Mei, a new fine dining restaurant from the team behind Michelin-starred Kōsen in Tampa, opened last week on the ground floor of the Camden Pier District Apartments in downtown St. Petersburg, according to a June 2 report.
Located at 320 3rd Street South and replacing Bento Asian Kitchen + Sushi, Mei is led by Executive Chef Alex Chamberlain and backed by Orlando restaurateurs Jimmy and Johnny Tung. The restaurant combines French technique, Nordic influences, and Japanese ingredients. Reservations are not yet available through online platforms; guests can join a waitlist for the soft opening via Mei’s website.
Chamberlain previously served as Chef de Cuisine at Kōsen while the Tung brothers are founders of Bento and have contributed to multiple Michelin-starred restaurants. Chamberlain said, “My sister has always meant home to me, and Mei is a way to invite St. Pete into our version of home… Our goal at Mei is to make you feel like you’re visiting a lifelong friend, sitting around a dinner table and sharing a meal and bottle of wine reminiscing over shared memories and plans for new ones.”
The menu focuses on seasonality and local Florida ingredients interpreted through Nordic-Japanese cuisine. Starters include housemade milk bread with brown butter and tulsi basil, oysters with plum and spring herbs, beef tartare with rye and chive, as well as chilled soba noodles with poached shrimp. Entrees feature scallops with polenta; dry-aged duck breast; ribeye with summer truffles; while desserts include sticky toffee pudding with orange and thyme or corn waffle topped with corn ice cream.
Beverage service will be overseen by Benjamin Coutts—recently named Sommelier of the Year—offering sparkling teas, sodas, beer, and sake. Jimmy Tung said that both food and beverage programs will evolve throughout the year based on seasonal availability.
An eight-seat Chef’s Table experience featuring advanced techniques such as binchotan grilling is expected once operations expand fully. Sustainability efforts include whole ingredient utilization, partnerships with local farms or fishermen, composting practices, preservation methods such as fermentation or koji aging, along with biodegradable packaging options.
“Focusing on locality and foraging along with preservation,” Chamberlain said earlier this year in a press release, “Mei is a kitchen celebrating Florida—and a restaurant celebrating genuinely warm hospitality.” Currently open Wednesday through Sunday evenings from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Mei plans future expansion of its hours.
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