The vicinity surrounding the intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and State Road 434 in Longwood is quickly becoming one of Central Florida’s most diverse culinary pockets. In addition to Guntur Kitchen (subject of last week’s review), there’s Summer Breeze Roti Shop and its Trini fare, the soon-to-open Holy City Zoo BBQ, Cali hot dog joint Cupid’s, Taino’s Puerto Rican Flavors and, in Longwood’s historic district, the GoodWay Café — subject of this week’s review. The name may sound somewhat pedestrian, but this is not your typical coffee and sandwich spot. It’s a French plant-based cafe situated inside the Victorian-styled Magnolia Yoga & Wellness Center, a trauma-sensitive safe space promoting a holistic approach to wellbeing.
My friend Andrea had been touting the café for the better part of a year, urging me to take a yoga class prior to sampling the fare. Just walking into the foyer of the wellness center swaddled me with a great sense of calm, and by the time I finished my yoga nidra — most of which was spent in a state of deep rest — I arose reinvigorated, focused and hungry. Leading the good way to the Good Way Café, the pal suggested I try one of their cold-pressed juices ($9). The blend of watermelon, pineapple and orange with a hint of mint proved a crisp counterpoint to the soup du jour’s ($7) warming liquid vigor. On this day, it was a puree of potatoes, mushrooms, celery, garlic and onions topped with cubed croutons, and I all but mouthward-facing-pigged it into my yap.
The café’s Bordeaux-born chef, Amandine Vibert, moved to the U.S. with her husband and teenage kids three years ago after culinary stints in St. Tropez and the Basque Coast. There was even a stint in France (well, the pavilion in EPCOT) prior to the move to Longwood but, point is, her classical training shows.
The galette bretonne ($12), a gluten-free buckwheat crepe filled with a mix of rice, sweet potato, roasted zucchini, chickpeas and red onions, was a textbook preparation save, perhaps, for the square fold as is the norm in Brittany. Those same ingredients can also be enjoyed unstuffed — that is, sans crepe — as a “rain bowl” ($11) highlighted by a base of fluffy basmati rice. A dipping sauce fashioned from Dijon, cilantro, lime and olive oil lent both galette and rice bowl, to use a yoga term, a “little thunderbolt.”
Vibert taps a little deeper into Indian cookery with a chickpea curry quiche ($11) that impressed with its flavor and pumpkin pie-like texture, and surprised for its crustless presentation. “People tell me it should say ‘crustless’ on the menu,” Vibert says. Pastry putain that I am, I’d love to see a version with a crust, but that, of course, would add to Vibert’s workload. She currently procures vegan croissants from Tampa’s Curious Cat Bakery and breads from local bakers, including Olde Hearth.
The roasted eggplant on a baguette with red onion and arugula ($12) totally planked thanks to a red pesto anchoring the sandwich. The “oeuf et fromage” ($10), tofu “egg” with vegan cheddar and mayo served on an English muffin, coupled with a strawberry, banana and blueberry “delice des bois” smoothie ($10) accented with lavender and sea moss, will bring out the warrior pose in you. Me, I was ready to corpse-pose it after a cinnamon twist croissant ($5.50) and a refreshing mango sorbet ($4) topped with coconut whipped cream. I preferred them both over the blueberry-lime muffin ($4) made with almond flour — the aftertaste of that one threw us.
What lingered pleasantly sitting in that bright, soothing room surrounded by plants was a feel-good sensation, and that’s a testament to the GoodWay Café’s staff. Vibert has done well for herself and, after a meal here, you will too.
The GoodWay Cafe, 111 W. Magnolia Ave., Longwood, 703-372-0821, goodwaycafe.com
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This article appears in April 8-14, 2026.
