We discovered that Saint Petersburg, Florida has a strong vegan restaurant scene. This was one of the best things about the city. We are reviewing Love Food Central today, which we found while visiting several vegan restaurants in the region. This may be the best vegan restaurant St. Petersburg has to offer.
It is very casual and relaxed. Its bright exterior wall color instantly catches your attention. It is found on Central Avenue, which is home to many cool restaurants, shops, galleries, and street art. Love Food Central is on a quieter stretch of the avenue. However, the trees, singing birds, and vegetation create the perfect environment for a delicious vegan meal. You can sit indoors, but you may want to take your picnic table outside if it is warm enough.
The menu is well-designed. It’s not too long, but it offers a wide variety of delicious dishes that show how much they care about their food. We discovered that most of the food is either made at home or purchased from local vendors during our visit. They have many loyal customers because of this extra effort. They make many things from scratch like the amazingly aromatic chai mix that one of their owners makes every morning.
Our vegan lunch started with a new dish: a vegan cheese plate. Two vegan cheeses are the stars of this plate: macadamia with truffle oil and almond “feta”, which is rich and creamy. Pickled daikon slices are included as an addition to the cheeses. They also include a local fruit jam, pickled daikon, fresh crackers, peanut butter caramel, and some toasted herb croutons. Both vegan cheeses are rich and pair well with peanut butter caramel and jam. House-made raw crackers are light, crunchy, and generously nutty.
We had two vegan burgers as our main course. There is a growing trend to find vegan burgers that are not made from meat in many restaurants. This is great because it means veganism is more easily accessible to everyone. Love Food Central’s core value is to provide a wide range of healthy, fresh foods. They have even developed their own burger pat recipe. It is made from a base mixture of black beans, beets and has a great texture. They don’t use regular buns as they are a vegan restaurant. However, their toasted bread slices were so delicious that we didn’t know they were gluten-free.
Our trip to Saint Petersburg was dominated by Love Food Central. This vegan restaurant fully understands the importance of vegan comfort food. It also knows how to make everything from scratch, which makes a huge difference in the overall experience. You can taste the love and care they put into their food. Love Food Central is a great place to go next time you are in the area. We guarantee you’ll have a good experience and a happy stomach.