Best Place to Watch the Game St. Petersburg FL Tonight
It's October 2026, the fall sports calendar is completely stacked, and you've got about twenty minutes to tell your group chat where everyone is meeting before kickoff. I've been through that exact scramble more times than I can count, and my answer has become automatic: Crafty Squirrel at 259 Central Ave, right in the middle of downtown St. Pete. If you're asking me where to watch the game around here, that's my pick, and I want to walk you through exactly why — the TVs, the seating, the food, and the one timing trick that makes the whole night easier.
WHY SO MANY GAME NIGHTS GO SIDEWAYS
You know the failure modes. You pick a bar with two TVs and one of them is showing a different game. You pick a quiet cocktail spot and feel guilty cheering. You pick somewhere with a great screen setup but the kitchen closes before halftime and now half your group is negotiating a mid-game exodus for food. Or you simply show up too late, and you're watching the fourth quarter standing behind a pillar, holding a beer at shoulder height like a waiter.
None of those are fun, and all of them are avoidable if you pick a place that was actually built for this.
THE BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE GAME ST. PETERSBURG FL HAS, IF YOU ASK ME
Crafty Squirrel runs sixteen TVs. Not one big projector that forces everyone to crowd one wall — sixteen screens spread through the space, which means there's barely a bad angle in the building. Sit at the bar, grab a spot at one of the communal tables, or hang near the front where the industrial garage doors open onto Central Avenue, and you've got a sightline either way.
The communal seating matters more than people expect. Game day is a social event, and long shared tables mean your group of six doesn't get wedged into a booth built for four, and the solo fan who showed up for the early game has somewhere to land too. The energy feeds on itself — when a big play hits, the whole room reacts together instead of in scattered pockets.
And here's the thing that separates it from a standard sports bar: the night doesn't end when the game does. There are live DJs all week, so after the final whistle the room shifts gears and the dance floor fills up. You came for the game and stayed for the party, and nobody had to relocate.
WHAT 16 TVS ACTUALLY MEANS FOR YOUR SEAT
Let me be practical about this, because screen count is only useful if it translates into you seeing your game. With this many TVs, multiple games can run at once — so on a Saturday or Sunday when everything overlaps, you're not stuck watching whatever the loudest table demanded. If your matchup is the undercard of the day, you can still usually find a screen carrying it.
It also means seat flexibility. At a two-TV bar, there are maybe a dozen good seats and everyone fights for them. Here, "a good seat" describes most of the room, which lowers the stakes on arrival time — though I'll still give you my timing advice below, because the best spots are the best spots.
WHERE CRAFTY SQUIRREL SITS IN DOWNTOWN ST. PETE
The location does a lot of quiet work for your night. Central Avenue is the main artery of the nightlife scene, and 259 Central puts you right on it, with those garage doors blurring the line between the bar and the sidewalk. That indoor-outdoor setup means you get street energy without giving up your view of the screens, and when your group inevitably wants to wander afterward, you're already standing in the middle of everything. If you want a sense of what else is going on around town the same night, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater keeps a solid running calendar.
The hours help too. They're open until 3AM every night of the week — noon to 3AM Monday through Friday, 11AM to 3AM on weekends — so an early kickoff, a late West Coast game, and everything in between all fit inside one roof.
WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK WHILE YOU WATCH
Game day food should be handheld, shareable, and available deep into the night, and that's exactly the lane here: tacos, wings, loaded apps, sandwiches and wraps. The kind of spread where you order a few things for the table and everyone grazes through the first half. You can scope the full lineup on the menu before you go, which I recommend if you're the designated orderer for a big group.
On the drinks side, you've got range: beers and seltzers for the purists, pitchers for the table, margaritas and cocktails if you're pacing yourself with something more interesting, shots for when the comeback is complete, and fishbowls for when the group has collectively decided this is now a celebration. Happy hour runs 3PM to 7PM on weekdays and 3PM to 6PM on weekends, which lines up beautifully with a lot of late-afternoon kickoffs.
HOW I'D TIME THE NIGHT
Get there before your game starts — ideally during happy hour if the schedule allows — and claim your stretch of communal table while the room is still filling in. By kickoff on a big game day, the prime spots go fast. If you're rolling deep for a birthday, a rivalry game, or any occasion that deserves its own territory, they do group and VIP bookings, and locking that in through VIP booking ahead of time removes all the guesswork. And if your crew tends to linger, check the events page so you know what the DJ situation looks like after the game wraps.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Sixteen TVs, communal tables, a kitchen slinging tacos and wings late, and a 3AM close mean Crafty Squirrel covers the whole arc of a game night — pregame, game, and whatever the night turns into after.
So pick your game, round up your people, and come get squirrely with us at Crafty Squirrel on Central Ave. Check out our specials before you head over and make game night the easy call.
FAQ
Q: Where is Crafty Squirrel and how late is it open?
A: Crafty Squirrel is at 259 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, right in the heart of the Central Avenue strip. They are open noon to 3AM Monday through Friday and 11AM to 3AM on Saturday and Sunday, so early kickoffs and late games are both covered. You can call them at (727) 610-8077 with any questions.
Q: Can I actually see the game from anywhere in the bar?
A: With 16 TVs spread through the space, most seats in the room have a clear view of a screen. Multiple games can run at once, so overlapping matchups on a busy weekend are rarely a problem.
