Café Santo

"The Oaxacan mocha is the most popular drink at BLVD MRKT’s Cafe Santo, and serves to power the crowds at this teeming Montebello food hall. This Oaxacan coffee bar is stationed right at the entry to the shipping container space and serves brioche French toast, breakfast sandwiches, and quiche as well." - Mona Holmes, Rebecca Roland

"Cafe Santo does hot chocolate the Oaxacan way, which is about 800% better than your Starbucks hot cocoa. At this Montebello coffee window, you can substitute a morning double shot with cacao-based drinks that get frothed until they're creamy like thick espresso. There's the semi-amargo with hints of cane sugar and cinnamon and the nuez that's flavored with walnuts. But the closest thing to a strong coffee is the simple xoco shot that packs a bitter, earthy punch to shock the system. There's also plenty of coffee, too, all of which is ethically sourced from Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala, and Colombia." - Sylvio Martins

"This Oaxacan inspired coffee bar from Marlon Gonzalez and Pilar Casteñeda is part of Montebello’s BLVD Market and faces Whittier Boulevard. They incorporate Mexican chocolate that Reina Negra sources from Chiapas and Tabasco. Their bold, gritty Oaxacan mocha combines espresso, 40% cacao, crushed almonds, cinnamon, and milk, available either iced or hot. Café Santo’s logo depicts a jaguar, the sacred cacao tree’s mythical protector. Drinks like this reinforce that noble cause." - Joshua Lurie

"At the soon-to-debut BLVD MRKT, an outdoor food hall in Montebello, Cafe Santo is the first vendor that’s fully open, serving Oaxacan-inspired drinks and memelas in an outfitted container to an excited queue of coffee fans. Founded by Pilar Casteñeda and Marlon Gonzalez, the once-roaming coffee stand, a fixture at places like the Silver Lake and South Gate farmers markets, has opened with a sleek, minimal design meant to signal a more contemporary Oaxacan coffee experience." - Matthew Kang