La Caleñita Bakery & Café

I was just resting and charging my phone for a bit, then this wonderful woman 👩 who works here named "paula" asked about my bicycle sitting outside the store. "Do you want to keep your bike inside safely?" I said yes and agreed because it might get stolen, so she saved my day by offering free coffee ☕️ to me and served me with a beautiful smile. 😊 Amazingly friendly service here.

Short trip to COLOMBIA 🇨🇴 right around the corner! ENJOY!! My favorite to go hight protein is plain Huevos Pericos <svtambled eggs w/ tomatoes, pepper and onion & Chicharrón <fried pork skin> enpanadas are a kiss from heaven.

I love this place. Food is great. Staff are wonderful. Zero complaints.

I like it! Their desserts are excellent as well. The pan de bono! Yummy.

Great Colombian Bakery and dishes. Service is very good

Love La Calenita! Tres leches cake is delish as are the arepas and empanadas. Everyone who works there is so nice too.

Really enjoyed stopping here. Very friendly staff, great coffee, breakfasts and pastries.

My child wanted to try this place for a long time since someone keeps taking their bread to school 😁 and we finally made it. The staff was super helpful explaining their food, cause we are not Colombian, everything we tried was delicious. Looks very clean. Recommend 💯%

Food is always great here. Either breakfast or Empanadas and green sauce with it is always consistent. Great and fast service always. Coffee is terrific here as well. Calm ambiance to stay and eat after Church on Sunday early afternoons.

i was waiting for my food like 40 minutes they give me the food to cold , the empanadas don't look fresh I never go back to that place.

This has been the best coffee I have found in the area so far, I am comparing it to the coffee you can get in Miami walking around, that great Bustelo taste, strong and not watered down. They have GREAT variety of baked items. I never pass this spot without grabbing some coffee for sure! Notice- it is cash only!

I used to love it there , but I ordered an orange juice and it came with a fly in it .. I'm so grossed out ! They need to be more careful and more clean

I love this place!! We understand each other using the universal language of pointing! Lol I point, they pack it up. How much? Once again that we point at numbers lol. They're super courteous and always smiling. Not once have I had a bad experience in this place. I've been here about 8 times in two years. Things haven't changed and if they did, it's for the good or barely noticeable.

Came from another town to give my family some Colombian food and I asked for 4 chicken empanadas and 4 beef empanadas. They only gave me my 4 empanadas, which could've been a mistake (2nd time). When we called Maria Isabel answered and her response was "Thank God we sell alot" to make it seem like she didnt care of reviews. If you not going to care about 1 customer, your not caring about many. Now I believe they are thieves, and they do it on purpose of they're not caring about their customers. I would recommend going to all the other places in 5th street, they lost a customer going there for so many years. It would'nt have been a problem until we called to clear it up, and they treated us like CRAP.

First this gentleman fabian G. forgot the empanadas I was that day and it is very ridiculous and disrespectful to lie in public. The place is very nice and clean. Fresh food.

If you have a massive hang over and want some fried greasy Colombian breakfast food. This is the place to go. I've never had Colombian food until my Colombian friend brought me here. This is a nice bakery with plenty of room for folks to sit with their laptop and coffee, munch on some pastries; or come after church on a Sunday, sit with family and relax. They have a flat screen TV that constantly plays Colombian music videos/ concerts which adds a nice ring to it. They serve a wide variety of food (most I'm not sure what they are called) - Beef or Chicken mini empanadas, cheesy corn bread, chesse bagel, eggs, big greasy chorizo (pork sausage), fried yuca (root), pork fat and skin. All in all I like their chesse bagel and eggs the best. Their coffee is sweet and according to my friend they serve really good hot chocolate as well. The nice thing is that they accept credit cards, all their servers call you "mi amor" I guess that's the friendly way from Colombians for you! Easy to find street parking right around the bakery.