Q: Should I book ahead for a big group on game day?
A: If you have a large crew or a celebration, booking VIP ahead of time is the smart move because the communal tables fill up before kickoff on big game days. For smaller groups, arriving during happy hour usually gets you a solid spot.
WHY SO MANY GAME NIGHTS GO SIDEWAYS
You know the failure modes. You pick a bar with two TVs and one of them is showing a different game. You pick a quiet cocktail spot and feel guilty cheering. You pick somewhere with a great screen setup but the kitchen closes before halftime and now half your group is negotiating a mid-game exodus for food. Or you simply show up too late, and you're watching the fourth quarter standing behind a pillar, holding a beer at shoulder height like a waiter.
None of those are fun, and all of them are avoidable if you pick a place that was actually built for this.
THE BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE GAME ST. PETERSBURG FL HAS, IF YOU ASK ME
Crafty Squirrel runs sixteen TVs. Not one big projector that forces everyone to crowd one wall — sixteen screens spread through the space, which means there's barely a bad angle in the building. Sit at the bar, grab a spot at one of the communal tables, or hang near the front where the industrial garage doors open onto Central Avenue, and you've got a sightline either way.
The communal seating matters more than people expect. Game day is a social event, and long shared tables mean your group of six doesn't get wedged into a booth built for four, and the solo fan who showed up for the early game has somewhere to land too. The energy feeds on itself — when a big play hits, the whole room reacts together instead of in scattered pockets.
And here's the thing that separates it from a standard sports bar: the night doesn't end when the game does. There are live DJs all week, so after the final whistle the room shifts gears and the dance floor fills up. You came for the game and stayed for the party, and nobody had to relocate.
WHAT 16 TVS ACTUALLY MEANS FOR YOUR SEAT
Let me be practical about this, because screen count is only useful if it translates into you seeing your game. With this many TVs, multiple games can run at once — so on a Saturday or Sunday when everything overlaps, you're not stuck watching whatever the loudest table demanded. If your matchup is the undercard of the day, you can still usually find a screen carrying it.
It also means seat flexibility. At a two-TV bar, there are maybe a dozen good seats and everyone fights for them. Here, "a good seat" describes most of the room, which lowers the stakes on arrival time — though I'll still give you my timing advice below, because the best spots are the best spots.
WHERE CRAFTY SQUIRREL SITS IN DOWNTOWN ST. PETE
The location does a lot of quiet work for your night. Central Avenue is the main artery of the nightlife scene, and 259 Central puts you right on it, with those garage doors blurring the line between the bar and the sidewalk. That indoor-outdoor setup means you get street energy without giving up your view of the screens, and when your group inevitably wants to wander afterward, you're already standing in the middle of everything. If you want a sense of what else is going on around town the same night, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater keeps a solid running calendar.
The hours help too. They're open until 3AM every night of the week — noon to 3AM Monday through Friday, 11AM to 3AM on weekends — so an early kickoff, a late West Coast game, and everything in between all fit inside one roof.
WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK WHILE YOU WATCH
Game day food should be handheld, shareable, and available deep into the night, and that's exactly the lane here: tacos, wings, loaded apps, sandwiches and wraps. The kind of spread where you order a few things for the table and everyone grazes through the first half. You can scope the full lineup on the menu before you go, which I recommend if you're the designated orderer for a big group.
On the drinks side, you've got range: beers and seltzers for the purists, pitchers for the table, margaritas and cocktails if you're pacing yourself with something more interesting, shots for when the comeback is complete, and fishbowls for when the group has collectively decided this is now a celebration. Happy hour runs 3PM to 7PM on weekdays and 3PM to 6PM on weekends, which lines up beautifully with a lot of late-afternoon kickoffs.
HOW I'D TIME THE NIGHT
Get there before your game starts — ideally during happy hour if the schedule allows — and claim your stretch of communal table while the room is still filling in. By kickoff on a big game day, the prime spots go fast. If you're rolling deep for a birthday, a rivalry game, or any occasion that deserves its own territory, they do group and VIP bookings, and locking that in through VIP booking ahead of time removes all the guesswork. And if your crew tends to linger, check the events page so you know what the DJ situation looks like after the game wraps.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Sixteen TVs, communal tables, a kitchen slinging tacos and wings late, and a 3AM close mean Crafty Squirrel covers the whole arc of a game night — pregame, game, and whatever the night turns into after.
So pick your game, round up your people, and come get squirrely with us at Crafty Squirrel on Central Ave. Check out our specials before you head over and make game night the easy call.
FAQ
Q: Where is Crafty Squirrel and how late is it open?
A: Crafty Squirrel is at 259 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, right in the heart of the Central Avenue strip. They are open noon to 3AM Monday through Friday and 11AM to 3AM on Saturday and Sunday, so early kickoffs and late games are both covered. You can call them at (727) 610-8077 with any questions.
Q: Can I actually see the game from anywhere in the bar?
A: With 16 TVs spread through the space, most seats in the room have a clear view of a screen. Multiple games can run at once, so overlapping matchups on a busy weekend are rarely a problem.
Q: Should I book ahead for a big group on game day?
A: If you have a large crew or a celebration, booking VIP ahead of time is the smart move because the communal tables fill up before kickoff on big game days. For smaller groups, arriving during happy hour usually gets you a solid spot.