Manatee Cafe

I come here very often and have never been disappointed. Everything here is consistently wonderful, from the quick, no-​nonsense service to the fresh, tasty menu items. I also love that if I have vegan or vegetarian friends in my party they love it too (and the servers are helpful rather than annoyed at special requests).
A few menu items I get on the regular:
–the breakfast bagel sandwich. This huge breakfast sandwich comes with so many wonderful things including sweet potato, sprouts, avocado, and tomato. You have a choice of either hummus or cream cheese as well. I always get the cream cheese and add a fried egg on top (so good!)
–the deli sandwich with basil vinaigrette dressing for the side salad. This is to die for. I get sliced turkey and goat cheese on a croissant. What more could you want?!
–the key lime pie. If you haven’t had it yet, try some next time. It’s light and fluffy, great flavor, and you can buy a whole one (which is what I like to do for my birthday sometimes instead of cake).
Overall, it’s manatee for the win. Always.

Manatee Café is one of the best hidden gems in St. Augustine. My mom and I would go just about every weekend. I love the bagel (don’t recall the name) but it has avocado, cream cheese, sprouts, sweet potato and tomato. I also love the breakfast burrito with tofu and the side salad with yeast dressing. As for drinking, the coffee is delicious as well as the green smoothie or red zinger tea. This place makes me miss St. Augustine!

if you’re visiting st. augustine and you don’t make time for a breakfast/​brunch/​lunch stop at manatee café, you’re making a BAD DECISION! have no fear– the Unilocalers here will guide you straight to this hidden gem tucked away in a small strip mall (westgate plaza, i believe) just off rt. 16. if it hadn’t been for the great reviews, i never would have found this place. so, let me help you out with a few GOOD DECISIONS:
— let’s start with the basics: parking… there’s a parking lot, which is a real convenience when coming to/​from downtown or historic st. augustine where parking is hard to find or a little pricey.
— the food: hellooooo clean eating without feeling like a crazy hippie bunny rabbit. sure, they have salads– they are big, full of a fresh assortment of veggies, and come with great dressing options such as nutritional yeast or basil vinaigrette. but you can have yourself a healthy meal here without defaulting to a salad. the breakfast burrito was a total knock-​out meal that i will be dreaming about for weeks to come… sweet potato, sprouts, salsa, avocado, mushrooms, hummus, scrambled eggs (or tofu!) AND a cheese (choice of feta, goat, white cheddar, or vegan cheese!) AND a side of hash browns, salad, grits, or fruit (and not like, canned fruit or a mountain of unripe melon– this was kiwis and strawberries and apples and oranges). crazy deliciousness. the «burrito» ingredients were served in a folded toasted wheat wrap which was tasty, but did not look like the standard rolled up burrito– which was a good thing. mom got a veggie omelette which had so much good stuff like carrots and avocado and sweet potato AND a choice of cheese too. also with a side of hash browns, grits, fruit or a side salad (which, btw was quite large for a side portion) and some sprouted wheat toast. their pizza looked like a super amazing flat bread overflowing with veg and sprouts. same goes for the pita sandwiches. i really can’t say enough about how amazing the food was.
— more good stuff about the food: everything is made to order, so they can and will accommodate almost any food allergy. vegan? you’ll enjoy a fabulous meal here, and have many options! gluten free? they have you covered with tons of g/​f options including g/​f wraps. no dairy? no problem. they even have vegan cheese if you miss it. there’s a small area of to-​go goods for purchase as well, so you can grab something to take along for the rest of the day as well. the ingredients used here (fruit, veg, spices, coffee) are all organic… and the menu even touts that they use filtered water when available in the preparation of the meals.
— the price: so, here in NJ, a place with the type of food and great reviews like manatee café would be $$$$. i was super impressed here– each dish described above (including sides) was just under $ 10. yes, you read that right. TEN BUCKS-​ish. just about every meal on the menu is under TEN BUCKS. seriously a steal for the large portions and high quality of the food. and they take credit card, so yay.
if all of that is not enough good stuff to get you excited and hungry and heading to manatee café, then you must just enjoy bad chain resto food and processed junk instead. i’m sorry– none of that here.
the only not-​so-​wonderful part of our meal was unfortunately the service. we expected it to be on the slower side, since the menu has a «please allow 20 mins» disclaimer– no probelmo. time wasn’t the issue. there seemed to be only one employee running the entire front of the house– from answering the phone, to being waiter and runner and busboy– this guy was hustling. now, i know it’s totally understandable to be short-​staffed, but that wasn’t really the problem– it was his overall attitude. not friendly, didn’t describe any of the dishes or tell us any specials, didn’t ask how our food was, left us with empty water cups for a while… meh.
i hope this place can get their service act together and maybe make the inside look a bit more inviting– these steps would go a long way toward making the dining experience at manatee café as good as the food.