My best friend is Colombian and her family travels from Maryland to come here and load up on Colombian delicacies! I have been lucky enough to come here several times with them, and am so grateful that pandebono has been introduced into my life! When we went this weekend I got several almojabanas (Colombian cheese breads) to bring home. They're very similar to pandebono, but they're just round (not donut shaped). I was willing to wait for pandebono to come out fresh, but evidently once they're sold out then that's it. Kind of a bummer. I also tried a cake (I think it translated literally to 'black cake') that is made with (lots of) wine, raisins and nuts. My friend also found blood sausage to bring back home to her family. It is a little bit intimidating if you're not a Spanish speaker. There was some minimal English used during our transaction, but the default is Spanish and it could be very awkward without someone there to translate for me. I don't think of that as a negative, though - I actually appreciate the authenticity of the establishment, and the fact that the Colombian community has a place like this to enjoy the tastes of home. Also parking can be a little bit of an issue. With some patience you can usually find street parking but it is a VERY busy, bustling area.

Best Colombian bakery in town. It's away from the city but easy to get to. The staff is super friendly whether you speak Spanish or not. Try the arepa con queso, almojabanas, pan de bono, burñuelos and their empanadas.

Thanks again to fellow Yelpers I have found this place. Although it's about 2 miles from my house I never knew it existed. I don't go past this stretch of 5th st often. Upon entering I was greeted by a good morning/ buenos dias from one of the friendly girls working behind the counter. She was really helpful and patient considering it was my first visit here and I obviously did not speak fluent Spanish. Luckily she spoke good English. I chose 2 empanadas; one beef, one chicken and an arepa w/ cheese.Came w/ a bangin' green spicy salsa. From the huge pastry display I got a flaky pastry filled w/ guava. All were excellent! She pointed out some of her favorite pastries which all looked great. As a line formed I felt kinda guilty asking what's this, what's that so I hurried it up. At no point did I feel rushed by the girl who waited on me. All in all a pleasant experience which I know will often be repeated. A constant flow of people and refilling of the hot foods assures everything is fresh!Too bad I can't drink coffee; they had some excellent selections.

Classic Colombian and Latino pastries, great prices, quality and services. Exactly what a Latino would expect.

Great price and great taste. This hidden gem is filled with delicious baked treats and tasty warm breakfast and lunch dishes at an extremely reasonable price. They also have great coffee. This is a family friendly place. I would recommend this to anyone who likes good value meals and Hispanic food.

La Caleñita this morning made me beat anyone's 800# mark. We picked up friends around 9:45 AM. We all live in the Center City on this day a nice quite drive of about 15-20 minutes. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a bit of wind reminding you that winter was just here and if that nature wants it can turn around and makes us miserable in a less than a blink of an eye (shouldn't that be blink of the eyes). I would tell you that if you are looking for some fancy joint with ultra hot Latin Americans just slightly malnourished so that they fit in their designer outfits and a chic decor this would not be the place. Is in Northeast Philadelphia on north 5th Street. Small place hard to find unless you know the colors of the Colombian Flag decorated across the middle with the establishments name. The group consisted of a good Colombian friend with her husband and my partner and I (also Hispanic). I would advise to invite a friend that knows to speak fluent Spanish or you can always point at what you want and go for it as you can see everything through a pastry showcase. The establishment is set up as a bakery even thought you can get items that you would generally not expect to be served in one. If you order coffee make sure that you specify without sugar because all coffee served comes with it included. Of course it comes included I mean they already poured about seven spoons of sugar in your cup. The food is truly authentic and made fresh. The place is so popular that they need to constantly refill their hot foods. Get there before the after church crowd arrives; trust me. The tamales are the biggest one's I have seen from here to Bogotá, made with large pieces of chicken inside ,potatoes and peas. They melt in your mouth and are delicious. They prepare two kinds of are arepas to keep it simple the white ones are not sweet and have been sliced through the middle to add the single most important food group: Cheese; and the yellow ones are sweet. There is Colombian chorizo which is like a mildly spicy Kielbasa not like the traditional Spanish one. Consider also the empanadas caleñas, orejitas, tres leches, etc. The cleanliness of the place is superb. The staff is friendly, courteous and attractive but not starved. Very inexpensive so do not ignore the tip jar on the counter. Tipping is not a place in China!!! Is definite worth the trip!!!

