Cafe Andino — Restaurant in Huaraz

I've lived in Huaraz for awhile, and the only people I've met who have liked Cafe Andino are those who went only once. Any more than that and every person encounters something to ruin their experience. When I first moved here I went every once in awhile, but I encountered those same problems. I haven't returned in quite awhile because every time I went, I regretted it. A good friend recently went, and her experience was so bad that I was spurred to express myself publicly.

The Wifi is turned off as soon as you finish your meal, no matter if other people are still eating. No matter where you are, people tend to linger after meals to socialize, yet the owners make no apologies in trying to force people out the door ASAP, even if there are only a few occupied tables. This is not a 'free-Wifi cafe', as the owners are fond of saying, but it also seems to be a cafe free of kindness to the customers from the top level. The waitstaff have to abide by the rules set by the owners, which frequently causes a terse relationship between them and the patrons, such as when people take their shoes off and the staff has to point to the statement on the menu to keep your shoes on. For another, requests to turn the overly loud music result in an undetectable decrease in volume, which abides by the letter but not the spirit of the customer's wish.

The food varies in quality from visit to visit as well. Sometimes the coffee is fine, and sometimes it is unpalatable and burnt. It also seems like the ingredients used in the food have little quality control. I've had meat that was mostly gristle, and so have several of my friends.

If you read the negative reviews of this restaurant on various websites, you will see that the owners themselves have responded to many of them with excuses, doubts that the reviewer had actually eaten at their restaurant, passive-aggression, or straight rudeness. It is the same in person. The owners have said that they don't want a 'certain type of patron', which is both an elitist and nonsensical policy for a casual eatery to have. For a business in the service industry, their concept of service is astonishingly bad.

Overall, the attitude and policies towards patrons makes one think that they don't want repeat customers. I will continue to abide this unstated wish...

The food is so good. But the service is a little weird. We tried it twice and each day they didn't let anyone sit upstairs, which I can understand when they are trying to consolidate a mess but they would limit people to a VERY small section of the restaurant that didn't let you take in the atmosphere. The first day the server MADE us sit in the small section even though we wanted to sit slightly further away and we were willing to comply but got up to look at the library and when more people showed up then she let us sit in the main section. And the second day, they happily sat us at the desired table (again not unreasonably far away from anyone else) but when she came to clear some plates I had my knee bent up on my chair and the waitress asked me to put my leg down. It was a really weird power move to make me put my knee down. We won't be coming here again, which is unfortunate because it's nice. We have met some really nice people in Huaraz but Cafe Andino does not have them.

There were about 6 flies flying around the kitchen, and now my partner is horribly sick after eating there today...

Also, the weird thing about the wifi is true from other reviews. Not that it mattered to me, but we were there for only 45 minutes trying to finish the giant burrito (which was so good) but going slow because we weren't in a hurry. Right before we left, they turned off the wifi and came over and asked us several times if we were finished with our meal. It really did feel as though they turned it off to get rid of us. We were also putting together a planning list for our...

You never know what service you're going to get as they just invent new rules/ information depending on the server or their current mood or decide what they understand from what you say. The coffees and mochas are good and drink prices are fair. Food is for an international market so more pricey but quantities are fair. E.g. One day a group of 4 of us entered and sat upstairs and only 3 staff members were working and we were well attended to..Slow service, but no problem..The following day when we were 2, but waiting for 2 more people to arrive, we were told we couldnt sit upstairs, even though there are tables for 2 people! One waitress said it's just for large groups, then another declared they didn't have enough staff to cater (same number of staff as the previous day) so we needed to be downstairs! When we offered to get our own drinks then another person tried to create another excuse! On another occasion, since we'd already used the internet there I revisited and asked to be sat somewhere to work/ with a plug socket and I set up my station. I made my order, and then they said they don't have internet! I'd been given the internet password for my phone 2 days earlier so that's not strictly true, but I just said, "Ok, I can't stay here as I need to work." and started to tidy my things but they still brought my drink out and said, I'd not explicitly cancelled it- if I say I can't stay and I'm packing up my things, why would I still want my order?! More faffing over payments as there was a minimum card spend. Café Andino, make your lies and...