Foods good but that crappy Kenny G music has got to go. I enjoy the breakfast burrito the most. But please. Play something cool.

Decent place for a breakfast that is nutritional and delicious. They offer options including breakfast favorites (omelettes, French toast, pancakes, etc.). They also have lunch available, but my friend and I didn’t get to try it this time around. One of the downsides is that the food takes a bit longer to come out, but they are using quality ingredients so it was understandable. We will come back next time we’re in St. Augustine.

Love this place. The staff here is always top notch. This is our «go to» place for brunch. Food is always good!

Amazing food Manatee Café! We loved it. We didn’t speak during our meal bc it was so delicious. Both of us had the breakfast burrito and I had the home fries side which tasted like they were prepared that morning. The homemade hot sauce isn’t super spicy yet full of flavor. Friendly, fast, healthy and delicious. What more do you want from a breakfast joint.

I can’t wait to visit St Augustine so I can eat breakfast several times at the Manatee Café. Friendly and fast service and consistently good food. Cheryl the chef never fails to deliver fabulous and fresh ingredients that taste marvelous. I have been coming here for over 15 years and the food is still as good as it was on my first visit.

Great place for breakfast
I usually get tofu scramble burrito and Veggie burger. Service a little slow, i go there if i am not very hungry.

WAAAY too much garlic in everything. And the egg salad sandwich was runny. The pizza was to hard to even bite into. Overall everything was bad. Try someplace else.

Best brunch in St Augustine. Healthy, Tasty, big portions, cool folks. We ordered Burrito and veggie omelette. Both were excellent choices. Smoothies are nice too.

My husband and I were on our way home to West Virginia this morning and looking for a good breakfast place to stop. We saw this café on Unilocal and thought we would give it a try. Little did we know that it was a clean eating, organic place which is what we eat at home but can’t always find when on vacation. Our waiter was awesome and very nice and the food was amazing. We both had breakfast burritos and ordered wraps to take for lunch. We were very pleased with how great the food was.

Diner low key ambiance with limited options for lunch and breakfast. Very vegan and gluten free friendly, the cashier’s stand is laden with natural food supplements. Next to that is coolers full of natural soda, assorted juices, kombucha, and others.
Big enough to sit over a dozen small parties of folk for a lunch crowd. A bit slow from the ordering to getting the food but they have a disclaimer of ‘Please allow us 20 minutes…’ etc etc. If I had to guess, they probably gotta grow and harvest all the sprouts that they put on everything. But hey, it was delicious and light fare. Plentiful portions and very satisfying.
Had a deli turkey sandwich that came with (you guessed it) sprouts, plus a heaping portion of avocado and tomato. So packed full of goodies I had to use a fork, which was a common problem at the table for the others who got a Veggie Pita and Breakfast Burrito. All of these come with a side where you can choose from freshly made tabbouleh or hummus (plus other unimportant choices). Bonus: They have vegan Daiya cheese options for dairy sensitive folk plus gluten free bread or wraps.

