Cafe Colao

Steak egg and cheese sandwich is awesome. Not small and full of flavor. So is the chicken sandwich. I think the Adobe one. Downside is that if you order in the shop, they will make your drink right away. Then you’re waiting for your sandwich for like 15 mins or more. Then your hot beverage gets cold. Also, there is a lady there who should reconsider taking people’s orders. She has a bad attitude and looks like she is going to snap at someone if they dont order fast enough. The young guy, tall, is always nice and helpful, as is the the other guy, short older man. They’ve screwed up my order more than once. One morning I ordered a sandwich with a small group of people. I waited about 40 mins. Everyone else got theirs and when I asked about mine it was a mystery. The lady with the bad attitude lost my order slip and had to go digging into the big pile of morning orders. Then when I got my sandwich, it was the wrong order. Ended up waiting like an hour for a simple sandwich.

First time here coffee OK and pudding OK but I am not going back in here I walk in the worker is sitting down not paying attention at the customers I guess she was still sleepy

My second time coming to this place. a small Puerto Rican neighborhood restaurant, this restaurant has one of the best homemade steak and cheese Puerto Rican sandwiches. if you want something that’s good l, quick and filling this is definitely a place to go to!

Stopped by on a Sunday afternoon for a sandwich and it was just what I needed. Vegetarian options, too!

I have been here a few times. The sandwiches are average and the customer service is horrible. They are rude and unorganized. Will not be coming back.

Sandwiches and coffee where okay but the lady taking our order was very unfriendly. It was like I was bothering her to place my order. If it wasn’t for her I might come back.

First time I came to this café — I ordered café colao it was pretty good. We didn’t order any sandwiches, lady taking care of us was not very friendly? She seemed a little annoyed by our questions but we have never been there.
We decided not to order anything else and probably won’t go back either unfortunately.

Massive bowl of coconut oatmeal for less than $ 5. They do their oatmeal with a smooth consistency more like cream of wheat or sweet grits. This would be my number one breakfast pick although the restaurant also has quite a few baked goods on display.
Latte was fine but nothing to write home about.
Tripletas sandwich = griddled bread with roast pork, steak, ham, and melted cheese — very satisfying.
Limited seating — a handful of two-​seater tables.

Love this place! The coffee is amazing as are the pastries. Great prices on the sandwiches to which are delicious. Def try the steak, egg and cheese!

Adore this place.
I moved to Humboldt Park just within the last year and this place, blocks from the crib, was a real find. The coffee is great, the sandwiches amazing. I love the chicken and cheese, and the lechon especially. The steak, or steak/​egg/​cheese is a best seller too, for good reason. At this place they will actually sell out of sandwiches! Which is a great sign; means they make a certain amount of meat in advance, and when its gone, its gone.
The prices are great. Most sandwiches are 5.50 and very large, for good value. The grilled cheese is only like 2 bucks, for one of the best deals in the neighborhood!
I think the service is great: big shout-​out to Carmen and Madi in particular. Café Colao is never going to be confused with S-​BUX, with the pasted on smiles and the fakey-​corporate friendliness, but that’s OK with me. They are real people — be nice to them and they’re gonna be nice to you right back.

Best little coffee shop in the city. The sandwiches and pastries are fresh and made to order. Very small space so plan on taking it to go. The best Puerto Rican oatmeal I have ever had!

I live a few blocks from this place. It’s located a block from the Park which is great.
Two stars because of the long wait times (I’ve had to wait up to 30 minutes for a iced coffee and sand which), the rude customer service interactions (cashiers waiving their friends to the front of the line while everyone else waits as they have a conversation) and the overall inconsistency of the food/​coffee.

