The Unknown Florida

The Bark is a vegetarian restaurant on the corner of All Saints Street and Railroad Avenue in Tallahassee just across the street from Railroad Square. They opened in 2017 as the successor to Bread and Roses Kitchen, therefore the name. Over the last couple of years, mainly during the pandemic, it became our favorite restaurant in town. One explanation for that is the bicycle-friendly location along our typical route through Tallahassee. Obviously that is not enough though. The main reason is, of course, the quality of the food. However, another important factor is the unique atmosphere. Food and dining atmosphere are often closely intertwined: It is hard to imagine excellent food in a lousy atmosphere and vice versa. Well, to be honest, you can get bad food in a stylish restaurant, but stylish does not necessarily mean that place has style and atmosphere. Anyway, let me first describe the atmosphere at The Bark before I discuss the quality of the food.

A good friend of mine, who is a vegetarian and ate at The Bark a few times, liked the food but described the atmosphere as a bit “grungy”. Unintentionally, she hit the nail on the head! The Bark has the vibes of a late 1980s or early 1990s bar in Berlin, Hamburg or, for that matter, Seattle. You would not be surprised to see the ghost of Kurt Cobain sitting at the bar drinking his beer and eating a beet burger. As we are core Generation X from Hamburg, we immediately felt at home at The Bark. The place is very European. There are no TV sets blaring all the time, like in a typical southern sports bar, no wait-to-be-seated signs, no pre-mixed cocktails and no Bud-Light signs (the cost conscious, or hipster, patrons drink Pabst Blue Ribbon). The overall design is very anti-corporate with large murals all over the place and a pool table in the center (playing is free). Recently a guy playing pool had a distinct Axl Rose 80s look, black leather jacket included (rare in Florida as it is typically too warm). The barkeeper also looks like he is straight from that time. In a nutshell, The Bark feels like a classic European bar we patronized in the 80s and 90s.

The other important factor at the Bark is its inclusivity. Over the years it became, or has always been, a meeting place for the local LBGTQ+ community. No one cares if your are black or white, old or young, or gay, straight or trans. I suspect this is big-city European aspect, as I remember we always had this culture in, at least, Hamburg and Berlin and other major European cities. In a nutshell, The Bark is a very inclusive place.

And, last but not least, the food. As mentioned before, it is vegetarian. The menu is relatively small with a couple of vegetarian burgers (made with beets, black-beans, and mushrooms), several tofu dishes, cheese sandwiches and other mushroom and tempe based creations. You can also get several types of salads and daily specials (the soups are great). Those items are always made fresh with homemade bread and the quality and taste is phenomenal. We have never been disappointed. The Bark is a place that would be discussed in the New York Times if it was located there; and you would pay triple what you pay here. On top of that, you can get several local beers and the barkeeper makes excellent cocktails from scratch.

The Bark is a real gem here in Tallahassee. It became our favorite restaurant and regular hang-out spot (“Stammkneipe” in German) for a reason. It is also a place to take great photos.