La Catrina Cafe

gracias por los todos hermanas y hemanos

Yesterday 1−16−16 was the first time I entered La catrina Café. I’ve lived in pilsen my whole life but I just moved near 18^th street about 2 minutes from La catrina. I was the only person ready to order someone had just gotten their order. I stood near the counter where you pick up (i didn’t know where to stand it’s not really clear since there is no sign. It looked like that’s where you would order) I waited to be waited on by one of the people behind the counter a man and a woman. I stayed there for about 3 or 4 minutes waiting for their attention. They had already seen me looking at the menu, in the meantime an older gentleman entered and the man behind the counter was very warmed up to him and said «hello can I help you» still ignoring me. Then the lady behind the counter looked at me and then proceeded to start washing dishes. I was just about to walk out when I decided to say «excuse me I’d like to order something». She then dried her hands and looked at me and said «Oh you were standing in the wrong place to order.» Then I told her «I’m sorry this is my first time here». She did not apologize but I still proceeded to order. I gave them a chance by ordering two abuelita’s hot chocolate and two hot mochas. I was very disappointed with the quality of the hot chocolate as I believe it was mostly watered down and I was so disappointed with the taste and quality of the mocha because the price for four drinks, two small hot chocolate and 2 large mochas cost me $ 15 and change. I can honestly say that I feel more welcomed at a Starbucks because I know that I will be receiving good service and a great cup of whatever I Buy for a much cheaper price! I will not be coming here again.

Friendly mom-​and-​pop place with excellent coffee and dessert foods. Lots of space including a nice outdoor patio in the summer.

i love the space but the –1 star was for the super slow internet… it’d be fine, but when you only get 2 hrs of free wifi it gets pretty annoying fast

Coffee and sides here were pedestrian. Good independent neighborhood coffee shop. Atmosphere had a great feel to it. Very open, and easy to find a myriad of places to sit and chill. The service, on the otherhand, not so great. Twice I’ve been here and ordered a simple coffee (an iced chai the first time, and macchiato the second time) and they took my money, I sat in front of the register, and absolutely no indication my drink was done. Both times actually they had forgotten my simple order! There wasn’t a line or it wasn’t busy. I saw them on their phones, or talking to each other. No indication made that an order had just been made. I had to go up there and tell them what I ordered. Frustrating as all hell that I can’t get a simple thing.
Internet speeds here are quite slow as well. An order comes with 2 hrs of complimentary internet at marginally faster than solid dial-​up speeds. It’s a good place to meet random people though.

last time i went, they started limiting the amount of time you have access to their wifi for free, with a max of 2hr of free wifi after which you need to pay for it. the catch is that they give you a code that lasts for 2hr after they set the password, not when you log in. so if they happened to have set the password at 3pm, and you get there at 4:30p and request the password, they’ll give you the password that expires at 5pm, and then you’re SOL.
i’ve stopped coming here because there are so many other coffeehouses in the area that offer unlimited free wifi and there’s nothing extra that la catrina has to offer.

I just moved to Pilsen and decided to try this place. It was well worth it. I tried breakfast burrito and my boyfriend and I shared the mollettes. Very yummy, portions are great and the price is right!!! The best part was there dirty abuelita drink and vanilla bean cheesecake!!! I will be going back for more tomorrow. The atmosphere was perfect with great art work on the walls, free wifi and cute clothes for purchase!!! I totally recommend this place.

This is a good neighborhood coffee shop. I wouldn’t commute more than 10 minutes to come here though. Coffee is ok, as is the food. Mexican hot chocolate is quite good during the winter. Prices are good for quality.
Internet speeds are quite bad, I usually just tether with my smartphone. Great location for meeting people though. Nice big windows to see the outside world from.

This is a great spot for studying. Plenty of space, plenty of tables, good music (English & Spanish), friendly employees, great overall atmosphere. Unfortunately, I was charged over $ 4 for an iced Americano. Unacceptable. I had to make it a hot Americano, which was as disappointing as the stale donut I didn’t finish. Did I mention one sweet gordita is like $ 3? I wish they would change their prices and coffee because I love being in here.

Atmosphere is fabulous. Food I got a turkey grilled sandwich and it was ³⁄₅ needs more stuff in the sandwich only came with turkey and cheese. Price is decent. Not to bad. Paid about $ 10 for a sandwich salad, chips, and tea. Check it out!

Still loving this place as a regular hangout when I’m in Pilsen… found out the WiFi IS free… sorry for any past confusion. Love all the different seating options. Also, would like to come here for an event some time!

My friends and I came to La Catrina for a storytelling event (First Thursdays of the month). We each ordered a drink, and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of our drinks. LC also sells Mexican candy, pastries, and even a drink named after a grandmother.
My friends and I bought a number of Mexican candies, an iced chai, and a cappuccino. The barista asked me if my cappuccino was for here or to go, and when I said it was for here, he asked me to take a seat. He made the cappuccino, and brought the drink to me. My friends and I were speechless. This drink was the spitting image of Starbucks drink advertisements. Except Starbuck doesn’t deliver what LC did: A glass cup with a handle, layers of foam, milk, and espresso, and a special touch: a fine dusting of cinnamon.
Can I tell you I felt like the most special girl at the café that night? Yes, I did. The barista and a nearby table of guys smiled at my reaction to what was a perfectly executed and presented cappuccino. I paused to admire this cappuccino, and when I sipped it, I was left with cappuccino foam kiss a la a certain Korean drama.
All in all, I love Pilsen because of the murals, the people, the food, and now the coffee.

