Viva el Cafe

Friendly barista recommend the Aztec Warrior espresso drink and it was absolutely delicious!

We have been here a few times and it is by far our favorite coffee place when in old town. They are always busy, so be prepared for a little wait, but it is so worth it! Great specialty coffee drinks, blended beverages, and smoothies. They also have a great assortment if sweet treats. Our favorite is the Viva brownie!

The smell of coffee is my weakness. Plus I needed an afternoon boost
Cute coffee shop and lots to choose from. I decided on the iced coffee since it was a warm fall day in beautiful San Diego. The woman working the counter was nice and welcoming. She took my order and made my coffee. It was delicious. I liked that she had Mexican candy and desserts in the store.
I also enjoyed the décor here very much. I could have sit here and smelled the coffee all day. But all too soon my cup was empty and so I had to leave. Be sure to stop by for a café con leche and a masa pan.

This place tries to steal your money! They try and fraudulently impose minimum debit card purchase amounts. First let me say that under the Dodd-​Frank Wall Street Reform law (2010), a merchant can impose a minimum purchase amount up to $ 10 on credit card purchases but NOT for debit card purchases. I came in for a coffee and the girl working was sitting in the corner playing on her phone. I ordered my coffee and asked about using my debit card. She rudely looked up from her phone (finally) and said there is a $ 5 or $.50 charge then went back to her phone. I told her that I believed it was illegal to charge and without looking up she told me that’s what they have been doing for years. I said it was illegal again and looking up from her phone she said «don’t get mad it’s my bosses rule» then did a full body look and said «you must be a tourist– that’s what we do here. It’s all over– especially gas stations». I informed that I am not a tourist, live in Carlsbad, and no they don’t do that in all gas stations– mostly Arco stations. I was so mad at her terrible attitude, lack of good service, and this place ILLEGALLY trying to charge me extra money that I walked out.

Disastrously bad service. The guy that works here seems to hate his job, coffee, brownies, water, the earth and probably breathing too.

Came here one time and the coffee was good so was the service. Went there today again and the service was so horrible it ruined the coffee. I’m sure the coffee is the same but the simple fact that the young blonde lady making are drinks was sooo rude, made my drinks taste bad. We will not be going there ever again. I’ll give my money to some other business… No biggie

Great little hidden coffee shop in Old Town. The next thing on there menu are the arrogant bastard beer brownies! Super good! Coffee drinks are average nothing unique about them. Here is my one critic. It it very plainly decorated the furniture is out dated. There is some seating outside where you can have your coffee and people watch.

They need to fire the creepy guy (jeez, hope he’s not the owner … if he is, he should leave the customer service & coffee making to people who care) referenced in a previous review, which I completely agree with. I went with my son and waited several minutes before he emerged from the rear of the store. I asked for a soy latte. I was told ‘we don’t have soy milk’; was not offered another non-​dairy option, but had to ask. Ultimately, the information that they had rice milk was communicated. The espresso, however, was watery. And iced tea seemed like a new concept to the guy; he exclaimed ‘iced?!’ when my son ordered iced tea.
Hard to find location. Unfortunately not worth the effort or the money.

Horrible service!!! Looks cute and all but just keep walking. I waited at the counter for about 4 minutes until some creepy looking guy comes out from the curtain and with the biggest attitude tells me, «can I help you?!» Keeps giving me attitude, doesn’t even apologize for keeping me waiting so long. Even after I told him I had been standing there for a long time. He said, «so do you want anything?!». I asked him what his favorite drink was and he said, «nothing, I don’t like anything here…» Woah! Guess I should’ve ran. By the Looks of the reviews, looks like there aren’t many pleasant people that work there. This place would be a lot better if their service wasn’t so crappy.

The Arrogant Bastard Brownie is amazing! This café does a lot baking for local restaurants and some of these signature treats at other restaurants are available here as well. The ambience is great with outdoor seating as well as inside. This is one of my favorite hidden spots in Old Town.

