Cafe Bolivar — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Have you ever wished for a nice cold coffee drink on a hot day or a warm arepas? Well you’ve come to the right cafe.

Cafe Bolívar (est 2001) is a cute corner South American coffee shop on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. They have good selection of coffee & tea drinks, selective pastries, salads, breakfast, and special arepas. This cafe has a calming atmosphere with background music that’s not too loud, and the staff are skilled. I came on a sunny warm afternoon to grab a cold drink/light lunch. I had a Cold Brew and Chicken Arepas. I enjoyed their refreshing cold brew coffee drink but so much on the pollo arepas. Its chicken was dry; arepas outside was crispy and crunchy but the inside was not moist. Moreover, their size was bloody small.

Cafe’s interior was naturally bright and aesthetically decorated. Indoor/outdoor seats were comfortable. Prices of the drinks were fair, however, arepas seem expensive. Service was on point. Staff were cordial. Free wifi. Plenty of street parking.

Overall, it’s a nice...

I was really looking forward to trying Arepa Coffee Shop for the first time. When I walked in, the initial interaction with the cashier was great—he was friendly, and I told him I was excited to try the food. He mentioned it would be about a 15-minute wait for my arepa, which was totally fine.

Unfortunately, that’s where things started to go downhill. After waiting around 20 minutes, I noticed things were getting a bit chaotic, so I politely checked in with a staff member. She couldn’t find my order or my receipt, and it became clear that something had gone wrong. They eventually figured out there was a mistake, but I ended up waiting another 15 minutes after that—so in total, it took about 40 minutes to get my food.

The arepa itself was tasty, but definitely not worth the long wait and confusion. What really disappointed me the most was that no one apologized or acknowledged the mix-up. It left a bad impression, and sadly, I probably won’t...

I love this place. Its a great spot, especially if you're local to the neighbourhood.

The good: Arepas are fantastic. Coffee is good. Love the music they play. Great location. Employees are very friendly. Freshly made fruit juices. Free WiFi (be nice and spend some money while you're there, its only right). Good spot to bring a laptop, get some coffee, and get work done (not a lot of outlets...only 2 outlets on the western wall) Celebs drop in for coffee sometimes. Usually not crowded.

The bad (or more appropriately, the not so good, cause. I don't think there's anything bad about this place): It gets a bit hot in the middle of the day unless it's really chilly out. As of 10/30/2015, they have not been, and continue to not be, open on Sundays, which is a shame. Not open late (well not late enough for me, closes at 8pm most nights, 7pm on Saturdays... what can I say I'm...