Forbici Modern Italian St. Pete: What to Know

What Is Forbici Modern Italian in St. Pete?

Forbici Modern Italian is a contemporary Italian restaurant located inside Sundial St. Pete, the open-air lifestyle center at 153 2nd Ave N in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. It occupies one of Sundial's anchor restaurant spaces and serves handmade pastas, wood-fired proteins, crudo, and an Italian-forward wine and cocktail program — all in a room that's upscale but not uptight.

The name "Forbici" (pronounced for-BEE-chee) is Italian for scissors — a nod to the craft of the kitchen. It's become a genuine anchor of the downtown dining scene, the kind of spot that draws both St. Pete residents on a weeknight and visitors staying at one of the Central Avenue hotels for a longer reservation.

Location and Getting There

Sundial sits at the corner of 2nd Ave N and 2nd St N, roughly three blocks west of the St. Pete Pier and one block north of Central Avenue — the main artery of downtown St. Pete. If you know where Sundial's rooftop pool deck is, Forbici is on the ground-floor dining ring.

Getting there:

• By car: Sundial has an attached parking garage off 2nd Ave N. Validated parking is available with purchase. On busy event nights — when a Rays game is happening at Tropicana Field or a festival is running along the waterfront — arrive 20–30 minutes early.
• By bike: The SunRunner BRT stops about four blocks away on Central Ave at 1st St. The area has a decent bike lane network, and there are racks inside the Sundial complex.
• On foot: If you live in Old Northeast or in a downtown condo along Beach Drive NE or 4th Ave NE, Forbici is an easy 10-to-15-minute walk across the grid.

The Menu: What Forbici Does Well

Forbici's menu is organized around Italian culinary tradition without being a red-checkered-tablecloth throwback. A few things worth knowing before you go:

• Handmade pasta is the anchor — seasonal shapes, house-made daily. Expect cacio e pepe-adjacent riffs, ragù variations, and pasta that actually tastes different from what you'd get at a chain Italian spot.
• Crudo and antipasti are strong starters. Fresh Gulf seafood shows up here in a way that makes sense given St. Pete's waterfront identity.
• Wood-fired proteins — chicken, fish, and larger cuts — make up the secondi section, cooked over live fire for a slight char and smoke that pairs well with the Italian wine list.
• The bar program leans into Italian aperitivo culture: Aperol and Campari-based drinks, a solid Negroni, and imported Italian wines by the glass.

The menu rotates with seasons, which is smart in Florida — Gulf grouper in summer hits differently than a winter branzino. If you haven't been in six months, the specific dishes have likely shifted.

Atmosphere and When to Go

Forbici occupies a polished indoor-outdoor space inside Sundial's ground floor, with high ceilings, soft lighting, and an open kitchen component that gives the room some energy without being loud. It's date-night appropriate, works for a business dinner, and isn't so precious that you can't bring a group of friends who want to share a few bottles.

Best times to visit:

• Weekday evenings (Tuesday–Thursday): Easiest reservations, quieter room, same food.
• Friday and Saturday: Full energy, harder to walk in without a reservation. Book on OpenTable at least a week ahead if you want a specific time.
• Sunday brunch/lunch: Worth checking their current hours — Sundial's restaurant schedule has varied by season. Call ahead or check their direct website if you're planning a midday visit.

Downtown St. Pete's event calendar affects every restaurant in the Sundial district. Rays home games at Tropicana Field (about a 10-minute drive or Uber west on I-275) and weekend festivals on the waterfront near the Pier consistently spike foot traffic. If there's a big event, expect 30-plus-minute waits for walk-ins.

Forbici's Role in the Downtown St. Pete Restaurant Scene

Downtown St. Pete has gone through a legitimate dining evolution over the past decade. The Central Avenue corridor — from the Edge District on the west end through the Central Arts District to the Waterfront Arts District near Beach Drive — now has enough destination restaurants that people plan trips around the food scene, not just the beaches.

Forbici sits in the upper tier of that ecosystem alongside spots like Birch & Vine, Il Ritorno (on Beach Drive), and newer entrants. What separates Forbici is the Sundial real estate — it's embedded in a curated complex that pulls consistent foot traffic from hotel guests, Pier visitors, and residents of the downtown condo towers along 1st Ave N and Beach Drive.

For context: Sundial's dining cluster also includes Mei, the contemporary Asian restaurant at the same address — another spot seeing strong search interest from St. Pete locals and visitors in 2026.

What Forbici Tells You About the Downtown St. Pete Market

I'll be honest: the reason a real estate site is covering a restaurant is because restaurants like Forbici are a reliable signal of neighborhood trajectory. When anchor tenants at walkable urban mixed-use centers are operating at full capacity and expanding their hours, it means the residential demand around them is real.

Downtown St. Pete's 33701 ZIP code has seen median home values climb steadily — per Stellar MLS closed sales data, attached condos and lofts within a five-block radius of Sundial have transacted at premiums of roughly 8–12% compared to comparable units farther from the walkable core. Buyers relocating from cities like New York, Chicago, and Chicago often specifically ask about walkability scores and proximity to destination dining — and "I can walk to Forbici" is the kind of detail that closes deals.

If you're considering a downtown St. Pete condo or loft purchase and want to understand how the 33701 micro-market is actually performing right now — not Zillow's algorithm, but real comps — that's worth a conversation. More on that below.

The broader walkable dining corridor also anchors the appeal covered in our downtown St. Pete neighborhoods buying guide and factors into why Old Northeast continues to attract buyers who want a residential feel with a 15-minute walk to exactly this kind of night out.

Quick Reference: Forbici Modern Italian St. Pete

| Detail | Info | |---|---| | Address | 153 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 | | Complex | Sundial St. Pete | | Cuisine | Contemporary Modern Italian | | Reservations | OpenTable — recommended on weekends | | Parking | Sundial attached garage (validated) | | Nearest landmark | 3 blocks west of the St. Pete Pier | | ZIP code | 33701 | | Nearest BRT stop | SunRunner — Central Ave & 1st St |

If you own a condo or home in downtown St. Pete and you're curious what the walkable-core premium looks like in actual dollar terms for your specific address, I'll pull 3 real MLS comps and text them to you within 24 hours — free, no pressure. Request your free home valuation here.