TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

CLUBLAND

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 19, 2007

Where: 937 Central Ave., St. Petersburg; (727) 895-4495

What it's like: Cafe Bohemia is the classic 'shining vision' of a coffeehouse locked away in the subconscious mind. The crowd varies wildly from night to night, though the regulars seem to be local art hucksters, laptop enthusiasts and sharp pseudo-intellectuals.

Cover: Usually none

Specialties: The coffee is great, but don't be afraid of the smoothies - they are more than a mere coffee alternative and fantastically so.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday

The scoop: Cafe Bohemia aims to be a somewhat metropolitan coffeehouse with all the fixin's. Books, games, 'urban chic' decor and funky house music (when the place is dead) set up the ideal coffee shop environment. And though the inside is a bit of a tight squeeze when the place is busy, there's an outdoor patio to make up for it - a haven for smokers.

The coffee and non-coffee alternatives are great and the snacks (and sandwiches) make the free Wi-Fi into honey for the laptop-wielding worker bee. Thurday's open mic night is certainly interesting and the art for sale on the walls is enough to give the young bohemian a grain of hope. One can run into more coffeehouse-styled entertainment on some nights as well as political, art and literary events here and there.

The catch: Some of the staff members may look intimidating on your first visit - some even bark and growl. Laugh it off.

Robert Davis

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT