Café Tondo
Cafe · Chinatown ·
Mexican-inspired cafe offering coffee, pastries, and shareable plates
Mexican-inspired cafe offering coffee, pastries, and shareable plates
"Since opening in July, this Los Angeles hotspot shifts from conchas and coffee in the morning to drinks and dancing later beneath the glow of red neon lights. Open most days from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, it hosts bolero night, jazz night, and DJs, with crowds partying on the sidewalk. Co-founder Abraham Campillo set out to create a dynamic, welcoming third space, so the drinks program gives equal weight to coffee, beer, and wine—you can still get a coffee at night because it’s not just a bar and not just a cafe. Drawing on Campillo’s Mexican upbringing, café de olla is an essential menu item, and unlike some versions, the team avoids infusing coffee grounds directly into the piloncillo-and-spice syrup to prevent a burnt taste. Its runaway success has become a chance to highlight the Mexican flavors he loves, giving café de olla its moment." - Bettina Makalintal
"Introducing a new menu in Chinatown, this coffee shop and wine bar brought on chef Luis Luna (an alumnus of Damian) to serve dishes like tuna tostada, a rib-eye taco, rockfish Milanesa, and a flaco burrito, while natural wine, beer, spritzes, pastries, and more remain on the menu." - Rebecca Roland
"In Los Angeles Cafe Tondo signals a direct Mexico City connection through its chef, who previously worked at Rosetta in Mexico City." - Jaya Saxena
"It was a bummer when Oriel in Chinatown closed, but its neon-lit building under the metro tracks didn’t sit empty for long. It’s now home to Cafe Tondo, a daytime cafe and wine bar hybrid with a heavy Mexico City influence and sculptural-looking furniture. Mornings feature coffee, matcha, chilaquiles, and conchas, with the menu shifting toward wine, spritzes, and bites like empanadas and tortas in the afternoon. We recently visited Cafe Tondo and added it to our Spots Of The Summer." - cathy park
"Bathed in a neon pink glow, the former Oriel in Chinatown was known for being among the film noir-iest spots in town. Café Tondo, the casual CDMX-themed spot that replaced it, somehow ranks even higher on the moodiness index. Not quite a restaurant (there’s just a handful of snacky dishes like empanadas and chicken milanesa) and not fully a bar (they’ve got five wines, a couple vermouths, and some beer), Tondo is a nighttime cafe in the strictest sense—a place where chain-smoking graphic designers and people dressed like 1970s character actors commune over spritzes and bikini sandwiches. You can pop by for pastries during the day, but to experience Tondo's scene in full feral splendor, show up for a late-night hangout where everyone spills onto the sidewalk and flirts with gildas and cheladas in hand to a soundtrack of Mexican bolero songs and metro trains rumbling overhead. photo credit: Brant Cox RESERVE A TABLE" - Brant Cox
