Cool dive
Small bar, smoking inside, good prices, live bands, what else do you need?
Great Music! Great Fun! Great Place! Great Staff!
If you enjoy live music and quality performances this is the place for you. My girlfriend and I stopped in off the street when we heard what must have been a jukebox playing when it turned out to be a band! Keith Godwin & Rio Grande were over the top great! What are these guys doing in a bar when they should be in Nashville? The staff is great, the drinks are reasonably priced, and the atmospherics is old Florida. Too bad they don't serve food. We will definably be back.
Tradewinds most definitely has a reputation around Saint Augustine as a place that draws an older crowd with cougars and bikers being the main group of patrons. And they live up to that reputation- but you know what I discovered? An older crowd means more mature folks who love to let loose, who can handle their booze, and not act like idiots! What a concept!
I stopped in here last weekend for a friends birthday, and it had been years since I'd been in. I was a little offset by the complete dickheads that were bouncing at the front door, but once we were inside, we all had a BLAST. The band that was playing was loud, but they were good, cranking out great classic rock tunes. They didn't have a lot of beers on tap, but the bartenders were on point, and the drinks were cheap. The place was really smoky, but EVERYONE was having a good time. A lot of folks dancing up on a side area next to the band, a lot of folks hanging by the bar making small talk, and a lot of groups of people enjoying each other's company at the number of tables available throughout the lounge.
I wasn't expecting a whole lot walking in here, but I gotta be honest, I had a great time. I enjoy going out drinking with my wife and friends, and there's nothing I hate more than drunken drama and people acting like idiots after a couple beers. I saw NONE of that here, and that made me think that a place that caters towards older people might be a good thing, even if it means I'm getting old.
If you're pretentious- just keep on walking by and find your way to the wine bars downtown. This is a great dive bar with great music, a smoky atmosphere, cheap drinks, and good people. Minus one star for the bouncers that were dicks for absolutely no reason. Other than that, I had a great time. Keep on truckin'
I have no idea how many bars I've been to in my life. Â Hundreds? Â Everyplace from backwoods dives in the hills of West Virginia to Ivy League "eating clubs".
Based on my decades and decades of bar-going experience, I am completely serious when I say this:
Tradewinds is THE BEST BAR IN AMERICA. Â Period. Â
I can't tell you what's on tap or what the bathrooms are like or anything boring like that, but I can tell you this: I have never seen so many people having so much fun in my life. Â I mean real, actual, unpretentious, everyone-is-equal, beer-swilling, singing, dancing, talking to strangers, uninhibited fun.
The house band, Matanzas, is great musically and the lead singer has a super sense of bantering with the crowd and getting them into singing along. Â
And as rough as some of the characters are in there, no one was messing with anyone else, no one was pulling any attitude or pushing their way through the crowd.
As some have said, don't go if you're offended by foul language or cigarette smoke. Â But for good music, totally unpretentious fun, and the sound of Harleys roaring off into the warm Florida night...this bar really is the best bar in America.
Ok first off this place is a dive so temper your expectations. The drinks are nothing special but cheap, which is what really matters. The 'Spanky Band's was playing the night we were there. They play decent classic rock and the lead guitar is a character. Â The real entertainment here is the crowd. I'm pretty sure the majority of the people started drinking at 2. I watched one guy playing air guitar, barely standing, and then dropping a tip after every song. I think he was too drunk to realize he laid out a 20 at one point or maybe he just had a man crush. The next entertainment came from the wannabe cougars getting down on the dance floor, grinding on railings, chairs, and each other. One outgoing one came up to the guy sitting next to me and stated 'if you buy me a drink, I'll let you dance with me '. Guess she thought everyone liked her 80s haircut and mom jeans. Ha liquid courage is a comical thing. I guess I really should be rating the bar and not the customers. Good waitress and overall decent time if you don't need anything fancy.
Review Source:"Good time"
Brace yourself for smoke, "offensive" language, long waits for service (sometimes) and a crowd... but this place is a blast for adults who aren't easily offended. We accidentally landed here after walking by earlier in the day and hearing live music. So we expected the local live tunes, but who knew we were getting the funny guy on stage. Who knew I would be dancing and singing on stage! I gather the band we saw doesn't play every night, but you can't pay enough to have the good, down home escapade like we had. And it is free! Tip the waitress... she worked her tail off and there arent enough servers but we'll go back for sure on our next visit to St. Auggie. If you aren't in the right frame of mind, this place can be down right annoying. Some people of you'll find in the place are down right nice and just happy to be there. Others are not so much, It's a small space and the locals don't like sharing it..... you get the picture.
I had the best time in this place !!! It is awesome in every way. Â The bar service is friendly fast , stay on top of things, feels like a home party all the time, very friendly patrons as well.... everybody seems to be havin' a good time no troubles there and the bouncer is nice but everybody knows he's there so no issues. I was there on the 4th of July and it was a blast, best location to be at , great views and close to everything in town. Music is country rock most of the time , only down side is VERY SMALL dance floor - very small seriously. Â
I'd go back anyway time after time - at least every 4th !!
Trade Winds is a really pleasant bar with friendly service and serving a very good drink for a touristy bar. The bar itself is made of beautiful wood and the surrounding maritime atmosphere of the place lends a comfortable relaxed ambiance. It features entertainment at night, but never seems to become overcrowded with the exception of holiday weekends. For the most part, it is more of a local than a tourist place, and if one is to believe what they say, it is the oldest bar in America's oldest city.
As for me, I enjoy for a simple quite afternoon drink and some good conversation with friends. It's really in the heart of the area and lends itself well as a meeting place. Though somewhat dive-y it has a wonderful charm about it.
Tradewinds claims to be the oldest bar in the oldest town in the nation. Â It's a little bit of a hole in the wall, but it's got so much charm. Â The wait staff was really sweet, courteous, and prompt. Â
They have live music every night and Matanzas is the name of the band that frequents. Â My friends and I got to see them while we were there. Â They cover a lot of old rock and roll songs and they were so much fun to watch. Â You can tell they enjoy what they're doing.
When we went there earlier in the day, there was a man playing guitar and he definitely had skills. Â He was enjoyable to watch as well and took a lot of our requests.
The bar itself was not crowded. Â You could tell it was a local place rather than a touristy place. Â It was clean and dim, like any good bar should be. Â They allow smoking indoors. Â There's no food service... so eat before hand. Â The drinks were fairly priced and my mixed drinks were not watered down.
I would definitely keep going back here and keep taking my friends who come to visit the area.
The Tradewinds claims to be the oldest lounge in St Augustine dating back to the 1940's and in its current location since the 1960's. Â It is just and old school drinking lounge where the bar is not that big, but there are lots of tables for you to sit down and enjoy the music seven nights a week. Â They also have people playing music at happy hour and the last time I was there on a Saturday they had music all day and night. Â The staff is very friendly and they make a darn good drink and smoking is allowed..
Review Source:
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