Global Cafe

They have real Venezuelan style arepas. Real I say… I come here for the arepas and sometimes the cuban sandwich. Oh. Have the keylime pie!

Hands down the worst experience I’ve ever had in a restaurant. When we walked in there was no one to greet us. A man on his phone behind the bar said «have a seat anywhere!», so we did. A couple minutes later that same guy, still on his cell phone, drops off some menus and walks away. Another minute or two goes by and he comes back, still on his cell phone, sets down two waters and walks away. Apparently his phone call with his friend was more important than our business, so naturally we walked out and went down the street for breakfast elsewhere.

The Roost is packed. The Ladybird is still closed. What’s left? This place.
Their menu is big, good for vegetarians and gluten-​free folks. It’s a little pricey for OK food.
The biggest problem is that they burn incense the whole time, which is incredibly overpowering. This morning there were no fans going and no circulation, so it was really intense — a little nag champa with your potatoes? We asked if they could open the door to air the place out but he said it was a health code violation.
This morning we had a breakfast bowl of potatoes with two eggs over easy and bacon with an iced coffee. My friend had a smoked salmon omelet that was $ 11 and came with. nothing. No toast or potatoes or fruit.
My breakfast bowl was… like soup. We couldn’t figure it out. Why was there so much liquid? There was no bacon included as order. I was given a tiny spoon, so I kept spilling all over the place. A cup of iced coffee was $ 3.
Our server was mostly MIA. We just kept waving down other people.
Generally, not the best experience. Try other places first.

This was my spot when I lived in Lawrence. If you want a perfect brunch on Saturday morning, before you walk on Mass Street I fully recommend eating here first. The omlettes are amazing. The Southwestern Omlette with green chili on it is to die for. The deserts are even better. Everything is fresh! The owner has a lot of pride in his establishment. The service is also very good too. When I knew I was moving to St. Louis, I was hoping that this restaurant would move with me!

Thai Coffee, Black Bean Hummus, Po Boy & California Turkey Sandwich = A 5-​Star afternoon at Global Café. I agree and thank the previous review for calling this a hidden Mass Street treasure.

One of my goto spots for breakfast! Love the green chili sauce on anything they put it on!

Not much for atmosphere, but my best breakfast place in town. The food is always good and love their daily specials.

Pancakes are THE BEST in Lawrence. Seriously, I come here on weekdays for lunch and still find myself ordering pancakes.
Other than that, the arepas are pretty dang good. I tend to like my arepas a little crispier, so these are a little on the soft side for my tastes, but the fillings are awesome. They are really, really filling though, so while they are small, they are mighty! My favorites are the black bean and the reina pepiada. You’ll probably only need to order one, but if I skip breakfast, I MIGHT be able to handle two.
The service has always been perfectly lovely, but they are never in a hurry to kick you out. In other words, my only complaint with Global Café is the time it takes to eat there. They are slowwwwwww. My server told me that the arepas are the thing on the menu that takes the longest to cook, so that’s probably where my complaint stems from. Last time I was at Global Café, I ordered pancakes to share with my friend as an appetizer and 2 arepas for my main course. Seems a little backwards, but it totally worked, and I ended up with my two favorite things on their menu.

Talk about stepping the game up:
I not only had the best service Id ever had at Global today, it might be the best service I’ve ever had in this town.
Night and day difference. The place was packed, but running like a machine. Everybody in the joint really seemed to give a damn. And not in the fearful, we won’t make tips kinda care. But genuine care for the perception and well being of their guests.
The ticket for a table next to me was lost, and I listened in as the server did his best to make a genuine connection and apology. Mistakes happen. It’s what happens after that usually matters most. I also noticed that the staff now works as a team. Food servers know what I’m talking about. Huge difference.
The food was ridiculously f’awesome as usual. I went with the chorizo quesadilla and a short stack of the lemon poppyseed pancakes with the fresh OJ.
They have the best cakes in town, made even better with lemon poppyseed. Highly recommended.
So glad I decided to go back. Nobody else in town can rock pancakes and chorizo like global. I wanna take a bath in the green chile sauce.

I’ve been to Global Café a few times. Nothing would probably make me go too often. For the most part, I love the food. I’m a vegetarian and there are plenty of options to keep me happy and I have so far never been disappointed with my food selections. What I have most often been disappointed with however, is the staff and the service! I’ve never had an incredibly polite or nice server, most of the time they’re lacking in common sense and often take their time or act inconvenienced should you need a simple utensil, napkin… anything really. That said, if you’ve got thick skin and a lot of patience then go ahead and give it a try, the food will not disappoint you like the server.

