 – $19.00
CUISINES
American, Bar, Seafood
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks
FEATURES
Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Waterfront, Beach, Gift Cards Available
Contribute
4.5
2,112 reviews
Excellent
1,302
Very good
549
Average
153
Poor
52
Terrible
56
ginnyLondon
London922 contributions
Aug 2022 • none
My husband and I had a meal here on our last night in St. Pete's and it was also my birthday meal.
The restaurant is in a great location right on the beach, so ideal for watching the sunset with your feet in the sand. they have Live Music which is great, so a very relaxing atmosphere, or party atmosphere depending on which night you visit.
Menu has reduced somewhat since we last visited, but still a fair selection, mainly "Handhelds", burgers & sandwiches etc. We found out the reason for this when we saw the plastic cutlery on the table, in sealed plastic covers, so no actual metal cutlery provided.
We ordered cocktails and then our appetiser "trio of dips" which was very good and we ordered our entrees at the same time as we placed the Appetiser order (which we have done for all restaurants). It was a short time and then our Appetiser came up, which as I mentioned was very good and would highly recommend, but no sooner had we started eating the appetiser, the waitress brought out our Entrees!! I said we are still eating our appetiser and could she please return the entrees to the kitchen so that we can eat them when we had finished our appetiser as they would get cold? She responded that if she took them back up to the bar they would go bad there, so my husband said well they would go bad here, to which she ignored us, put them down and left the table!!! Very Rude!!! So we had no option but to eat our Entrees, with our appetiser!!!
The same waitress also started putting down the umbrellas at 8.30pm and we asked were they closing, as it states they close at 12 midnight and she said no, she was closing the umbrellas as it was a quiet night and she would be on her own in a little while. We thought it strange as it was so early in the evening and people were still arriving, to which she did not seem happy about and she was not on her own as the other waitress remained.
Would advise anyone visiting this restaurant to order your appetisers and then when finished, only then order your entrees.
Written September 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nita A
Lakeville13 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
We are 43 from Minnesota enjoying my husband’s birthday. We walked down the clean sandy beach from a nearby hotel to Bongos for dinner and drinks. We are so glad we ended up here! It was a Saturday night and there was live music, great outdoor atmosphere and the food was so good! We both had the Catch of The Day which was a Mahi Mahi dinner (grilled for me and blackened for him). We started at the bar as we waited for our table and the bartender was fun and friendly. We had such a great time that we came back a few days later for drinks and an appetizer (hummus plate) which was also very good. I would come back again if we are ever in the area.
Written February 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg P
Florida748 contributions
Aug 2020 • none
Great place to eat with your feet on the sandy beach with music playing from a live band. Food was very good and so was the service. Full bar and a nice menu. Nice place to have a lunch and relax.
Written October 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Krysta L
1 contribution
Mar 2020 • friends
Do not come here. I ordered a Caesar salad that was $10 and asked for chicken and they charged me another $9 so I ended up paying $19 for just the salad itself. The service was slow and the waitress told me they couldn’t add chicken on my salad but it had it on there when it came out. Obviously they are unorganized and do the minimum for their customers. I work at a luxury lake community and have experience in Food and Beverage so I am aware my salad was way over priced. Not to mention it had maybe a small drizzle of dressing on top. I wanted to ask for more but our waitress did not check up on us after delivering the food. Although it is a nice setting do not waste your money! The food is sub par and the service is horrible!
Written March 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ellie S
Beaver Falls6 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We have eaten at Bongos several times with friends but after today will not support the establishment again.. Drinks were served and orders were taken immediately by Kevin our server,the restaurant was not busy with many outdoor tables empty. Other tables received their food are their meals and left when our server and to our table 40 minutes after we were seated to let us know there had been some confusion in the kitchen and our meals were now being prepared. Other tables were served and customers are and left and still our 4 meals were not served with Kevin stating that he apologized for the delay and that the chef was now getting to our orders. An hour and a half after being seated we finally received our meals. When our places were cleared we stayed that we thought there should be some type of compensation for the unreasonable delay- the offer of a free appetizer or even dessert would have satisfied but instead our drinks were free! Ha! I ordered water so a 10% discount of $1.80 was the only compensation! We asked to talk to the manager and 15 minutes later we were told the manager was in a meeting so we asked for the assistant manager. After waiting another 15 minutes we left as the assistant manager did not show up either. We winter go there again and if you choose to do so I hope your experience is differen t. I know we won't return.
Written January 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ERat
Bunker Hill755 contributions
Jun 2020 • none
Stopped by for dinner on a Monday evening thinking “it shouldn’t be crowded.” I guess the surprise was on me! Told it would be a 30 min wait for a table, ended up taking over an hour to be seated. Noticed that there were only 2 overwhelmed servers, a hostess, and a completely incompetent manager. The servers were running themselves ragged trying to take care of everyone while the manager walked around with her phone in her hand.
