La Cafe — Local services in Castroville

We just went today for a birthday brunch. Everything about this place is amazing. It truly reminded me of a little European shop that fit perfectly in the Alamo Ranch area. Everything was surprisingly beautifully combined, and delicious. I got Turkish toast, and it was absolutely incredible, the soujuk was amazing and different than I've had at another Turkish place. It was rich and interestingly seasoned, although it reminded me a bit of Genoa Salami. It was a delicious mix with the melted mozzarella. My wife got the Turkish breakfast plate and I stole some bites; the kaymak, which I had never even heard of previously was AMAZING in the honey that somehow tasted more like honey than honey, the simit "bagel" was a crazily interesting thing covered in sesame seeds, and a bit sweet? The olives were even an interesting addition, I don't even particularly care for olives, but these were amongst the best I've ever had, maybe some type of Kalamata. My cappuccino was excellent. The espresso had the right amount of bitterness, and the way it balanced with the frothy foam was spot on - it reminded me of cappuccinos I'd enjoyed in Italy or France. All this to say, it was an incredibly interesting, and wholly unique experience, we will absolutely be back, and probably become pretty regular, especially since while it's not cheap, it's fairly priced - incredibly so for the quality and authentic European experience. Oh, and best of all? The bearded gentleman running the cash register overheard my wife mention it was my birthday. He kindly asked on our way out, in the most inconspicuous way possible, 'Just a survey - what in the glass case would you have ordered if you had ordered something from the glass case?' I knew what he was up to but appreciated the thoughtful gesture, and he proceeded to bring me a free pistachio éclair as a birthday treat! I was surprised to find the filling as some pistachio flavored (or at least colored) sweet cream. A wonderful way to start my birthday, we'll be back, as it was a perfect, idyllic experience, thank you for helping make my "28th" birthday special. (He implied that's how old I was turning, though I told him truthfully I'm closer to double that, and actually 51). Looking forward to visiting again, very soon, even if only for the...

La Cafe has a super cute vibe and I definitely enjoyed sitting and writing in my journal while waiting on my food. I got their Baklovah coffee, which was fantastic and sweet, alongside their avocado toast with scrambled eggs on top. The toast wasn't soggy and very fresh. I enjoyed how crisp the small salad was and was delighted by the mozzarella on the side. They all went well together. They could probably have added more salt or having salt/pepper shakers on the tables would easily fix that need. But it was very delicious. I went back up to order their Biscoff or Lotus Magnolia (I'm not sure what they called it) and it is delicious. If you're looking for over the top sweetness it might not be for you but it honestly went so well with the sweetness of my coffee and wasn't overbearing. The perfect brunch experience.

I will say they have some growing pains but I don't think they've been open long and they opened in an extremely busy area. They were very packed when I arrived and I did have to wait ~35 minutes for my meal but the atmosphere made it worth it.

Finally, I have to mention Poyraz. He's an absolutely delightful and sweet guy running all over to deliver food, check in on tables, and clear tables. I saw him running nonstop and he checked on me multiple times and apologized for the wait. They even gave me the little white cubes (sweet treat, coconut flavor with pecan inside I believe) as apology for my wait but I wasn't in any rush so I was fine. But Poyraz had a kind smile on his face all while running around nonstop!!

I look forward to definitely coming again and seeing how they improve because I'm sure they will!! I want to try more of their pastries but I have a red dye allergy and didn't want to hold up the line while they were so busy to ask if they use dyes and just chose something I knew...

I drove 2 hours after watching a video that caught my attention. The place looks nice, but the cashier definitely needs more experience in customer service. You’re selling an experience—this isn’t McDonald’s to be asking the customer five times “anything else, anything else.”

We ordered 5 desserts: strawberry, skull, apple, pumpkin, and pistachio. They don’t worth the money worst desserts ever.

It was the worst experience. First, the price: $11.25 each for a product that isn’t even fully finished. The strawberry dessert had pieces of strawberries inside that tasted spoiled. None of the desserts had any real flavor, and the worst part—the apple was filled with applesauce :/ The chocolate has no pistachio it was just chocolate hard mousse lol. The pumpkin tastes like Gerbers baby food 1 tsp and the rest vanilla mousse.

The food on display was left uncovered :/

We also ordered a panini and a coffee. They gave us the coffee right away, but we had to wait over 20 minutes for the panini. No napkins were offered, and in the end we had to buy a bottle of water because we were choking—our idea was to enjoy the coffee with the panini together, but we couldn’t.

The panini was the ONLY good thing about it.

The ice cream? OMG—the portion is ridiculous, like it’s for a 1-year-old child.my son is 14 please!

I understand every business needs to make a profit, but first you need to learn how to actually do things right.

The worst experience, especially after driving 2 hours.

I do not...