Cafeteria Merida Impala ☕️ | The FIRST Coffee Shop since 1958 on Paseo de Montejo, Centro — Restaurant in Mérida

Mixed emotions.

This is a Yucatán diner, think old school.

The location is fantastic, very nice views, perfect after walking around through downtown or Paseo Montejo.

They take your temperature, offer hand sanitizer and have socially distanced tables. The service was good.

Bathrooms? Dirty and with a kind of smell. The food options are quite limited, a mix of diner food and traditional local dishes. Very expensive for what it is, around 92 pesos for a very basic small sandwich with some potato chips.

The horchata Impala however, was TO DIE FOR. If you like horchata and the heat is too much for you, this is the place to go. It's like a frappe with horchata, cinnamon and vanilla flavor. So, so, very good. Probably the best horchata I've ever had, and that's saying something, since I'm Mexican. My recommendation is to take a break from walking and cool down here, maybe just have a snack...

Unfortunately, while the servers are nice, and the location is good, the food is mediocre and the food takes forever to come out. We waited close to 45 minutes for the food to come out.

Banana pancakes were drenched in peanut buttery honey, just average tortas (on the salty side), and scrambled eggs had a too much bacon and ham mixed in. The chilaquiles had pork that was way too salty which made the whole dish hard to eat. We got there around 10:30 and they were already out of fruit plates.

Waiting so long for the food to come out made the experience sour. There were only 5 5 tables with people by the time we ate around the 11:15/30 so it wasn't that the kitchen...

It clearly states, Cafeteria Impala was established in 1958 and there’s good reason why it’s still a very popular restaurant in Merida. Don’t let the kitschy retro design discourage you from enjoying the excellent service and great food. Our waiter, Raymundo was terrific. He offered great suggestions and recommendations and was very attentive. We ordered natural fruit drinks, mango and watermelon and they were able to prepare without sugar and use mineral water. Their basket of fries were also plentiful and delicious. Order their tiramisu - it’s the best.

Great restaurant, great food, great service and great value. Highly...