Delicious and healthy, made with love, great service, great atmosphere… a must for anyone who enjoys good healthy food! We had the chicken salad sandwich the black beans and rice and a veggie omelet with home fries all I can highly recommend! :)

This paragraph is an add on to my original review… I am extremely picky about my food, I ride the Special Short Bus when it comes to my food. My hubby eats anything … I DO NOT! He loves this place because they have the best basic breakfast we have ever found and OMG coffee … This is our number one go to place.
Here my hubby can eat really yummy stuff while I eat strange grains…
Original review…
Best clean food… for lunch and breakfast in St Auggie, and all the cities I travel to. The best and it is home made is their veggie burger, they know what they are doing so it is not mushy and spicy as all hell.
The hash browns, which are really home fries are yummy… salty and well done… awesomeness! They are cooked with oil but I can really overlook that here.
The coffee is strong and fresh. Roasted locally and I think one of the best again…
The spelt waffles are tasty light and much easier to deal with when you let the experts make them, instead of doing this at home… these are like home. The give you REAL maple syrup. No breakfast meats… which is SAD to me… boo hoo… but I can work through that cause the breakfast is so really yummy. If they had breakfast meats, I am sure they would be from a local source and very tasty but I have yet to find locally sourced breakfast meat unless you make the bacon yourself so I do not see that happening in the near future, I also think they have enough to do… but anyhow… this is a must go to for clean cooked with love not chemical food. You also don’t walk out feeling like you might explode…
They are in a un remarkable shopping plaza on SR 16, just a tad off Ponce, well worth the drive.
They can get a little busy, just enjoy your tasty beverage and kick back.
Oh yeah the chips are tasty, they hummus is very good, the tabouli is not oily or over whelming… Wish they had a weekly special.

Stopped by on our way out of St Augustine this morning. Another home run, courtesy of Unilocal!
Great local gem. Small, local place that focuses on organic and fresh food with options for vegan and gluten free. My wife and I both had the breakfast burritos, mine with eggs and hers with tofu instead. Both were awesome with great flavor and fresh veggies.
Def will go back next time we’re in St Augustine. Thanks to Unilocal

A gem hidden in a strip mall away from the touristy part of St. Augustine but well worth the short drive here for the amazing food. Our group of 4 stopped here for a late breakfast and ordered a range from fresh fruit juices, fried eggs, hash browns to scrambled tofu. Everything we had was flavorful and cooked with fresh, local ingredients which shows in the taste. The service is great and I also love the fact that their fresh fruit bowl is actually a bowl of local, organic freshly cut fruit which isn’t the easiest thing to find in a restaurant these days. Great place and will be back when in the area again.

Looking for a satisfying breakfast or lunch that’s flavorful and good for you? Well, you found it! The restaurant is quaint and personal, the server’s even know your name. Chefs Cheryl and Mike know exactly what they are doing they have perfected the art of healthy eating and have combined flavors that keep you wanting more. The breakfast burrito with goat cheese is outstanding, pair that with an Apple bannana smoothie and you are set for the day. You must stop here if you come to St. Augustine.

My wife and I stopped by for lunch before a day trip into St Augustine. We split a breakfast pita sandwich and an order of french toast; OJ for drink.
I was pleasantly surprised both by the unique combination of ingredients and delightful flavor of the breakfast pita. The french toast was also pretty good.
The only reasons I am not giving a five-​star rating are the ambiance and location. The lighting inside is a bit harsh, and the décor seems tired with an (poorly) overdone manatee theme. The café is located in a rundown strip mall with very low-​rent shops nearby. On your drive into the plaza you should be promptly greeted by a waving homeless man in a wheelchair (that’s how you know you are at the right place).
But if you want a different spin on breakfast that is tasty, brave the environs and eat here.

Came to this café for brunch with my family. The first thing I noticed was that the walls had been spackled… but hadn’t been painted over (yet?). Who knows if it was just done. First impressions mean a lot so that didn’t sit too well with me.
Anyway, I ordered waffles with banana and walnuts and they were a little dry but good. service was decent, considering how busy it was. I don’t think I will go back.