This place is great... While I wasn't sure what half of the stuff was, I tried everything during multiple visits... I usually stopped in for breakfast.. You gotta love the fact that the place is very clean, and everyone that worked there are exteremely friendly... I can't say that I ever had a bad meal there... Probably the most addicting thing there is the deep fried pork belly... They serve it with a side of hot green salsa, and a baked potato that had been rubbed with pork fat and salted completely.....

I spent a tiny amount of time in this place and it was too much. We bought a few things but the woman at the front was incredibly cold with us. She rushed us the entire time which was incredibly disappointing since I was trying to teach my friend about the food. She tried pushing things we clearly did not want despite already having ordered and considered everything. I expect much more from my people.

Seriously, another one of those FOODIE'S DREAM COME TRUE locations. Delicious, authentic, and cheap. What more could you possibly want? And the coffee is also amazing! Go in the morning when everything's super fresh--there WILL be a crowd. Plenty of seating and a welcoming atmosphere, and be ready to bust out some of that Spanish from high school.

I felt like I was transported back to the streets of Bogota. The food items here are really authentic, from the humungous tamales (chicken and veggies inside) to the empanadas, papas rellenas, chicharron, etc. It really tastes like the street food I had in Colombia! Don't be surprised if everything is fried; that's how they do! The coffee, like someone else mentioned, is loaded with sugar and milk. It's really tasty, but if you aren't into that thing, make sure you mention so. They also have sweet pastry items that I have yet to try. Employees are super nice! The price- dirt cheap! Definitely a fan.

Good food and service! There is always someone there who can help you get what you want even if you don't speak Spanish!

Amazing arepa con queso. We haven't had food like this since we were in Cartegena. If we lived closer we'd be there often.

My wife and I love this place. We've been here multiple times. The empanadas are excellent. Great coffee. I also love the pandebono and buñuelos. Especially with coffee. We'll deffinatly be back again!

One of my favorite Colombian bakeries in Philly, it's a cute little cafe and the staff here are so friendly. The buñuelos and pan de bono are my favorite, but everything from here is yummy. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive so this place is a gem

came here on a whim and it was delightful. i got two empanadas and they were delicious

i wanted to like this place so much. pro: ok empanadas and ok coffee con: my tiramisu had mold - when i got home i opened my container and a bad smell came out and there it is .... mold. they have great reviews so just make sure your get fresh food. my chicharon was also different. it was smoked bacon cut into chicharon pieces.

I absolutely love this Colombian bakery. My husband and I go there every chance we get. Their empanadas are great and I love their cheese croissant. Everything is baked fresh every day. Highly recommended

I think "La calenita" bakery has the BEST!!! pandebonos in town. I'm from Cali, Colombia and the "pandebono"s at this Bakery are even better than the ones that I tried on my last visit to Colombia. There is no need to go to Cali to get "pandebonos o almojabanas" they are here, in Philly and worth a trip. Also, breakfast at "La calenita" is an amazing experience; you can have scramble eggs, seasoned Colombian style with fine chopped scallions and tomatoes. It's served with "arepas" (made from corn), rice, if you want and hot chocolate. I considered their hot chocolate the Best I have ever tried in any Hispanic bakery/restaurant in Philadelphia ,Elizabeth, New Jersey or Florida. Overall, I think this bakery exceeds anyone's expectations,

being there once, a small eatery. A lot ofe stuff I have no idea they are. It is kind of hard for me to order. But the GIANT sweet bread spoke to me. It tastes good.I like it !

It looks and feels like a Colombian Bakery! I highly recommend their empanadas! They also have good Pasteles de Queso con Bocadillo, and Torta de Pan. I will try the Tamales next time!

The food is good. I love their arrepas con queso but they sell fast. It's a genuine Columbian place so there may be a slight language barrier as some the people don't speak fluent English. I personally don't like the decor but that'll vary among people. Overall good spot especially in the morning.