We have always enjoyed our visits to Bongos, but this time was really disappointing. I had the fish tacos, which cost $16, that consisted of 2 tacos with blackened fish and guacamole. The fish tasted good, but definitely not $8 per taco good. They have a very limited menu, which is understandable and was expected. Just didn’t expect to spend 2 and a half hours for dinner on a Monday.
Probably won’t be back anytime soon.
Written June 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KCLondonGirl
Kansas City337 contributions
Mar 2022 • family
This used to be my favorite venue in St. Pete Beach. I love that you can get a table directly on the sand. The food used to be very good, even though it was a relaxed, casual atmosphere. They have however cut corners in every possible way from the plates to the garnish, and it was noticeable. Bongos has been on a progressive slope downhill for about 18 months. It was actually better during covid. Menu is limited now and not very many interesting entrees. Expect “about average bar food.” Combine the paper plates w/ average (at best) food, cutting quality, new level of unfriendly service, and drunk crowd in the bar and I would say proceed with caution.
Written May 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jan_traveler51184
Youngstown105 contributions
Mar 2023 • couples
Beautiful setting but we left after having expensive frozen drinks. When we arrived they were playing nice tropical music, appropriate for having your feet in the sand and enjoying a pleasant lunch. We were going to split a Cuban sandwich but they were out, so while we were looking at the menu for an alternative, the music switched to some awful rap music and we opted to just finish our drinks and cut our losses.
Written May 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michelle C
1 contribution
Aug 2023 • couples
They used to have decent food, but now you’ll pay $16 for a small frozen burger patty. We called ahead to ask if live music was playing, and they assured us it was. When we arrived, 20 minutes later, the server informed us that they were called off a while ago for potential weather. Very disappointed in the changes and communication at bongos lately.
Written August 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cynthia F
Fair Lawn3364 contributions
Apr 2021 • none
LOVE dining with our feet in the sand.
The only place I've discovered where I can eat high quality food on the sand while listening to live music. Danto was performing the day we visited; what a good singer and entertainer.
Parked 2 blocks away in their smaller private lot while their large parking lot is undergoing construction. The entire hotel is undergoing construction but it didn't affect our enjoyment of our meal.
Enjoyed the mahi sandwich; fish was moist and fresh.
Enjoyed the key lime pie; one of the best I've had.
Written April 19, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BrenJ2012
Waterloo362 contributions
Apr 2021 • none
While they have a great patio and outdoor dining area the area is looking pretty beat up. We went there for happy hour and only 1 out of 4 of us got a draft beer because all the tappers stopped working. Bartender did offer bottles for the price of drafts which was accommodating. In their defense, the hotel and roof top restaurant are being remodeled so I hope the Bongo's area is next on the list.
Written April 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AJNNJ44
New Jersey472 contributions
Feb 2024 • family
Bongos was a perfect venue to spend a relaxed sunset and evening. Setup on the beach was perfect. Live music was a very talented solo act playing sort of a country/ steel drum fusion. Our waitress (wish I could remember her name) was a perfect mix of attentiveness and bad-assery - all 8 in our group loved her. Drinks were well done.
My two negative comments are 1./ the parking is very limited. Valet is available but it will cost you $7 (to park in order to go spend money in the restaurant). 2./ The food was good… not great. Nothing was really lacking but nothing really wowed us either.
Would definitely return to Bongos for a chill sunset evening in the future.
Written February 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dave Cook the Travel Guy
Tampa100 contributions
May 2023 • couples
This is our favorite spot on St. Pete Beach where you can actually eat breakfast, lunch or dinner with your feet in the sand overlooking the Gulf! We actually had two different experiences here Happy Hour and lunch. Bongos has an amazing Happy Hour with discounted drink specials, selected half-price appetizers with outstanding live music! The coconut shrimp was amazing! For lunch we had the Mahi Ruben and Mahi Fish Tacos. Both were delicious. The staff was friendly and very helpful.
Written May 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
michelle b
Altus68 contributions
Aug 2021 • none
We walked down the beach from our condo to Bongos. It's pretty neat with palm trees and lights and live music. We loved eating a meal with our feet still in the sand. They have a sign that says "coldest drinks around" but that was not the case today. We ordered 3 appetizers, the Ahi Tuna, loaded nachos, calamari. The food was good. If they would have had cheaper prices, we may have stayed longer for more drinks because the view was great to watch the sunset.
Written August 28, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauren H
18 contributions
Sep 2020 • none
We had a table on the beach, but it was too hot, so we moved to a shaded table, which still had a good view. I had coconut shrimp and it was very good. 2 other people had the fried fish, but it had way too much breading. We still love this place.
Written September 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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