As a former vegetarian, I used to spend my weekends scouting out for plant-based restaurants in Tampa. Most of them are either overpriced, or serve food with no flavor.

However, MOOD Bake Bar, a gluten free, plant-based café, opened on September 2 in SOHO and is bringing a warm environment for vegetarians and vegans to eat.

The first thing we ordered was the mini peach cobbler cake. Although it was tiny, it was packed with flavor and was soft and chewy. A mini cake with peaches and syrup on top, sprinkled with powdered sugar, this is perfect for a quick sweet snack.

Along with that we ordered the smoked bacon cinnamon roll. I was surprised to discover that this item is served with real bacon. Although the roll itself was delicious and soft, the bacon had a slight metallic taste, as if it wasn’t cooked long enough. If you order this item, I would suggest asking for the bacon to be left off.

The last food item we ordered was the number three croissant toast. This was a piece of toast with the texture of a croissant served with plant-based Nutella, strawberry cacao nibs and coconut flakes. The toast was something I’ve never seen before, and was the perfect combination of flaky and soft. I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for something light and not too sweet. It is also great for pictures, the presentation is beautiful!

For drinks, first we ordered the salty karen-mel. This is one of their specialty coffees, and is served with caramel, cinnamon, and sea-salt foam on top. It is sweet, light and perfect for a quick coffee run. This drink is also plant-based, made with their vegan “mylk”.

We also tried a few of their matcha drinks. The matcha lemonade and matcha colada. These were perfect contrasts of each other,  the lemonade being tangy and the colada being sweet and fruity. These were both very light drinks and perfect to order with something sweet.

My favorite thing about Mood bake bar is their quote wall, on the side of the building where you pick up your food. It is blue and pink with black quotes and graphics.

I would definitely eat here again. Their food is reasonably priced and still is flavorful, despite most of the items being plant-based.

If you go:

Address: 1101 South Howard Ave Tampa, FL

Hours: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. every day

Instagram: @MoodBakeBar

Website: www.moodbakebar.com