Love Food Central Cafe — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

I've been a veg for approximately 30 years, so I've sampled many veggie/vegan restaurants. I found Love Food to be just okay. Since Golden Dinosaurs closed, I've been searching for a replacement vegan Ruben sandwich, so I was super excited to see the Cuban Ruben on the menu. I knew it was going to be a variation on a Ruben when Rye bread wasn't offered as an option. When I received it, I found that the choice to use tempeh instead of seiten created a sandwich texture that shouldn't be used in conjunction with any interpretation of a Ruben sandwich. It takes more than sauerkraut onba sandwich to make a Ruben! My husband got a sausage Flatbread that was of good flavor, but very pasty in texture. I think some work needs to be done on food textures here. We found both items to be tasty but just a little offputting due to mouth feel. We also found the price to be rather high for a counter service restaurant and for the portion sizes we received. With all of that said, the person who took our order was super welcoming, friendly, and hospitable. So wonderful!! Will we come back? Not sure. I'll continue my search for my replacement vegan Ruben. We'll see how the other vegan restaurants in the...

I love this place and have been eating here for several years. Came back for lunch today after being away a few months but the food quality has changed for the worse. I ordered the Awesome Burger (which I've had many times before) and it was crumbly, nearly flavorless, no avocado, and very little sauce. Also got the potato salad as a side - which tasted good except there were literally two entire potato halves not cut up in the small portion on my plate - so it wasn't really potato salad as much as giant chunks of potato with a little flavoring mixed in. Also order the nut mylk shake (one of their featured drinks) and was told they were sold out even though it was only 12:30pm on a Thursday and the place was only open for a half hour with 6 people sitting around (counting both inside and outside). The cashier didn't even bother to recommend something as a substitute. What's happened? Is there new ownership or new management? I used to recommend the food to friends, now I don't want to go back again. $17 (including the tip) for a below average tasting sandwich with below average service is...

ove Food Central is one of the tastiest restaurants in St. Pete, and it just happens to be vegan. Seriously: try the soft serve. Try the burger. Get a shake. Any dessert they have in the cooler case: get it. Doesn't matter what it is, just trust. It's not fancy food, it's just delicious. And it's made of plants. We're all made of plants, I guess, but this is first-level plant-based food. Not "things that ate plants and wasted a bunch of sunlight and water and fertilizer" food.

And let's be honest: I eat meat, so I know what a cow burger tastes like. I still dig this one.

On top of that, Love Food Central was St. Pete's first Ocean Friendly Business. They ditched plastic bags and styrofoam, implemented a recycling program, and took a bunch of other steps to protect our coasts and waterways from the negative impacts of plastic pollution.

AND they're all really friendly. So when you stop in, your day gets better, some rando cow's day gets better, and the ocean's day gets better....