There's a new cafe in Fort Lauderdale's Thrive District, and it doesn't serve a single espresso. The Fort Lauderdale Capybara Cafe, located at 744 NW 5th Ave., Unit 1111, has opened its doors for guided, small-group sessions with capybaras and a rotating cast of exotic animal ambassadors — no lattes required.
The cafe offers a 30-minute capybara encounter starting at $59, according to the Sun Sentinel. There's also a longer, 55-minute Capybara + Friends session that pairs capybaras with at least one other animal ambassador, according to Capybara Cafe Fort Lauderdale. Groups of up to 10 people can book a private room for $216, the Sun Sentinel reports.
For those who want the animals without the daytime crowd, there's the $49 Sunset Safari, a date-night option that swaps out capybaras for other exotics, per the same account. That session may include an armadillo, opossum or fennec fox, according to Capybara Cafe Fort Lauderdale. The lineup isn't fixed — the cafe says which animal shows up can vary from session to session.
What's Actually Inside the Space
The Fort Lauderdale location, run by nonprofit Noah's Ark Sanctuary, is a 5,000-square-foot facility that combines exotic animal rescue with public education, per the Sun Sentinel's report. Inside, visitors will find immersive walk-in habitats, a full cafe lounge decorated with original artwork, and viewing windows into the animal rooms, according to Capybara Cafe Fort Lauderdale.
The facility currently houses seven capybaras along with an African-crested porcupine, a three-banded armadillo, two Virginia opossums, six ferrets and two rabbits, the Sun Sentinel reports. As Miami New Times notes, Noah's Ark Sanctuary cares for more than 100 animals overall, and the group says bookings help fund its rescue, animal-care and conservation-education work. Capybaras, for what it's worth, are the world's largest rodents and are native to South America, according to The Capy Guide.
No Food, But Plenty of Rules
Don't come hungry. The cafe offers no food, but its human menu includes bottled Pepsi products, though guests can grab a snack from neighboring businesses beforehand, per the Sun Sentinel. The facility is indoors, and every guest completes a signed waiver before entering, according to Capybara Cafe Fort Lauderdale.
The cafe welcomes visitors of all ages, though some private rooms carry age restrictions. Animal participation is described as entirely voluntary — the cafe says on its site, “No forced interaction. The animals choose whether to come to work each day.”
Third Location for a Growing Brand
Angel opened the original Capybara Cafe in St. Augustine in October 2024 as Noah's Ark Sanctuary's first location, per Miami New Times. That St. Augustine spot, at 105 S. Ponce De Leon Blvd., draws around 100 visitors a day, per a Washington Post report cited by Miami New Times, with guests spending their sessions feeding and petting the animals.
Angel told the Sun Sentinel that ticket sales have gotten a boost thanks to the capybara's recent internet fame. It's not hard to see why the appeal translates to a booking page — a 150-pound rodent that might climb into your lap, as Miami New Times describes it, is a tough sell to resist for animal lovers scrolling through their feeds.
