This remains a hidden gem that I stumbled upon in the city years ago. Â I went in there one morning knowing nothing about Cuban coffee and was blown away by what I was served. Â Their Cuban sandwiches are unique and tasty. Â Prices can't be beat. Â I think the only comparable would be Cafecito in the loop but this place by far is more "authentic" feeling.
Review Source:Do not leave without having a Pastelito de Guayaba con queso (guava & cheese pastry) & Cafe Con Leche! Dynamic duo! I had the disk shaped pastry. I went back up and brought another it was so good!
This place is super authentic... right in the heart of HP. Want some good Puerto Rican flare! You'll get it here!
I am dying to go back and have the avena de coco (coconut oatmeal). I will update you when I have it... I'm somewhat of a coconut fanatic!
They also have a variety of sandwiches and everything is priced fairly.
Over all feel of the place was cozy and welcoming. Might I add they were Jamming!!!!! Had some Frankie Ruiz on... almost had me dancing in the cafe!
Thank the good Lord I don't live near here... I'd be there every day. Sweet on the lips & thick on the hips!!!!!!
The day I tried this place I knew I was in trouble. I live around the corner and therefore far too close to it for the sake of staying in my current pant size.
Cafe Colao is amazing. The owner is SO nice and has accommodated off-the-menu requests for friends of ours, their pastries are UNBELIEVABLE (i seriously want to bathe in the pastelillos), and I am officially obsessed with their avocado sandwich. I've tried the Cuban sandwich too, which is fantastic, but the avocado is just so creamy and delicious and satisfying.
If you find yourself in the neighborhood, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to stop here and try something.
This little Puerto Rican cafe was featured on the show Chicago's Best. Â A comfortable, commodious, affordable, colorful and charming cafe with delicate aromas of freshly made coffee. Â The aromas are intoxicating, rich and wonderful. Â The sandwiches (or as my niece likes to say "sangwiches") are super huge. Â If you are a small eater you can split the sandwich with a friend. Â However, if you are super hungry or have a huge appetite you will not want to share your sandwich. Â I highly recommend their Cuban sandwich, which is freshly made and served up on super warm toasted Cuban "french-style" bread. Â The bread is super fresh with a crispy crust. Â The Cuban sandwich first emerged in South Florida in 1930, and it is still going strong today. Â Your buck will go a long, long way here (unlike other brand-name coffee shops). Â The food is very flavorful and freshly made to order. Â We also tried their sweets (all kinds of pastries -- too many to list here), and we were not disappointed.
Review Source:You don't know how little you matter
Until you're all sleepy
In the middle of dull and groggy
With little stamina left but no cup of coffee
Bro, this Puerto Rican stuff can make ya snap
Pour into Paseo Boricua stat
Even when he was and you are madly in need of a nap
Madly in need a nap
Gotta stay up, buy a cup of 'joe
Iced, con leche before headin' home
You hit the store, then hit the road
Crack 'joe crack 'joe
Crack 'joe crack 'joe
The most amazing Puerto Rican bakery I have ever been to. Aside from their cream cheese and guava pastries, cafe con leche (look it up if you dont know what this is), Their Chicken sandwiches and steak sandwiches are bomb. The wait can sometimes be pretty long, but the staff is so friendly that time flies while you chit chat. Also, nothing beats a breakfast sandwich you get their or make at home after buying a loaf of there fresh baked bread.
Review Source:what a nice surprise to discover this bakery in chicago. the shop was quaint. the workers were friendly. Â and the guava and cheese flaky pastry & guava and cheese pastry bites were DELICIOUS. Â if i lived in Chicago, this would be one of the pastry shops I would bring my friends. a definite must try!
Review Source:I live nearby Cafe Colao, and every weekend I walk over and get guava cheese pastries and a loaf of their French-style bread. Â The guava cheese pastries always impress me, and I've gotten many of my friends hooked by treating them to some when they visit.
I enjoy the atmosphere in the cafe, and I don't really care if anyone knows my name. Â If you do want to get to know the staff, then sit at the bar and talk to them! Â
If you are looking to visit a cafe where the people seem genuine and aren't faking niceness because it's part of the company policy, then come here.
If you're Puerto Rican and looking for the cafe con leche that you're mom makes, then this is the place to be. If you aren't Puerto Rican and looking for a chill place to grab a good cup of coffee, a breakfast sandwich and pastries really cheap - then this is the place for you. Cafe Colao is a small bakery in the middle of Humboldt Park's Paseo Boricua. They have outdoor seating and offer a wide selection of sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. You walk in, straight to register, order, pay and you're on your way. You must try the Avena de Coco (Coconut Oatmeal).
Review Source:Cafe Colao is like the "Cheers" of cute little coffee shops...except nobody knows my name. But they do at least recognize me and seem to know each other's names.
I've been patronizing businesses on Paseo Boricua a lot lately so I came in here one morning on my way to 17 Nails, which is next door. Usually I just get the cafe con leche or the avena de coco (the coconut oatmeal which is fantabulous, btw), but this day I decided to to try one of the delicious looking sandwiches. I played it safe and ordered the caribe grilled cheese and it was really tasty. The white cheese on cuban style bread was grilled to perfection and hit the spot. I followed that up with a  cafe con leche so I wouldn't get the "itis".
This place isn't fancy, it's rather small, and the waitress has a bit of a 'tude, but it's a great place to come for breakfast or lunch.
