Cafe Mocha

(07/​16/​2013) First encounter was at Kader Camara’s first location on Howard Street, same great food, new location, same difficulties. Place is cramped and small, temperatures kept tropical. His food has always been fresh, flavorful and a great mix of exotic flavors from the Caribbean and his native Africa (Guinea); since it’s only him, service is slow and wait times can be very long, especially if you have a party over the size of 2. Beef Patty in the to-​go case is sufficient, much like every other beef patty around town (I suspect they all have the same frozen source). Had the Salmon Burger (since he was out of the Salmon Wrap); came with pesto instead of the promised olive tapenade, but was tasty, somewhat dry, well-​seasoned, on a chewy ciabatta roll. Sandwiches came with a side of dilled red potato salad, a small handful of potato chips and a slice of dill pickle. Food is homemade and tasty, prices are somewhat high for what you’re getting, location is a hard-​to-​find, but I bet the café is a boon to Penn Station passers-​through and the Railway Express Building occupants; just budget in plenty of time if you’re stopping in.

One of my favorite places in the city. The owner Kader is great and when he has time he likes to sit and visit with his customers and is open to suggetions. The roasted salmon wrap is amazing. Warm salmon, toasty wrap, mustard, black beans, plantain and lettuce, carrots and more… the flavors blend to together magically to make the best wrap ever. The lemonade is home-​made with real lemons and the desserts are fantasitc. It’s located right across the street from the train station, so definitely put it on your bucket list!

Cute café in a rather hard-​to-​find, unexpected place. I’ve been living in Station North area for a bit now and it’s only now that I found this place! It happened because I happened to spot it while waiting for the Charm City Circulator (the bus stop is across the street).
It’s a little cramped inside but its a cozy feel.
coffee is strong. not bad though. don’t know about the speciality drinks (there’s quite a few) as I didn’t order any. all the outlets were taped up though, so if you want to work here, make sure your computer’s battery is charged.
Food is okay. ordered a salmon wrap. It was a flavor extravaganza… perhaps a bit too much; i couldn’t taste the salmon at all. it was good though and quite filling (about the size of a chipotle burrito, plus chips. lots of veggies and beans inside. It took a little while to come out though.

Didn’t expect much. My gf and I were waiting for a train and decided to stop in for lunch. I had the curry chicken sandwich and it was delicious. Highly reccomended. Missing a star because the cook time was a little slow. Although, curry chicken from scratch does take time… so that may be the issue.
If you have 45 minutes til your train leaves from Penn station, stop in.

My friend and I tried the roasted salmon wrap and the roasted salmon sandwich (i know, original!).
We really liked them. The wrap was pretty huge and I saved one half for later. It was generously stuffed with salmon, plantain, black beans, green beans, some tapenade, sauce, lettuce, carrots and more. A mix of Carribean and African-American?The sandwich had neraly the same stuffing but no lettuce.
We liked the local art and the written by hand-​on blackboard menu. We said hello to kader, the owner as well.
4 stars since the actual menu had only about half of the items listed on the blackboard.
We’ll be back.

This place really has some of the best sandwiches in Baltimore — no exaggeration. I also recommend the salmon and the chicken curry. The owner is extremely nice. It is a very cool space — lots of natural light & decorated with local art. The prices are very reasonable for the quality.
We wish it were open more too. I am sure that would be possible if they had more business… so— Go to Café Mocha and eat well! The more you eat, the more we all get to enjoy Café Mocha.

I had a smoked turkey wrap (6.50 i think) that had lots of turkey but almost nothing else. Also have had a chick curry (10.50) to go. The 6.5″ tin was 80% filled with rice, then topped with almost 4 very small drumstick sized pieces of chicken, some black beans, 4 carrot pieces and 2 found pieces of the featured veg cabbage. There was no sauce in this curry, and although the meat was lip/​tongue stinging hot, it was not a curry hot. If it is better than 2 stars then i was unlucky with my selections.

I had lemonade and a beef pie with very good bot sauce. The owner was friendly, despite the fact he was getting ready to close. The lemonade was made with real lemons, but also some powdered mix to help cut down on fresh lemons needed. Good still, but not the best.
Although I didn’t get coffee, he looked to be a capable barista with the couple customers that did. When I think of a coffee shop, I expect that with all the available table space and free wifi, that there would be a more friendly attitude towards laptop users needing to plug in for a quick charge. There are NO outlets available for plugging in your laptop or an emergency charge of your cell phone. I can only give this place 2 stars though, especially with the prices being charged.

I was starving, and I had about an hour to kill before the MARC train to D.C. would depart. Nothing in Penn Station seemed too tantalizing so I ventured across the street to Café Mocha. What initially drew me in was the wi-​fi connectivity that was available. What sold me was the roasted salmon wrap. legit to the max. The service was great! The review below pretty much sums up the experience of eating the salmon wrap… good times.

Great place, great food, great owner… a place where the owner cares about you and not just selling you food! Service can be a little bit slow, really slow if you hit a rush and it can be a bit pricey, but rice and beans and Kader’s special hot sauce is only around 4 bucks.

Convenient location and free wifi. Food’s not bad, but a little pricey.

Kader’s Café Mocha is awesome!
Things I like:
1. I work in the building where the café is located. so it’s über convenient. It’s also right across from Penn Station and one of the Hopkins shuttle stops. So if you’re in transit and have a few minutes, it’s perfectly placed!
2. The roasted salmon wrap is pretty much divine. Warm salmon, toasty wrap, mustard, black beans, plantain and olive tapenade. sounds kind of gross when you list the ingredients. but they magically come together to make the best wrap ever.
3.Curry chicken sandwich is the second best sandwich ever (see #2 for best!). Warm, toasty and tasty!
4. I don’t think they make the cake, but the chocolate is delicious! Perfect for a little work-​time emotional eating!
Things I don’t like:
1. Really slow! They are seriously under-​staffed and it can take a long time to get your food.
2. A little pricey for certain items. Sandwiches/​wraps are generally a good deal because they’re large, but it’s expensive to just get some of the side items!