The Artisan Magazine - Jan-Feb 2024 Cassis Restaurant

Cassis Restaurant and Cassis Market

Longevity with Quality

By Hal Freedman

Restaurants come and go in St. Petersburg, but Cassis American Brasserie has been a constant in Downtown St. Petersburg since 2010. The owner, Phillipe Berriot, came from the Philadelphia fine-dining restaurant, Le Bec Fin. He brought along Jeremy Duclut to be Executive Chef and Christophe Guillot to be front-of-house Manager. Both Jeremy and Christophe have moved on to open their own local restaurants. Trevor Lyman, formerly the Sous Chef, is currently Executive Chef…and doing a damn good job. The menu has changed significantly, and the change is positive.

Phillipe’s vision for Cassis was a classic French Brasserie with an American twist. Luckily, Phillipe was then married to Lisa Wannemacher, lead architect at Wannemacher Jensen, one of St. Peterburg’s leading architectural firms. Lisa was able to design Cassis to realize Phillipe’s vision. The tile floors, high ceilings, wood finishes, and sidewalk café tables and umbrellas, all make you feel like you are in Paris. As an aside, having a drink at one of the outdoor café tables makes for some of the best people-watching in Town!

Before we get to the food, let’s visit the kitchen. At significant expense, Phillipe & Lisa designed and built one of the finest restaurant kitchens in Tampa Bay. Stainless steel forever, an interior recirculating filtration system to avoid sending kitchen exhaust into the outdoors, the recent addition of a four-tier Italian pizza oven (more about that later), a dedicated kitchen staff, several of whom have been at Cassis since it opened. It is extremely well maintained and kept as clean as possible for a working kitchen.

All that’s nice, but you can’t eat ambiance. So, you ask, how’s the food & service? In a word: Terrific! The bar & bartenders are also among our favorites. And, Cassis’ happy hour is arguably the best in town… my go-to, a slightly dirty martini with cheesestuffed olives, is $6.50 for a generous pour.

The food! For Starters, my favorites are Yellowfin Tuna Tartar, raw ahi tuna and avocado cubes with a spicy habañero aioli and house-made chips, and House-Smoked Fish Spread, served with lots of spiced, homemade Lavash. It’s hard to go wrong with the starters. The Calamari, Steak Tartar, and Mussels have all been excellent, when we wanted a change. The same can be said for the salads. My favorite is the house-cured Smoked Salmon Salad, but the Beet Salad and Watermelon Salad are a good choice, if smoked salmon isn’t your thing.

As for entrees, the Maple Leaf Duck Breast is hard to beat. It’s tender & juicy and cooked perfectly. The cherry reduction is sweet, but not too sweet. But you can turn to several other main dishes without feeling like you’re settling. The Bouillabaisse, which we ordered and brought home during the pandemic, the Bar Steak Frites, the Cassis Burger…we’ve never been disappointed. However, my new favorite: the Pasta Fruit de Mer… as good to eat as it is beautiful to look at! Clams, Mussels, perfectly cooked large shrimp, in a sauce that’s almost a cream broth. I tried it for the first time recently and will have it again soon.

The sides are also interesting, with the standout being the Mac & Cheese. An ample bowl of pasta with lots of cheese and a baked cheese top, to which you can add bacon, jalapeños, and/or hunks of lobster meat. I often order this, fully loaded, with my happy hour Martini. It’s enough as a “light” dinner before or after a movie at Sundial.

Attached to the restaurant is Cassis Market (formerly Cassis Bakery) for house-baked items like croissants, scones, muffins, French macaroons, and more. Full cafè coffee/espresso service and gelato are also available. They also serve excellent salads and sandwiches that are made-to-order.

But the star of the show at the Market, and on the new restaurant menu, is the PIZZA from the newly-arrived pizza oven. I recently had a tour of the kitchen and met Matthew, the pizza chef. The 14” pies are cooked more slowly and at lower temperature than in many other restaurants. It takes about 22 minutes for the pie to bake and rest, but, boy, it’s worth the wait. I’ve tried Goat In My Garden (with fresh goat cheese) and Lombardy Party, both of which were winners. Mathew also made my wife and me a custom pie, ½ without cheese, to accommodate my wife’s allergy. The crust is made with Cassis’ own sourdough yeast; cheese is brought all the way to the edge, so the edge is crisp. A Steller pie!

After 13 years, Cassis is still putting out great food, changing things up, adding a whole new category (Pizza), and offering a wonderful dining experience. • 170 Beach Drive, St. Petersburg, FL