My mom being a bakery aficionado we were obligated to at least glance at every bakery we walked past in Chicago. My mom and I were absolutely delighted with this one. Food here is VERY CHEAP and delicious. My mom ended up walking out with a BOX of pastries for 5 bucks. Most other places will at least cost you 20 for a box full of stuff. My favorite is what I call their "Oreo Cake" (it had no name posted by it) a sweet and moist chocolate pound cake with white icing. Heat it up in the microwave for a few seconds to make it even better.
Review Source:I lived in PR until 5 years ago. Â When I go back, among my de rigueur places to visit are the bakeries - La Ceiba, Kasalta, La Bombonera - Â and my must haves are cafe con leche, quesitos, pastelillos de guayaba, mayorcas and croquetas. Â Well, last weekend I visited Cafe Colao for the first time where I found most of the merienda fare I crave and was transported straight to my beloved Puerto Rico bakeries. Â I sat at the bar at around 4 in the afternoon slowly savoring a cafe con leche, a quesito and a pastelillito de guayaba y queso and almost cried for happiness. Â The rich, aromatic coffee woke up my senses and memories, the quesito - sweet and gooey, made me swoon, and the pastelillo - more like a buttery tart - was a perfect, melt in my mouth finish. Â Ahhh, heaven. Â I will go every time I go into Chicago from the suburbs.
Review Source:I walked into this place and it was what I expected. The coffee reminded me of the cafe con leche I had in Puerto Rico as a tourist visiting family. It came in a Styrofoam cup and tasted great. The cup actually made it onto the "Coffee of Chicago" poster (they have a copy on the wall). The bakery looked fine, but the sandwiches every one was eating looked awesome. When in an ethnic place have a look around and see what the regulars are eating!
These sandwiches were pretty close to "Cubans" if you ask me. I had the Ham, cheese, and egg sandwich and it was an awesome breakfast treat (huge). My total bill was around $7 bucks.
Leave your attitude at the door and you will enjoy yourself. Some of the employees are learning English so talk slowly, and enjoy a neighborhood gem. The coffee is good, but you have to expect that this is a place for Caribbean style espresso and Cafe con Leche (I think they ice it too).
What a difference a year makes. Â This used to be my go-to spot for guava cheese pastries, as indicated in my previous review. Â Since then, they failed a health inspection. Â Still, I decided that since the failure was due to plumbing complications, I would check it out again.
That was a mistake. Â I ordered three guava and cheese pastries, and when I got home, they were guava only. Â I don't really like the sweetness of guava without the cheese to offset it, so this was a big difference for me. Â They were dusted with a bunch of powdered sugar (read: choke powder) and were super dry. Â I had to throw them away. Â What a waste of money and food.
So much for second chances. Â I won't be going back.
FYI Jenn K., the failed health inspection was due to plumbing complications. Comments like that can really hurt a small mom and pop business. Â They were just inspected in January with no violations.
Come check it out. Great fresh coffee, homemade Puerto Rican pastries
and delicious sandwiches. Great service nice atmosphere.
FYI, Cafe Colao recently failed a health inspection
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchicago.everyblock.com%2Frestaurant-inspections%2Fby-date%2F2008%2F8%2F25%2F1203337%2F&s=a1b5cf1e85dee7077584b0fa9f7e18600fd99b59477a97276d4fd1db097374b5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://chicago.everybloc…</a>
puerto rican coffee is a lightly sweetened cafe con leche (coffee with steamed milk). when i lived near cafe colao, i was so spoiled by these perfect, inexpensive cups of richly steamed milk - mixed with just the right amount of strong coffee - that i spat at every starbucks i walked by.
if you try to order a cafe au lait at starbucks, the barista will go slack jawed and vacant, walk in the back to consult a manager, and then return to tell you that you want a MISTO. the misto turns out to be a disgusting concoction of scalded milk scantily blended with boiling, burnt coffee.
just go to cafe colao and order a large coffee with two sugars. order a quesito if you want to die of happiness for under two dollars.
A perfect Puerto Rican bakery. Â They have great quesitos which is a sweet bread with some sweet cream cheese, they also have pastelillos de guayaba!! (a guava and cheese pastry)
I try to bring these two things back when I go to PR but always end up eating them! =)
I don't allow myself here as much, I don't know why I haven't had the coffee, it's the same brand I use at home so I'm sure it's good.
Holy Moly, Â I'm so glad that ppl noticed this great spot!!! Â I found this place while walking around trying to find a place to get a haircut. Â The setting is very typical if it was located in Puerto Rico minus the beaches.... Â The coffee is awesome and it reminds me the way my Grandma would make it. Â Do not forget to order your piece of bread soaked in butter! Â The sandwiches are insane! Â If you read Ren.B review, she says the coffee is sweet, well that's the style of their coffee or the way we drink in Puerto Rico. Â I cant speak for the pastries because I stuff my fat face with sandwiches and throw it down with 2 cups of coffee.
Review Source:my friend introduced me to cafe colao to curb my increasingly bougie tastes, and i was pleasantly surprised! the guava and cream cheese pastries are ultra flaky, and kick the crap out of the pastries at a lot of other bougie places i've been to. the coffee is nutty and a little sweet, as good coffee should be. and even as a highly carnivorous person, i gotta say that the avocado and caribe sandwich is top notch. not the best looking place in the world, but the food more than makes up for it!
Review Source:The pastelillos de guayaba are exactly as good as the ones I get at the little bakery on the winding country road on the way to my grandparents house oustide of San German. The quesitos are good too. The coffee is great, of course. It only has a few tables and has a definite friendly neighborhood hangout vibe.
Review Source:
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