Welcome to the official website of Tampa Bay's premiere Italian restaurant, The Laughing Cat Bistro.
Named after one of Executive Chef Franco LoRe's favorite haunts in Venice, Italy, The Laughing Cat Bistro
brings the gourmet cuisine and laid-back atmosphere of a European bistro to historic Ybor City.
We started in the year 2000 as a small carryout & pizza place on 15th Street in Ybor city.
The Cat quickly outgrew its original home and moved across the street into the historic
El Encanto building at the Southwest corner of E. 8th Ave & N. 15th Street, where we welcomed friends
old and new to enjoy the pleasures of good company and the finest in food and drink.
As 2011 arrived, it was clear that The Cat had once again outgrown it's home. Cat's don't like to
wander far from home, so in September of 2011, we moved across the street to the Southeast corner
of E. 8th Ave & N. 15th Street. This new space finds us with double the seating capacity, a banquet room,
and The Cat Bar.