This place is delicious. You must try the pastelillos de guayaba (pastry with cheese and guava) and quesitos (cheese pastry). I couldn’t eat enough of these tasty pastries. The café colao was also very delicious.

someone send me the paperwork necessary to legally immerse my body in this place…
I guess that means just walking in and hanging out for a while… but still I want it to be known that Café Colao is consistently my best kept secret (until now mother f*ckers), and you’re welcome.
puerto rican breakfast sandwiches on freshly baked bread (in-​house); forget about it.
also, super cool to patron a Latino-​owned and operated business!
«keep it moving papa!»
–cham

There’s something special in the café con leche — not sure exactly what, but it’s definitely better than ‘Murican coffee. And the price is right too!
In the summer I get an iced mocha latte with a shot of coconut — don’t ask questions, just do it! You’ll thank me later. Pastelillos and quesitos de guayaba will probably give me diabetes one day, but they are sooo good — especially when they’re really fresh.
Many seem to have written something negative about one of the girls who works here. If you stop by regularly and try chatting with her, she’s actually a pretty nice person. We should all try talking to people we see in our neighborhood more often!

On the Paseo Boricua you will find in a little storefront Café Colao a taste of Puerto Rico through very nice coffee, great sandwiches and pastries, and really friendly service.
My wife and I stumbled here on Sunday morning almost by accident after one of my favorite breakfast spots in the city — Nellie’s — was closed due to some construction. Take it from me — don’t let the modest, small space shy you away from heading from all over town to try out a few things and get to know a neighborhood staple in one of Chicago’s unique and culturally significant stretches. From the traditional tripleta sandwich («tripleta» meaning triple, as in kinds of meat: steak, and two kinds of ham), to their version of the medianoche (Cuban sandwich), to the pastelillos and quesitos from the baked goods cabinet, to the coffee made to order right before your eyes, the way you want it — everything I have tried here is good.
However if you need that one, unique eating experience that you can’t easily find elsewhere as the excuse to come down — make certain you put on your list of items to order the Avena de Coco (coconut oatmeal). They do it really well here, and ensure it is freshly made and actually completed to their satisfaction before handing over to customers. How do I know that? Because on that fateful Sunday morning, we got the last order of the batch that was completed and saw no fewer than five orders behind us be denied since the newest batch being worked on wasn’t completed yet. So delicious!

Café Colao isn’t blow your mind off amazing but they definitely have some pretty good food for great prices! I came with a few Unilocal friends and we were lucky to grab a seat. The interior is very small and so the seating is also fairly limited. There is only around 5 small tables and on the day we went, 2 were reserved as the mayor of Chicago decided to stop by too!
Order at the front, food will be brought out to you. I enjoyed my steak, egg, and cheese sandwich which can be easily split into two portions. I also supplemented my meal with a guava with cream cheese pastry which was a nice addition. I liked that the cream cheese wasn’t terribly heavy but also wished that there was more guava filling in there.
All in all, a good place to stop by in Humboldt Park. It seems very neighborhood friendly as people seemed to continuously come in and out to order. Easy parking right outside.

I met up with some girlfriends this past weekend to check out Café Colao. We were in luck because upon our visit Mayor Rahm Emanuel stopped by and had lunch there as well. I’ll never forget this place now!
I tried the Steak, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich and it was pretty tasty, well sized portion. For $ 6.25 it was definitely worth it. I also tried a couple of the pastry items: Pastelillos Guayabano, Cheese Roll, and the Guava and Cheese. Among these three, I would get the guava and cheese again. The cheese roll was all wrong for my taste. There was just way too much cheese and I am a person that LOVES cheese. I took one bite and that was it for me.
I also tried a latte which is one of the best I have had. I was able to drink it no problem.
If you are in the area, give this place a try. The food is affordable. It’s a small place, but has a couple of tables.

Super quick, economical and quality food, why else would you spot the Mayor here? My Unilocaler friends and i decided to meet here for brunch. We were surprised the place has literally 5 tables and 3 were reserved, later got to know it was for the mayor and his assosicate. I ordered the egg and chesse sandwich along with a latte and guva pastry. When i started to dig in realized they gave me the wong pastry, it was easily replaced. Great place to get some brunch, wish the seating area was bigger though.

Café Colao is a great neighborhood spot for coffee, cortaditos, sandwiches (including breakfast), and neighborhood meetups. Having lived in Humboldt Park for five years, I can’t believe it took me this long to visit Colao.
The service is great, and so friendly. They remember their customers, and it has a great neighborhood feel, and cops have been known to visit. You gotta trust any business that cops frequent! (Since they dine out all the time…)
I look forward to visiting Café Colao when I’m back in Humboldt Park.