The Belly Bliss Natural Café team describes its philosophy as inspired by nature and guided by kindness. What’s more, these folks believe in slowing down and savoring the little things.
Owner James Bakopoulos says, “We start with cleanliness in the kitchen. We have a purified water system for the whole place and extra-purified [reverse-osmosis] water on the sink so water for all our cooking is as pure as possible.” The staff sources products that are local, organic, and natural whenever they can and deep-fries foods in beef tallow rather than seed-based oils. Pans are made of stainless steel or, for omelets, are ceramic-lined. Customers who remember the Belly Bliss Naples site as Poached, which operated in this location for 13 years before closing in May 2024, may not recognize the fully renovated restaurant interior. The only items left from before are the range hood and the refrigerator.
Like its predecessor, Belly Bliss offers an extensive menu of breakfast and lunch fare. “Our pancakes are getting famous locally,” Bakopoulos says. Standout pancake flavors include Oreo s’mores and cinnamon roll. Crepes are proving crowd-pleasing as well, with Signature Berry Bliss, banana coconut cream pie, and chicken Florentine leading the list. Gyros, panini, waffles, smoothies, and sandwiches are other options.
Dishes honoring Bakopoulos’ Greek roots, like spanakopita, lentil soup, saganaki cheese, and octopus, also set the café apart. One more great thing about Belly Bliss? There’s none of that “breakfast is served until 11 a.m.” business. You can have breakfast for dinner. Or dinner for lunch. If it’s on the menu, no matter the time of day, it’s available if the restaurant is open.
Although he had considered making it fancier for dinner, Bakopoulos realized there was a market for the diner-style menu and ambience it already had. “It’s a casual, upscale café-diner. You can come in shorts or dressed up,” he says. “People like it this way.”
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