A dark, subterranean cocktail lounge that seats 22 — in downtown St. Pete? In a city where basements are as rare as snow leopards?

Facts.

The Winfield, which opened in early July, is an intimate enclave downstairs from the expansive Central Park food hall. I had to see it.

My first call was to David Downing, an occasional companion on Friday Food Fight fieldwork, especially when cocktails are the focus. We made a reservation for three for last Thursday at 7:15. At the last minute, I invited Sydney Gault, sales & marketing director at Registry Tampa Bay. She’s in her 20s, but has a talent for hanging with humans of a more seasoned vintage. So — Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Z. A good mix.

At 7:14, Bonnie and I walked down two flights of stairs, through a sliding wood door, and were greeted by a hostess. We told her about adding a fourth to our party. Luckily one more bar seat was open.

VIBE

The Winfield was as advertised. The small space had a speakeasy feel, with Latin music playing just loudly enough.

David was already seated at the bar, perusing the menu. We quickly got down to the business of selecting two cocktails, which I intended as competition with another lounge, yet to be decided. It was a plan that didn’t pan out.

Choosing wasn’t easy. The recipes are extravagant. Our bartender, Erin, eager to help, described the mix of ingredients and flavor profiles. My only criteria was one drink with brown liquor, another with clear. We settled on a Queen’s Cobbler (rye whiskey, manzanilla sherry, raspberry, sarti rosa, lemon, $17) and a Snapple Cap (tequilla, green apple, snap pea, CO₂, $18). I originally resisted the latter because I have a dent in my head courtesy of pounding too many tequila shots at a party in my late teens.

We told Erin that we were on a cocktail safari and asked if she might pour portions into smaller glasses. The beverage director, Sylvia, joined Erin and together they split our libations into four cute little glasses (with garnish).

DRINK

About this time Sydney arrived — she had a prior engagement — and we commenced to sipping and discussing.

Before I begin describing, my usual disclaimer: I’m a Bud Light drinker and rarely consume fancy cocktails. Okay:

Queens Cobbler (shown in the photo above) — A well-executed balance of sweet and tart. Easy to drink. The abundance of ice and the process of splitting the drinks into four servings caused some dilution. I detected hardly any alcohol flavor.

Snapple Cap — More tart than sweet. The alcohol flavor was faint, calming my tequilaphobia. The little blast of fizz added pep, and the “peas” turned out to be boba, which provided extra pops of delight.

BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE

We realized that two cocktails split among four sippers was not nearly enough. So, back to the menu …

We landed on the Tomato, Tomatoe (vodka, heirloom tomatoes, strawberry, balsamic, pistachio oil, $17), which Erin described as akin to a caprese salad. Her description was apt. Think of it as an anti-Bloody Mary — light, refreshing, salad-esque. The drink came with a little squirt bottle of pistachio oil, which I applied but didn’t really taste. I beat everyone to the chunk of mozzarella on a toothpick.

In keeping with Friday Booze Fight tradition, I’ll rank the drinks …

1 — Snapple Cap (for being refreshing, and easing my terror of tequila, if for only one night).

2 — Tomato Tomatoe (for not being like a Bloody Mary).

3 — Queens Cobbler (nice, but would’ve liked to taste more booze).

We had a lively, lovely time, and the amiable bartenders contributed to it. “The service in these hip new bars can be precious — but the vibe here is unfussy and comfortable,” David said in a text statement some days later. “And they definitely know their cocktails.”

That night, I decided to make The Winfield a Spotlight feature.

We left, each of us with a mild buzz. Tell me, do these people look inebriated?

Our foursome adjourned to Bangkok Thai next door for dinner, where I drank one Tsingtao.