Seymour’s Café Fare is Perfect For Lunch or Coffee

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Seymour’s Café Fare is Perfect For Lunch or Coffee

If you live in St. Petersburg and enjoy a good bite, chances are, you’ve heard of Pete’s Bagels. Steven Peterman’s desire to bring a NYC bagel to St. Petersburg manifested itself in the first Pete’s Bagels store in historic uptown in 2019. Since then, they’ve added locations across St. Pete (the famous bagel-sandwich-stop and general store with all things Florida in the Grand Central District), Gulfport (a production bakery) and Ybor (a charming storefront for bagels and pastries).

Even with their impressive expansion, Steven and his friend Erica Gonzales are both lovely people with a certain humility that screams, I literally just want to make bagels. I’ve spoken to both at length for different stories, including when I covered the opening of their co-working space in Gulfport, the Monday Morning Club.

In February, Steven debuted his latest venture: a casual lunch spot inspired by and named after his grandfather, Seymour. While bagels still feature heavily on the menu, Seymour’s is more of a casual lunch spot. They’ve got bagel sandwiches, matzo ball soup, quiche and biscuits, and a full coffee lineup.

The classic Pete's Bagels case is visible as soon as you walk in.
The classic Pete’s Bagels case is visible as soon as you walk in to Seymour’s.
The interiors are bright and airy, with green and orange being the accent colors.
The interiors are bright and airy.

I visited Seymour’s twice – once during their soft opening period, and then just a few days ago.

During my first visit, I knew I had to try the tomato melt. While I don’t have confirmation of this, I’m sure it’s a popular item because it’s something that isn’t on the menu at the other Pete’s Bagels stores.

The Seymour's tomato melt.
The Seymour’s tomato melt.

I really enjoyed the tomato melt; it features garden herb cream cheese, two thick slices of heirloom tomato, banana peppers and white cheddar, all toasted open-faced. The cheese was indeed “melt”-y, and the freshness of the tomato cut through all of the creaminess well. However, I will say it gets a bit messy and soggy quickly. It’s definitely best fresh, and I personally think a generous squeeze of lemon/lime would further elevate it by delivering some tanginess.

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I do think $12 is too steep for this, though.

I would highly recommend choosing a jalapeño cheddar bagel, but then again, that’s my favorite bagel of all time and I’m very biased towards it.

One thing I was absolutely delighted to see is that their coffee partner is Look Alive – a family-owned roaster that opened about a year ago. I jokingly call owners Michael and Kelly Packard my “coffee parents,” because they are the kindest people and my go-to for all my specialty coffee needs in the city. I’ve been to the roasters on 1st Ave S multiple times, and have enjoyed every bag of beans I’ve bought from them.

During one of my interviews with Steven, I learnt that he and Kelly are actually friends from college. It’s very heartwarming to see how they support each other’s businesses, and it’s honestly for good reason because Look Alive is absolute quality.

A cortado I had at Seymour's when they were still in their soft opening phase.
A cortado I had at Seymour’s when they were still in their soft opening phase. You can see Look Alive’s branding on the handle in the back right; they have cold brew on tap.

Here’s everything I tried from Seymour’s espresso bar:

  • A cortado during my first visit, which, to my delight, was a true cortado (equal amounts of espresso and milk).
  • A cappuccino, which was good and did have the classic thick layer of foamy milk, but I do wish they used standard coffee sizes and cups since they are using specialty coffee. The regular size for a cappuccino is 6 oz and a latte is 8 oz; these are internationally standardized sizes and something that you should look for at specialty coffee shops. It’s not a big deal, though, because Seymour’s is definitely a more casual spot and doesn’t claim to be a specialty coffee place.
  • An iced latte which was absolutely delicious. You know when you order your iced latte and know you’re in for a rough cup just by looking at the color, often almost white and overly milky? That was NOT the case this time around. My friend Lilly and I ordered a vanilla iced latte and honey iced latte, respectively, and these 16oz drinks were absolutely perfect. Smooth, strong espresso, a nice dark brown color and not overly sweet. If you visit and Aidan is working, definitely order an iced latte. He understands the assignment.
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I went back twice in the same day for this iced latte. The espresso was so balanced, smooth and sweet.
I went back twice in the same day for this iced latte. The espresso was so balanced, smooth and sweet.

Lilly, who is somewhat of a chicken salad enthusiast, and I shared a chicken salad bagel sandwich. She loved it, so that’s saying something. It was indeed a solid sandwich, with lots of herby flavor, not too much mayo, and the wonderful roasted nuttiness of an everything bagel.

The chicken salad sandwich (back) and olive oil orange cake (front).
The chicken salad sandwich (back) and olive oil orange cake (front).

Like at all of the Pete’s Bagels locations, you can choose which bagel you want when you order a sandwich. But, take it from me, everything or jalapeño cheddar is always the answer.

And of course, the star of the show, the matzo ball soup. This was the first matzo ball soup I’d ever had, and the matzo ball was delectable. It held its shape but was so soft, well seasoned and I immediately noticed the generous amount of lemon zest in it. The clear soup was so comforting, and all around, I would say this $7.50 bowl is the highlight.

Bobbie's Matzo Ball Soup
Bobbie’s Matzo Ball Soup – Both the soup and the dumpling are heavy on dill. It’s just the right amount to add some herby freshness.

As of now, the matzo ball soup is only available after 10am.

Pete’s is known to have a great pastry selection, but somehow, over all my visits to the Grand Central location, I’d never tried their sweet treats. I thoroughly enjoyed the slice of orange olive oil cake I had, it was incredibly moist and syrupy, clearly soaked with that orange flavor. Aidan, our awesome server, gave Lilly and I a brownie on the house since we came back twice in one day.

Now I have incredibly high standards for brownies, and this one was just incredible. It was very dense and fudgy, clearly featuring high quality chocolate, but what stood out most was that there was quite a bit of salt in the batter itself. It cut through the richness so well, and I’d definitely recommend trying this.

Pretty solid lineup for lunch, right? Matzo ball soup (front), fudgy brownie (back, left) and an iced latte with honey (back, right).
Pretty solid lineup for lunch, right? Matzo ball soup (front), fudgy brownie (back, left) and an iced latte with honey (back, right).

Beyond the food, the staff and ambience are also lovely. Seymour’s has quite a large storefront, with ample window-side seating (and multiple outlets available) and a whole additional room in the back.

As a natural-light lover, I love this large window and the fact that there are outlets underneath so one can sit and work.
As a natural-light lover, I love this large window and the fact that there are outlets underneath so one can sit and work.

With Look Alive’s coffee lineup and Pete’s Bagels on the menu, you can’t go wrong.

Seymour's St. Pete Menu
Seymour’s St. Pete Menu
Seymour’s Cafe
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  • Seymour’s Cafe
  • Bagels, Coffee, Matzo Ball soup
    • Mon - Sun 7:30am - 3:00pm
  • 407 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, Florida 33704, United States

Casual coffee, bagel, lunch and pastry spot.

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, Lindsey & Mahika do not dine anonymously (this would be impossible) and we sometimes get free food (though never expected). However, we dine with the locals and we support our own. You will always get honesty in a respectful manner. We do not include any large national or regional chains in our ratings and reviews. We focus on independent locally owned eateries exclusively.

PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.
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