Being a vegan there haven’t been all too many dining options in the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Area.  I recently downloaded the VegOut app for my iphone, which came recommended by a great vegan blogger I follow on Twitter quarrygirl.  The app is nothing short of awesome.  We found a few new places and decided for the mood we were in to try Vida De Café, on St. Pete Beach.  First, a disclaimer, their website leaves much to be desired, and I believe does no justice to the food and atmosphere of Vida De Café.

When we arrived, it was a Sunday evening and a quiet night down on the beach.  We were the only two people that were in the café, and arrived about 5pm, for an early dinner.  The atmosphere is simple, beachy and calm.  The décor is mostly from Ikea, modern, simple and comfortable.  There were several items on the menu that I was interested in, but finally settled on the Sushi with Ginger Pate, and my husband got the Spicy Pad Thai.  (I want to note, that the food is fully vegan and also all raw.)  The flavor of my sushi was outstanding.  It was fresh, flavorful and I absolutely love when I can taste a multitude of flavors all at once.  The avocado was rich and creamy against the crunch of the spinach and carrots.  The nori it was wrapped in was raw, and I have never had raw nori, it was awesome!  The flavor of that just added to the great taste of the rolls.  I felt that the plate was a fairly large serving and priced well for what I received.

My husband’s Spicy Pad Thai did not disappoint either.  It was very very tasty with again, loads of flavor.  The Zucchini noodles were absolutely fabulous.  Everything was again, extremely fresh and flavorful.  The only negative on that dish was that neither of us felt it was spicy, nor did it taste anything like any Pad Thai dish we had ever had.  But we’d both get this dish again, knowing how great the flavor was and how nice and fresh all of the produce was.

We both had water to drink, and I ordered a green tea.  I was a bit disappointed that they did not offer Agave Nectar or raw sugar to add to the tea, and it was rather unflavorful as far as any green tea I have tasted.  So I cannot recommend the green tea but the water is water, and the food is amazing.

The only disappointment on my part was that they were totally out of the Fudge Brownie and ChocoChip Ice Kream.  MAN did that look amazing on the website and the description made my mouth water!  So I was disappointed on that, but it is just one more reason to head back there!

Our service was good, and we would definitely recommend Vida De Café to anyone wanting to try some freshly made food in a great small restaurant on beautiful St. Pete Beach.  It’s a hidden gem that should definitely have more attention.