Cafe Canela

It may be just a tiny corner café restaurant deep in South Philly, but Café Canela is attracting people from much further afield. I had read that it is owned by Mexican-​Americans and is serving up many tasty Mexican dishes especially the flour tortillas and the albondigas. But I was really extremely plussed when I stopped in here to eat recently to surprisingly discover a couple of my favorite Salvadoreño and Honduran dishes also on the menu. One or two of the kitchen staff hails from Central America which is why these foods are being served. The El Salvadoran pupusas are totally awesome. Get the mixed platter of three different fillings for the pupusas and you have a totally delicious meal. Of course you could opt instead for the Honduran tamales and the tasty baleadas and you won’t be disappointed. Complimentary chips and salsa verde begin the feast. Five stars for the Central American fare that I ate — maybe the best pupusas and baleadas in all of Phillytown!

The ownership has recently changed. Though it’s still pretty tasty Mexican food, it’s not nearly the Earth-​shattering caliber it used to be. Tragically, I think I’ll be acquiring my tacos from the truck on 11^th street from now on. Pour an ounce out for our homey the former Café Canela. RIP. My belly wi miss you.

The original owners sold the place. A serious shame because that food was amazing. New food is standard fare, not terrible but not particularly good. Same menu for the most part, but tortillas were no longer hand made, everything was a little heavier, and the flavors just weren’t there.
I wonder where the old owner went!

I’ve done takeout from here twice. Their burritos are amazing — I’ve had them with beef tongue and al pastor. The sauces taste amazing, especially the green one! Their fried plantains were a great treat. Sightly crisp on the outside, but melt in your mouth creamy on the inside.
My only complaint is both times I asked for no tomato on my burrito, and both times there were tomatoes.

Stumbled upon this place yesterday for lunch. I had a little trouble getting my order through a loss in translation, but I ended up with the burrito I wanted (which was delicious) a whole plate of chips/​salsa for each person at the table (free), and some bacon soup (also free, and delicious). The food came quickly, the service was friendly, and I think they made the tortillas fresh for my burrito and my friend’s taco. The whole meal was just $ 9 per person! Great stuff, check this place out. (But maybe bring a friend who speaks Spanish.)

First impressions: Nice cozy spot and very homelike.
FYI — If you see other Hispanics patronizing the spot, you know this spot is legit.
Food was great as I ordered the al pastor tortas as that is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Everything was fresh. Avocados were fresh (first thing I judged), pineapples were fresh, and the lettuce and tomatoes were fresh. Now the grilled pork itself was slightly gamey but the fresh juices from the pineapples toned down the gaminess and gave the pork this nice marinaded taste. Very authentic.
Definitely a spot I would come back to.

Amazing cinnamon coffee, and I don’t even like coffee.
Plus an eclectic Mexican and Guatemalan menu.
I tried and enjoyed the chicken soup, pupusas, and dobladas. Everything was made fresh to order, so it took some time, but so worth it.

I am so thrilled to have a restaurant nearby that makes homemade flour tortillas, great guacamole and authentic dishes that use fresh ingredients. My veggie burrito had a wonderful mix of grilled peppers, mushrooms, and onions with the right balance of rice and beans. My husband’s al pastor burrito was equally tasty. The tortilla chips had just been fried and were not overly salted. To make the meal even better, they included two different kinds of homemade salsa and pickled jalapeños and carrots. The owners could not have been nicer. Long live Café Canela!

I live right around the corner from here and Los Gallos. I have to say that this little restaurant was a very pleasant surprise. Everything seems to have a very ‘home-​made’ feel to it. The tortillas that came with my tacos were thick and irregular — so they must be home-​made. The green salsa was significantly thicker than the typical taqueria style tomatillo /​avocado salsa — to me that means more avocado. There’s also a red salsa that I couldn’t quite identify: It was thinner than tomato-​based salsas, a little spicy and I think a little sweet — maybe ripe-​red jalapenos and pineapple? Well, it’s delicious. The first time I stopped by here, they gave me a complimentary house coffee. It had a touch of cinnamon or something that made it quite memorable, so I’d highly recommend trying that if you’re in the mood for a caffeine hit. I’ll definitely be back, but I think I’ll get more adventurous when I do. I did see what looked like a rib pipian of some sort behind the counter as well as some really rustic looking chicken soup. For now, I think I prefer Café Canela over Los Gallos! I’d strongly recommend getting here before it blows up like every other great Mexican spot. If the food is always as good as it has been both times I’ve been there, it won’t stay off of the radar for long.