Cafe Bella Coffee — Restaurant in Rio Rancho

I live in Rio Rancho, so we love and support local restaurants whenever possible, however Cafe Bella needs to fix a few things before we return. We went there for the first time today on good reports from friends. We ordered chai tea for wife, and espresso with vanilla for me (wasn't what I expected but no worries, barista exchanged it for a London fog, yummy and sorry Satellite coffee, getting my fogs here from now on).

Now for a few things to fix please. 1. We came in to enjoy a meal in a restaurant now that things are open, we ordered our food, and were going to sit down but found that the tables had not been cleaned off, and there was actually food on one of the chairs. I would think in this season of covid that extra precautions would be taken to ensure cleanliness and extra sanitary conditions. It wasn't for a lack of opportunity either because when we came in there was no one else in the establishment.

There was a big bin of bottle drinks (and bottled coke, my favorite) I reached for one and all drinks were hot. So much for that idea, wasn't sure if container was broken or if maybe ice machine was broken, in either case it wasn't very inviting to select from a bin of hot bottled beverages. My wife said, ask if they have one refrigerated, indeed they did, but it wasn't good presentation having so many bottle drinks hot on display, let alone, how many hands have touched these bottles? (Maybe a better idea for displaying these if their not meant for consumption).

It was quite warm today (4th of July) and we stayed to finish our food and typically we'll hang around and play cards and enjoy the atmosphere, but there was no a/c in this joint, so right after we finished our lunch we headed home for some cooler temps. So please fix the a/c, as this will entice customers to hang out a bit longer and maybe order some dessert. I was going to just email these concerns to the restaurant, however their contact button on their website is not working (silly wordpress sites), so I'm posting and will gladly edit my response if the owners of Cafe Bella have a...

If you are a person with a disability that requires you to have a service dog, especially for PTSD, you may want to avoid this establishment; unless you want to be harassed by the arrogant owner.

First he will disrespectfully call out to you from across the restaurant to ask if your dog is a service dog, rather than respectfully walking up to you to ask you quietly. Rather than yell back at him I chose to gather my things and cross the restaurant to meet him at the door to answer his question.

Once you answer his question of what service does the dog perform he will ignore your reply and try to educate you on the difference between a service dog and an emotional support pet, in a very condescending tone. All the while boasting about how this is his business and pointing at the service dog sign on the door as if you’re an idiot and don’t know your rights.

When you stop engaging with him because you’ve already answered the two legal questions that he’s allowed to ask and you feel threatened by his continued line of questioning he will gaslight you and accuse you of being rude for not reacting to his demands.

I have a legal service dog who is one of the most well behaved dogs you’ll ever meet. This man would have had no clue she was even in the restaurant if we hadn’t gotten up to leave at the same time that he was leaving and saw her come out from under the table. Not a single person knew she was there the entire time we were in the restaurant.

This used to be a favorite place for me to bring friends to. I always post gorgeous photos of the food and coffee and tag them on social media.

I will no longer give my energy or my money to...

Pleasant atmosphere, delicious coffee, admirable approach to healthy approach to food and beverages. Deducted 1 star because of overcooked (microwaved) Carne adovada bagel. Returned for other item and was delicious.

I edited my review of this establishment from 4 star to 1 star. Quite simply, the owner was unbelievable in how rude he was with me. I admittedly did not think about my own actions in bringing a home made burrito into the cafe and buying a Latte. I was on my motorcycle and wanted to stop and eat have have an enjoyable cup of coffee and listen to my audio book in peace. I was not so kindly asked by his server to not bring in food again because of "health department regulations." I respectfully said I was sorry and that i wouldn't do that again. I had 3 bites left and figured it wouldnt hurt to finish the burrito while I finished my Latte. The owner came out and proceeded to jump all over me. That is when I got up to leave letting him know I would never be back. I told him his employee didn't ask me to stop eating it but rather to not do it again, which I readily admit was a mistake and apologized for that. He was rude and obnoxious about it rather than gracious. Inexcusable behavior and attitude. I'm not the only who has had bad experiences dealing with him, which is quite...