Japanese bakery and cafe Samurai Cat debuts in downtown St. Pete

It’s now open out of Beans & Barlour’s former Central Avenue space.

click to enlarge Japanese bakery and cafe Samurai Cat debuts in downtown St. Pete
samuraicat/facebook
Popular Japanese snacks like onigiri and fluffy fruit sammies have been hard to come by in the Tampa Bay area, but a new St. Pete cafe is definitely about to make the search easier.

Located at 407 Central Ave., out of Beans & Barlour’s former space in downtown St. Pete, new cafe and bakery Samurai Cat quietly opened its doors this week.

Samurai Cat is the newest concept from Tampa Bay-based Majestic Restaurant Group, which also operates other Asian restaurants like Zukku-San in Wesley Chapel, ATO in Lakeland and Zukku Sushi in Tampa Heights.

The menu features popular Japanese convenience store fare—from pillowy fruit sandwiches with whipped cream and smoked salmon onigiris to soft boiled egg sandwiches and a variety of milk teas.

Other offerings include drinks like matcha strawberry lattes and coffee from Kahwa, plus bagels and cream cheese, avocado toast on thick-cut milk bread, pear lemongrass ice cream and a variety of Asian-inspired baked goods.

Majestic Restaurant Group is also gearing up to open its newest concepts across the bridge, Ling's Dumplings and Han Hand Roll Bar, which are both slated to open at Armature Works soon. With walls covered in manga, paper lanterns and other types of Japanese-inspired art, newly-opened Samurai Cat has rendered the former Beans & Barlour space  unrecognizable.

Beans & Barlour—which was known for its over-the-top desserts, boozy ice cream and breakfast sandwiches—closed its Central Avenue location late last year after owner Story Stuart made the decision to focus on her personal life.

For the latest updates on new menu items, head to Samurai Cat’s Instagram at @samuraicatdtsp. The new Japanese bakery and cafe is now open from 8 a.m-8 p.m. seven days a week. Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

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Kyla Fields

Kyla Fields is the Managing Editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay who started their journey at CL as summer 2019 intern. They are the proud owner of a charming, sausage-shaped, four-year-old rescue mutt named Piña.
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