Alimentaria’s New Coffee Bar, El Cafécito, Is Now Open

If you’ve spent any time on Granville Island, you’ll have seen Alimentaria’s brightly coloured murals standing out like a beacon. Now, they guide you not only to the main restaurant, but also to what feels like a secret outpost of all things Mexican mornings: El Cafécito.

It’s vibey in the way that all cafes should be: namely, the space is beautiful enough that I could comfortably set up shop and clear out my inbox while feeling like I’m not in a cubicle. That’s thanks to designer Scott Cohen, who designed the 16-seat interior to have lush, tropical elements, and the 16-seat exterior (yes, that’s 32-seats total), a bright mosaic-style mural.

If you’ve been to Alimentaria before, you may notice that El Cafécito is now occupying a space that was once its corner store. But there is no reason to fret: house-made salsas, imported chiles, chocolates and more are still available. Transparently, I inhaled a container of the salsa jalapeño the night I returned from my visit.

But condiments (my favourite food group) aside, as a highly caffeinated person, I’m always on the hunt for a new hyper-fixation coffee, but for me that also comes with some strings attached. I don’t like drinks that are too sweet, and I don’t drink dairy (which, to be fair, is less of an imposition these days). El Cafécito’s Mexican-style beverages managed to check all my boxes and then some.

The signature Horchatte ($6.95) is pretty self explanatory if you pick up on the portmanteau—it’s a playful take on my favourite agua fresca (horchata), with the addition of local espresso courtesy of Agro Roasters (who El Cafécito has partnered with). It’s cinnamon forward, has the ideal foam to liquid ratio and, no, it’s not too sweet. When served in an earthen mug, it’s absolutely delightful.

The nitro café de olla ($6.25) comes chilled and unlike a lot of other cold brew-style coffees, doesn’t have too sharp of an acidic bite at the end. Thanks to being sweetened with a traditional raw Mexican sugar called piloncillo, the drink takes on an almost caramel-quality, that’s then brought back down to Earth with citrus and cinnamon.

My favourite though was the Mesoamericano Brew ($6.55)—a play on the Mexican classic champurrado, where masa harina is cooked down with water and later dark chocolate, piloncillo and milk are added. In this case it’s the addition of coffee that makes the drink so absurdly delicious. For the same reason I prefer dark chocolate, the way the slight bitterness of espresso plays against the richness of cocoa makes it something I couldn’t stop sipping.

But I didn’t just come to the cafe for a caffeine-fix. El Cafécito also sells quick, easy to take-and-eat food. When I visited, its pastry was the seasonal pan de muerto (a traditional Dia de los muertos sweet bread)—but my eyes were glued to the burrito menu.

They’re currently available in three varieties: bean and cheese, eggs and chorizo and birria and beans. I’ve said it before, but most days of the week when I collapse onto the couch I turn to my partner and wax on about how all I want is a bean and cheese burrito. Growing up, that was one of my top comfort foods. El Cafécito’s version took me home.

A mix of three cheeses (edam, mozzarella and cheddar) add subtle flavour and ideal cheese-pull, and the beans are that sweet spot between refried and whole—like they’ve been cooking down all day. The tortilla is nothing to scoff at either: soft, malleable and even when my burrito cooled down it retained its supple quality.

The burritos aren’t massive (but they aren’t tiny, either), and when I spoke to co-founder and chef Martín Vargas, he told me that was sort of the point. He talked about how when he was growing up in Mexico, grabbing a quick burrito on your way out the door was the norm. And from where I’m looking it makes sense: they can be mixed and matched for a more hearty meal, but sometimes what you’re looking for is a snack alongside your coffee—and I couldn’t be happier to have options like these available in Vancouver.

El Cafécito

1596 Johnston St

Hours: 9AM – 3:30PM Daily