Cafe Central Espresso Bar - downtown St Petersburg, FL

Central Avenue in St Pete just keeps getting better and better, whether it is for the art lovers or the food connoisseurs. Add to the previous, the just newly opened Cafe Central Espresso bar with a cool, urban vibe. My family and I were happy to stop in the first day of their opening and give them a try. This was after a week of curiously walking by on Central Avenue and watching the progress inside the cafe as they prepared for opening to the public. I really liked the look of the place. A brightly colored wall with colorful art provides a nice contrast to the bar, and the plaster and brick wall makes for a cool appearance. For seating, there is a mix of bar tables, regular tables, and bench seating. All of this is enhanced by the natural lighting of a huge window front overlooking Central Avenue and warm overhead lighting.

Your orders are placed at the bar. There are a number of beverage choices such as coffee, espresso drinks, iced frappes, wine, and beer, etc. My husband and I ordered cappuccinos and our son ordered the San Pelligrino orange drink, which he really enjoyed. The coffee served here is Segafredo Coffee from Italy and we certainly thought our cappuccinos were very good. From the food menu we ordered three different sandwiches, so we could have a varied sampling. We tried the Cafe Central Panini with smoked beef, the Reuben, and the Smoked Salmon on a baguette. All of the sandwiches were very good, but as usual, we had our favorites. The smoked Salmon was my favorite, followed by the Cafe Central panini. However, I must admit that the Smoked salmon was not exactly as is on the menu. They were gracious enough to make some changes for my son, who did not want capers on his sandwich. We really appreciated the customer service aspect of this. It was so good without the capers, so I can only imagine that capers will enhance the flavors even more, but then I like capers. All in all, a good experience and a fun, new place for the neighborhood.

Cafe Central Espresso Bar
449 Central Avenue, Suite 101
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727-290-9863