Being a student it’s great to find a place that offers bottomless coffee for $ 2.60. I spend a lot of my time here studying or working on my assignments. It’s usually easy to find some free street parking and seating has never been an issue for me.
They do have two hours of free wifi which can be limiting but has never been a problem for me. In case you need more time, they do offer additional wifi time at a cost of $ 2. My only complaint is that the wifi does tend to be a little slow at times but putting that aside this place is great.
Everyone is super friendly. They often have live music or local artist performing/​demonstrating their art. Overall, it’s a great place to get stuff done.

This café is almost perfect for what they offer: a cup of reasonably-​priced coffee, roomy window solo seats (since I often spend my time at a café in the city on my days off from my day-​job to work on my creative writing), and an semi-​quiet, minimally-​distracting environment with radio playing in the background. However, I guess there’s always room for improvements.
You can’t possibly miss that place. There’s a lady wearing the sugar-​skull face painting, looking extremely fierce! Many of you may have already known; sugar skulls, Union Jack, and fleur de lis are my favorite things on earth!
To be honest, the coffee here wasn’t amazing. I had the café olé. For a large cup and under $ 3, I’m a still a happy gal.
The ambiance really wins me over. I was able to have my privacy, watch cars and CTA busses passing as time was flying, and write till my fingers hurt.
I believe the wifi here is free, for first two (2) hours with a passcode. After that you will have the option to purchase more hours if you need to. I was able to connect with a xfinity wifi with my i-​pad mini (I-can’t-live-without gadget).
The coffee took a bit long to be delivered, but good thing is that I wasn’t in a hurry. The other reason why I couldn’t generously render a five (5)-star review is that the ordering counter is too close to the customer-​seating area. I had to constantly dodge myself to be out of people’s way.
I don’t come to Pilsen all that much because it’s a relatively-​distant travel, but every time I’m looking for inspirations and wanting to admire the 18^th. street arts, you will see me around.

First time here today– I have to say it was pretty decent… I liked the location, it was pretty clean, and there was lots of street parking which is always a positive.
I had an iced chai with soy milk, my friend always gets the bottomless coffee for $ 2.50 which is not only a deal but also unheard of – pretty cool that they do that.
My tea was pretty good, I think it had a nice flavor and full tea to milk ratio :)
Other than that the place is super spacious– three rooms available for their patrons, it seems like you can organize meetings there also. Nice vibe.

I love this place. So I decided to try this place because I head to Simone’s sometimes. I ordered a waffle and it was so delicious. Strawberries and blueberries were layered on top. The espresso paired well with it
It was affordable

I am a weekly patron of La Catrina Café. Each Thursday, I order dinner and a latte and plan another week of engaging lessons. Because I am a frequent customer, I can speak to the consistently delicious food and drink. I’ve had the mollete and quesadillas often and they never disappoint. Since it’s started getting chilly again, I’ve also begun ordering the Mexican hot chocolate to go on my way out, and it is simply heavenly.
The staff is super friendly and service is speedy.
I enjoy the community feel of the place. It is a frequent gathering place for different groups and organizations, meetings and events. And despite how busy the place is I never feel unable to concentrate or focus on work. There are three different rooms and I find that each room has its own socially accepted level of quiet. So you can pick your space based on how much chatting you’re going to want to do.
Overall, great place to go to get some work done while also eating/​drinking something tasty.

Favorite coffee shop I’ve ever been to! Now that’s really not saying much since I am not much of a coffee shop snob, but this place had excellent wi-​fi, bottomless coffee, and TONS of seating. In other areas I see coffee shops having one or two of those things, but never all three. This place is a true gem! Though I wasn’t hungry at the time, the baked goods at the front all looked amazing and the patrons who ordered sandwiches and salads were all devouring their food happily. If I lived in the area and had work to get done, this would be my happy place.

Food: The waffle with fresh fruit for $ 4.99 was awesome, I highly recommend that. The burrito was more tortilla than ingredients, so it was a bit on the bland side. I ordered the matcha latte which was okay, I would try something different next time I go there for the waffle.
Service: The service was good in the sense that they were nice, but the order in which the food was delivered kind of put a damper on my experience: the breakfast burrito came first, then a few minutes later our drinks, then about 5 minutes later my waffle. I thought the order in serving was the beverages first, then the food to the table at the same time or one after the other so that people can eat together not stare at each other eat.

What a fun, fabulous spot! I stopped in with my parents for an iced coffee and a muffin to share while we were waiting for our table at Dusek’s. We all admired the colorful Catrinas and other artwork that adorned the walls; the café’s owner said they feature a few local artists and do some open mic nights and sports watch parties.
If I lived in Pilsen, I know I’d be at La Catrina at least once a week to grab a quick cup o’ coffee, get some work done or meet with friends. Otherwise, I’ll pop in when I’m in the area for dinner or for Gallery Night on Halsted!

Nice, quiet café in Pilsen. Good prices on their coffees and pastries. Plenty of room to sit and hang for a while without any pressure to get out or to keep buying more stuff (you have three rooms to choose from). Staff was all very nice and eager to help. We like to sit more towards the front of the restaurant — don’t feel like we have to be as quiet — music is a little louder — like my voice (I need to practice my indoor voice).
There is also a little art shop located in the front room — with limited hours — that sells local artists works, t-​shirts and the like.
Oh, and they have free Wi-Fi…which I didn’t use — but most of the people in there are usually buried in their electronics. :)