Caleta Dolsa Coffee — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

I'm sitting in a coffee shop here in Peru called Caleta Dolsa. It's a new(er) spot for me today. Not the first time I've been here, but I have only been two times prior. Contrast this with (another coffee shop in the area), a coffee shop I have gone to almost every day for the past month. I went to Caleta Dolsa earlier in the month, and it's only after a month of (another coffee shop in the area) that I now feel the difference between the two spots. The difference is not subtle. It's the energy. It is very clear that all of the employees at Caleta Dolsa are having fun working here, and they are enjoying the people they get to work alongside. The smiles are abundant here. I look up from my computer at any given moment, and get a glimpse of a beautiful smile from a happy human. And they're all talking too. They are truly having fun and are grateful to be here with their co-workers. And the level of service here is immaculate. They have a caring touch. You can just see evidence of their happy disposition, evidence of their gratitude for being here... simply in the way the skin sits on their faces. The human skin just sits differently when you're happy. A co-worker with a day off just walked in with a cake and candles and started singing happy birthday. All the workers joined in wishing their co-worker a happy birthday. You just can't help but sing along when you're at Caleta Dolsa. Now, contrast this with (another coffee shop in the area). I love the spot. It's cute, spacious, comfy (besides the no AC), etc. The only thing is - and I noticed this from the jump last month the first time I went to (another coffee shop in the area), it's only become glaring for me as of today - the people working there are simply not happy to be there. They aren't talking. They aren't smiling. The skin under the eyes looks tired (not necessarily from lack of sleep, but from sheer exhaustion of being somewhere they don't want to be, sheer exhaustion from just trying to get through another day). This also reflects in the service. You just get bad vibes from everyone there. I could go on, but I prefer to talk more on positive things than negative things! And I think you get the point by now. All I'll say is that I shall never return to (another coffee shop in the area), and I will spend as much time (and money) as I can at Caleta Dolsa in my remaining time here in beautiful Lima, Perú. To clearly envision (another coffee shop in the area) in your mind, imagine being in a room where someone is laying fart after fart, and people are almost literally banging their heads against the wall. Imagine the facial expressions. That's (another coffee shop in the area). At Caleta Dolsa: Literal hugs and handshakes when someone's shift is over and they are about to leave. So much love here. Cannot even believe what I am witnessing. Now I just got a handshake! Where does this culture at Caleta Dolsa come from? The top. Someone is responsible for creating this beautiful shop, hand-picking the people, and making it a great place to work. I've been an entrepreneur for 7 years, and heck! I find myself wanting to work here! Culture is nature and nurture. It's part picking people with the right nature, bringing them in, and nurturing them. Caleta Dolsa does this well. Oh, and the food is immaculately prepared, presented well,...

This review is based on their surfer burrito only. Otherwise, the vibe and people seemed cool.

I'm from Southern California, known for their beach-side surfer burritos. Dying from one of the amazing nights in Barranco, I really needed some breakfast burrito to calm my stomach. I know and understand that I'm in Lima, but the tummy dictates what it needs when hungover. 😊

I ordered their burrito w/o any carne and was very disappointed. It was sweet - it looked like the scrambled eggs were mixed in with some type of sweet salsa so instead of a savory burrito, I felt like I was eating a dessert burrito.

To the restaurant, for the sake of surfer burrito lovers everywhere, please do the following, and you will sell them like hotcakes.

Suggestions:

Don't put the salsa in with the scrambled eggs (if people want the sweet salsa, you already provide them on the side to add as your taste buds allow)

Add some type of potato to the burrito

If bacon can be added as an additional charge item, it would be amazing

Replace the salsa with pico de gallo

I hope this detailed review will help fellow breakfast burrito seekers and/or the restaurant for future...

REMOTE WORKER PSA

This is a cute cafe, with nice decoration and vibes. The coffee is decent as well, but if you are trying to get work done or want to spend 15 minutes in a cafe, I would avoid Caleta Dolsa. Couple reasons for this:

-- The cafe is below street level on a busy street in Barranco. This noise is probably what contributes to their heavy music playing (see below) but ALSO means that you're constantly breathing in car exhaust. My lungs felt winded and full of pollution after an hour. -- They play their music extremely loud. This made it difficult to take any meetings and meant that I was constantly muting and unmuting myself. -- They very ungraciously kicked me out randomly at 2pm and made me work on the terrace so they could do some random repair work? I was in the middle of a critical meeting so couldn't really talk to the manager, but he seemed to think I had been informed of this ahead of time (I had not) and made me move outside. 30 minutes later, I go inside to use the bathroom and it was full of people. Guess they finished? Don't see why they needed to do their repairs midday, but the way they booted me out was...