Like an Old Friend, Harvey's 4th Street Grill Is Always There for Its Customers

is classic St. Petersburg -- complete with decor harvested from once-famous hotels, like the original Vinoy (resurrected as a Marriott) and the now-departed Soreno and Albermarle.

Owned by well-known local developer Dan Harvey, Harvey's 4th Street Grill has been selling burgers, fresh grouper sandwiches and ice-cold beers for more than a quarter-century. Many of the regulars have been coming since Harvey's first opened its doors.

Harvey's does not look special from the outside. It is located in a strip shopping center,  just a couple doors down from the GNC grocery store, at 3121 4th St. North. Usually there are a few customers hanging around out front, waiting for a booth or table inside.

Harvey's is unpretentious, friendly and reliable, just like a good neighbor. It's the kind of place where friends greet each other at tables or at the bar, while watching a Rays or Bucs game. It seems to bustle with activity at all hours, night or day. Sit in the darkened wood-paneled dining room, at the long bar, or at picnic tables on a screened-in back porch.

Appetizers include the Fresh Smoked Fish Spread, made locally by a fisherman, which is served with raw veggies ($6.25). It makes a tasty meal unto itself. There's also the peel-em and eat-em Gulf shrimp, an Old Florida delight ($4.25 or $7.25, for a quarter or half-pound, respectively). You can order the shrimp hot or cold.

Harvey's offers a range of salads, from Harvey's Ceasar ($6.50) to the Redeye Chicken Salad ($7.95). My favorite is perhaps the simplest salad: the Avocado and Tomato ($4.50), drizzled with homemade dressing. Nothing beats a Florida tomato, except for perhaps a fresh avocado. The salad is just enough to satisfy, without the huge helpings of lettuce that have come to be standard for restaurant salads these days.

The burgers at Harvey's ($6.50-$7.50) are among the best in the city, made with choice meat and served with a choice of cheeses, bacon, mushrooms and chili.

The giant-sized fresh grouper sandwiches ($10.95) are a customer favortie. They come fried or blackened with Cajun spice. A lot of people like their grouper sandwiches topped with melted cheese, which is especially good when the fish is ordered fried. All burgers and sandwiches come with fries or Harvey's house-made potato salad or cole slaw.

But sandwiches are only part of Harvey's big menu. There are steaks ($13.95-$16.95) and grouper served fried, broiled or sauteed, Florentine-style, lemon-pepper, or covered in salsa  (all $16.75).

The menu also includes pastas, late-night dishes  and a kid's menu. Harvey's celebrates the full moon each month with a party where fresh Maine lobster is served.

There's Sunday brunch menu, too, with a range of breakfast specials that includes: Eggs Benedict ($6.75), Sausage Benedict ($6.95) and Tenderloin Benedict ($7.25).  The Eggs Sardou are poached and served with creamed spinach on an English muffin ($7.25).

Harvey's advertises itself as a "West Coast Florida-style Bar and Grill." Just like the mementos from St. Pete's past that Harvey's shares with visitors, the restaurant represents a city landmark, as a valued institution and good neighbor.

IF YOU GO:

Harvey's 4th St. Grill, 3121 4th St. North

Hours: Monday-Wed. 11:30am – 10:00pm
Thursday- Sat.  11:30am-11:00pm 
Saturday Breakfast 9:15am-11:30am
Sunday : 9:15 – 10:00pm - Sunday Brunch  9:15am – 2:30pm