I don’t like to write unfavorable reviews, and write very few. Even more, I really, really dislike the experience I paid for today disguised as a late breakfast.
This should probably be a one-​star rating but my general rule of thumb is I have to be really, really angry to hand one out. Apparently I have a great tolerance for anger. The problem with the Global Café is they’re simply clueless and can’t see what’s going on right in front of them.
I walked in at 9:20 a.m., no greeting even though two people on staff saw me. «Good morning» goes a long way. I proceeded to watch my wait person watching someone else working on either some plumbing or electrical behind the counter space, chatting away for four minutes before bringing over a menu and water. No «welcome,» no «good morning,» no nothing, just plunks the menu down and walks away. Six people were working the restaurant, four total customers – one group of three and me by myself.
She returns a minute later asking if I’d like coffee. Ordered a Café con Leche hoping for the best. I’ve been here maybe three times before. They’re hit and (today) miss. A few minutes later I order a black bean Arepa. She brings out the Café con Leche with both thumbs on the lip of the cup, fingers clearly in the foam. Wipes her hands on her jeans as she walks away. Gross. Unacceptable. I don’t require wait people to be fashion statements in casual restaurants but those jeans have been on for a few too many days and are covered with dirt on the rear end and need to be washed. I wipe off the lip of my cup then become obsessed with watching her scratch herself in various places, rub her face, tug up her ill fitting jeans.
I observe the same wait person bringing over a clean plate and another order to the first group with thumb wrapped into both. Training, please.
Arepa takes 20 minutes in spite of the only order in the restaurant. Other group was already dining when I arrived. It’s bland, unexceptional.
I watch my wait person go to the bathroom. Two minutes in and out. Why am I wondering if the hands got washed? Her method of interacting with customers is «how ya doing?» It’s insincere and meaningless, something people that don’t know what they’re doing would say.
At one point I walk out to plug the meter with laptop, keys and cell phone clearly sitting on the table and I get a «thanks for coming in» from someone that appears they might be a manager… sigh.
Heard enough? But wait, there’s more. I wait another 5 full minutes for my bill to be processed and get to hear her complain about how there’s too much going on, all for the four diners in the house to hear. She literally did nothing for five minutes but complain, all while making me wait.
Begrudgingly left a $ 1.00 tip on an eight dollar something bill. I will not be back. Every time I’ve dined here something has gone wrong. I gave them my shot. Unfortunately, the bar for breakfast is extremely low in Lawrence and Global Café is simply a contributor to this sad fact.

I think what it boils down to is that I ordered the wrong dish– the green chili burrito. I was expecting more sauce and cheese and the meat and veggies were not quite right somehow. I knew I should have just gone with the Cuban sandwich. Next time I’m sure.

Nice pleasant surprise on Mass St!
I ended up going here on a suggestion from a friend and was pleasantly surprised. The menu has a generous number of offerings for various tastes, including a good number of vegetarian options (which suited me) and quite a few for the ominvore.
I ordered the Kansas City veggie sandwich and fries and it was a good lunch. Serving sizes were just right, I didn’t feel stuffed or like I went over board.
Prices were fair. All in all the entire lunch cost me only eight bucks, lower than I was expecting so I was able to leave a bit bigger tip than I planned.
I would be likely to return when visiting Lawrence again in the future.

Wonderful breakfast, amazing service, and funky-​fresh atmosphere. It’s our favorite place to enjoy a weekend brunch. I’ve yet to try a menu item that I haven’t liked. The breakfasts are light and you never leave feeling miserable or bogged down.

Came here for the first time recently. Found the coffee and arepas to both be amazing. My girlfriend’s chocolate pancakes were pretty dry, but otherwise the food was great.

I was looking forward to trying this place after hearing raves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t any better than IHOP. I ate only half of my brunch. The server was super nice but not around much.

Global Café remains a well-​kept secret in downtown, for some reason. They keep a low profile, but if you’re looking for yummy breakfasty and lunchy things, it’s a great place.
Don’t eat here without trying something that involves chiles or chile sauce. They roast their own chiles, and the flavors are ah-​maz-​ing. The breakfast burrito is as good for breakfast as it is for lunch (they serve breakfast all day), and it is covered in green chile.
The menu is huge, so there is something for everyone, any appetite. My kids love everything they’ve had here. The service is very personal, and sitting at the bar is such a quaint feeling. It’s a cute little place that I think has food as good as, if not better, than Milton’s, without all the hustle-​bustle and waiting forever that happens at Milton’s. Walk right in and eat yummy food. Now the secret is out.
(One quibble — although the dishes are influenced by several different countries, it is much more like a Latin Café than a Global Café)

I had the huevos ranchero and it was very good, my sons had the pancakes and the breakfast sandwich and cleaned there plates. Seems like a nice local place, and they got us our food in under 10 minutes… almost fast food speed.

Saturday morning breakfast combined with some academic research and writing… the weekly habit.
So I finally got around to hitting the Global this weekend. I wandered in, was invited to seek a seat and settled into a booth. Only about half a dozen folks in here at 8am on a summer Saturday morning.
Given this I had fresh squeezed OJ on my table within a minute and my breakfast-​the breakfast bowl, no meat, no extra veggies-​on the table within five!
Eggs, potatoes, cheese, green chili, yum! If only it had a little more flavor… yep it was slightly bland a situation I was not expecting.
That being said, it was nothing I couldn’t remedy, and in the end it was enjoyable and solid, a number of things looked tasty on the menu so I’ll have to go back and hit it a few more times to see how it all plays out.
Oh yeah, the wheat toast was enjoyable too!

I’ve only gone once and I feel I need to go back at least two more times to give a fair review.
I had one of the arepas, think it was called the Mexican, although the cheese that normally comes in it is feta… ummmm, how is that «Mexican?» No matter, I was able to substitute cheddar instead. It also has avocado mashed in, which was nice, however, without hot sauce it was kind of hard to swallow with the cornmeal cakes surrounding it. Anyway, it was a really inexpensive light lunch, however I wouldn’t go here if you’re in a hurry. You order at the counter and then they bring it over to you. This took at least 20 minutes. If I wanted a quick to go lunch, I’d head over to Jimmy John’s instead.
Service was really sweet, so I didn’t mind too much.