I love this place. I always come here for my coffee. I’ve had a variety of drinks and they have all been amazing. The service is always great. At times it is a little packed. I just wish it was bigger so they can keep spreading their awesomeness. My favorite drink is their dirty chai and my favorite pastries in the arrogant bastard ale brownie. It’s something you should definitely try.

By far some of the best coffee and drinks I’ve had! The barista (she had short curly hair) was very friendly and helpful since it was my first time there. The viva brownie is enough for 2 people; I got the viva latte and it’s PERFECT! Define going to be a regular here.

Amazing! The barista (short curly hair) was super nice and customized my order with a big smile, rather than the scowl I am accustomed to at other coffee shops. The drink flavors are all very unique and exciting. I had the viva el amour. FANTASTIC! My friend got the Viva late (iced and blended as suggested by the Barista). It was even better! I def will be back.

I always find amazing pastries at Viva el Café. It’s always a stop for me when I’m craving the best Red Velvet cupcake in San Diego County! The service is always friendly and helpful, even when I can’t make up my mind on which coffee to try with my pastry.

This is definitely a tourist trap/​shopping central. The atmosphere was great. I stayed low-​key and had drinks at the bar. Excellent mojito.

We came to this place on Saturday afternoon, to relax with coffee and tea. We had a great time, but for some reason lady at the cashier looked miserable and gave us attitude.
P. s. The tea was great though.

kim is cool, she made a great coffee WITH ALMOND MILK… omg I love this place for its uniqueness… and they don’t have soy milk, yes, yes, yes… don’t like any place offering the boring soy milk, plus it is soooo bad for health, & trying to stay cancer free/​soy makes cancer cells grow.
their other options are rice milk. kim works mornings… she is the friendly one, she will make your experience fun

Terrible Service!!!
Owner/​Manager called coffee maker/​cashier incompetent.
Then my daughter accidentally spilled her HOT latte on my son’s leg and he wouldn’t give us napkins!!! Instead he told us to, «Just get out, get out!» She never even had a sip of it and he never offered to replace it and instead ordered us out and told to use the restroom around the corner for napkins.
I will never step foot in this place again, nor will my friends, relatives, visitors, or clients!!! No one orders my children out of a restaurant and gets away with it!

An okay coffee joint with lots of sweet snacks. The coffee was good — a bit heavy on the syrup but would have no problem getting another cup when I’m in Old Town.

Walked in on a Saturday night with the kids to order some coffee and relax in the courtyard. This place looks nice from the outside, small on the inside and well decorated.
Their menu selection is ridiculous (in a good way), so I figured everything was gonna be A-​Ok. Drinks were a little pricey. $ 4+ for a small and $ 5+ for a large. There is no medium option.
I ordered Mochas for the kids, extra chocolatey and that’s exactly what they got. They were okay but their espresso is very sour and they should consider down-​sizing the amount of shots they use per drink which I believe is 2 for a small and 3 for a large. Typically for a coffee shop it should be 1, 2, 3. Some places do 2, 2, 3… but that’s when they have good espresso.
My hubby ordered the Aztec Warrior. I liked it, it was okay, but once again the espresso ruined the drink for me. Too bitter to actually enjoy.
I ordered the Chai latte for myself. I even asked her if it was good. She said yes so I agreed to try it.
I guess I should know that whenever you ask a shop employee if their product is good they’re gonna say yes. I’m an honest café’ cashier and barista. I’ll tell people what I like and don’t like. I think everyone else should do that as well.
My Chai tasted like MILK AND VANILLA SYRUP. it wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t Chai. She served it to me cold and I had to ask her to warm it up. The drink reminded me of a hot horchata. If I wanted that I would have gotten their Horchata Viva Latte or whatever it was.
Overall it’s a cute place to grab something like a snack (they have home made baked goods) and a hot cocoa, or maybe a normal cup of house coffee, but I’d stay away from their espresso and tea drinks. Leave it to any other coffee shop.