Burnt Ends Tiki Bar is possibly the newest Tiki bar in Florida. It is a speakeasy-style offshoot of a pre-existing business – Dr. BBQ in Saint Petersburg, Florida – and so, this is effectively a two-part review, the first part of which is not tiki.
Dr. BBQ is open for lunch, so to ensure a spot when Burnt Ends opened later, we first had barbecue.
The Main Restaurant …
And the thematically consistent Ladies’ Room …
Everything at Dr. BBQ was house made – from the red cabbage coleslaw to all three BBQ sauces that were put on our table. Those would-be Ray’s Original (our favorite), Sweet Lee (also good), and the delightful Peach-Chipotle, which pulled in a close second to Original. The Sexy Pig pulled pork sandwich was testimony to their touch with pork, but oh, the smoked brisket … that was truly dangerous. Even the collard greens were so good one of our teenage companions who had never had them before wiped out his serving with aplomb.
When the hour turned to 3:00 PM, we headed up. The second level appeared to be a BBQ joint as well, but heading down the hall, it opened out onto a large, covered patio, with a Tiki bar. It is worth noting that if you want to eat BBQ in the Tiki bar section, that is fine — you just need to order it downstairs and then carry it up with you once your order arrives.
The hall through the upper floor of Dr. BBQ’s leads out into the hidden Burnt Ends Tiki Bar
A lot of care was taken in the decoration, but because it was open on one side, and the open wall viewed the concrete jungle of St. Petersburg, I cannot call Burnt Ends an immersive, escape experience. Open air has its advantages, but the city was right there outside.
However, they did so much right! Burnt Ends has a wealth of Tiki Farm mugs they use for drinks, and are available for purchase. The Eekum Bookum mug (a ceramic BBQ) was display only.
Their Pride Month Moai.
The bartenders are friendly and helpful, and the drinks are very good indeed.
The Nele Hoa – a virgin drink that was tasty enough one of our teens had a second — was a blend of orange and pineapple, with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and an aftertaste of coconut. The mug these drinks were served is called “The Ref” – a Tiki pole, where the top figure is holding a mask up to his face.
The boys drinking Nele Hoas from “The Ref” tiki pole mugs
I had Burnt Ends’ thoroughly satisfying Jet Pilot, in what was maybe the best Jet Pilot mug ever, and Jeanie tried their Nui Nui, and seemed equally pleased. The menu, overall, seemed comprised almost entirely classic, Tiki drink standbys.
The Jet Pilot and Nui Nui, with an order of conch fritters …
The wahine mug is what Burnt Ends serves their Planter’s Punch in …
I followed up with a Port au Prince – it seemed to me a streamlined, less-complex version of the classic, but still enjoyable, and is served up in another matte-glazed, yellow Tiki Farm mug.
As for the food … well, we’d loaded up on BBQ downstairs, so our explorations there were more limited. The grilled pineapple, dusted with sugar and cinnamon disappeared fast … but where Burnt Ends really excelled was with their conch fritters that came with a spicy pineapple-tequila dip. The fritters were absolutely perfect – crunchy outside, beautifully tender and nicely seasoned inside. Best conch fritters of our trip to Florida, period. “Better than any conch fritters I’ve eaten in the Keys”, from a friend who lives there, and “Better than any conch fritter I ate in the Bahamas”, from Jeanie. Despite being stuffed, we tried to order more conch fritters, but they were temporarily out between batches, so the wait for round two would have been too long. Ah well.
An order of grilled pineapple …
In sum? Burnt Ends Tiki Bar is the real thing, and what it lacks in an immersive tiki experience is made up for, to my thinking, in the quality of their food and drinks. Well worth seeking out if you find yourself in the Saint Petersburg area!
Dr. BBQ (he was also available in the flesh downstairs during our visit)
Dr. BBQ: https://drbbqs.com/
Burnt Ends Tiki Bar: https://burntendstikibar.com