Local Angle

New ultra lounges heat up St. Pete nightlife
It has been more than 20 years since Wilford Brimley and his septuagenarian pals danced the Lindy Hop at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg for the movie "Cocoon.” These nights, the beats are faster and the skin is smoother. You're even apt to see celebrity scenesters like Paris Hilton shake it up to house music at one of the city's four chic new ultra lounges with silver bead curtains and velvet ropes at the door.

Detail from the menu at Banbu restaurant, St. Petersburg.

Flowing sheers give a hint of privacy to those lounging on white beds loaded with silk pillows. A spin-off of an acclaimed Sarasota restaurant, the family-owned establishment has hardly been open a month, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already booked it for a bash. (539 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-823-3700)

Your feet will move to '80s rock, house, top 40 or salsa sounds, depending on what night of the week you step into Banbu, a new Asian-fusion restaurant and club in the BayWalk entertainment complex. Formerly DISH restaurant, Banbu serves a Mongolian grill, but after 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, the grill becomes a bar and tables move to make way for a DJ and a dance floor that could stage the Rockettes. Sip a Sake concoction on a leather sofa on the wrap-around balcony when you need to Zen out. (197 Second Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727-209-0616)

The Push Ultra Lounge and Vintage Ultra Lounge, which opened around the first of the year, are as great for people watching as they are for dancing. Paris Hilton made a surprise appearance at the swanky Push last weekend to hang with her DJ beau, and hip-hop artist Chris Brown and singer Rihanna recently celebrated Brown's 19th birthday at the Vintage Ultra Lounge. (Push: 128 Third St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-895-6400, www.desantorestaurant.com ; Vintage: 16 Second St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-735-3347)

If you're nostalgic for the ballroom dancing of "Cocoon,” you can still join a tea dance at The Coliseum. (535 Fourth Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727-892-5202)

To learn more, visit www.FloridasBeach.com/nightlife/index.php.