3 G’s Cafe

I tried the Dan Dan noodles and they were really yummy! The spicy beef sauce was very flavorful. We also tried the cheese cunape and it was so chewy! The chicken saltena was good! Biting into one the soup leaked a bit too much but the overall taste was good.

CHANGED NAME: See Bean’s and Bites.
Spent awhile trying to track this place down — turns out they had changed their name.

Service took forever. Got 2 sandwiches. They were messy and cold and not that good. Disappointed

I’m so glad to know that 3 G’s Café is back in business! I used to come here for my Yerba Mate fix and Cunapes! I would feel like Superman afterwards, recharged and energized with my caffein fix and cheese! That Yerba Mate, man… strong stuff and the real deal.
The new owners are really nice. I think they are a father and daughter team? Dad does all the prep and cooking while daughter will provide you her awesome service. They also now serve Taiwanese noodles and also offers vegetarian on their menu, besides serving Bolivian cuisine. That’s pretty fancy if you ask me! They are located just off El Camino, parallel to California Ave in the middle of the block.
If you are looking for a low key place to chill and hangout and catch up a bit with work, or get together with friends, this is a really cool place to do it.
Until then, Cheers! ~ :p

The Bolivian foods, especially the saltenas and the peanut soup, are absolutely wonderful. The new owners have added additional Chinese menu items that remind me of my Mom’s cooking. I had the braised pork over rice, which was tender, well seasoned and included choice pieces of pork belly. Service is helpful, friendly and efficient.

Braised pork over rice was super! (Though the rice was a bit dry) and I like minced garlic over the spicy wonton!

I love this place! It’s clean, the coffee is great. The food selection is good. Tried their Dan Dan noodle, definitely will go back more and try the saltenas~

So apparently 3 G’s Café has new owners as of 2 weeks ago!
My friend called me over because he told me that 3 G’s started serving Dan Dan Mian, Ja Jiang Mian, Lu Rou Fan and other Chinese dishes. Obviously i was kind of surprised and I had to go!
We got multiple orders of Lu Rou Fan as well as the spicy wontons (紅油抄手). The Lu Rou Fan was pretty decent. The daughter out of the father daughter owner pair said even though she’s Shanghainese, she Taiwanese friends who say her Lu Rou Fan is pretty decent. I agree. It’s not quite the same as what you would get in Taiwan, because the pork would be ground up more instead of sliced chunks, and it would be a bit more salty versus sweet, but it was pretty good.
I had a bit of the spicy wontons and they were good as well! It was like a healthier twist on the normally greasy and oily spicy wontons.
The credit card machine wasn’t working as they just got started, but they promised to have it fixed by this weekend. The name is going to change sometime soon as well to. Ming’s and Bytes or something like that.
I’ll be coming back for the Ja Jiang Mian!

This is definitely not what I’d usually look for in a coffee place, but it has unique charm and I will be back.
What I usually look for is comfy and spacious. This place is small and brightly lit like a cafeteria, but without a cafeteria feel. It’s nice, but very different from the places I’d usually go. Every time I look around, I realize how well lit it is, but also can’t help but notice that that is not annoying here the way it would be in most places.
There’s a single table out front, a few inside and two on the back patio. Sat inside because the sun was beating down in front and there was a group having a meeting on the small back patio. Hopefully the patio will be open next time, because it seems quite nice.

So I’m Unilocaling this at the very same moment that I’m eating this Chicken Salteña– just so it’s super fresh in my mind and mouth.
First off, any place that serves saltenas automatically gets a 4-​star minimum rating because I just love them so so so much.
Now, in comparison to the Donut House’s saltenas (in Redwood City), I’m going to say they don’t come close. Don’t get me wrong, these ones are still delicious, but there are some key differences… I feel like the saltenas from 3G’s have SO many potato pieces and peas in them– both of which I am not a fan of :(They also don’t contain a lot of meat in them. So sad. The dough here is also a little thinner and drier and not as sweet as the dough from the Donut House… But some people may prefer the less sweet dough. Now, I know I’m making this seem not that great… But I assure you, the saltenas are still yummy and it’s definitely better than no saltena. These saltenas also do have a lot of juicy goodness in them which is one of the best and most important components to these scrumptious morsels.
On the plus side, the saltenas at 3G’s are bigger than the ones from Donut House. And this places accepts credit cards unlike Donut House (cash only places are so inconvenient!!!) Andddddd, at Donut House, you have to call ahead if you want a baked saltena… Otherwise, you have to wait 15 – 20 minutes for them to cook or you’re only getting a frozen one.
Overall, I’ll definitely be back because I’m obsessed with anything saltena and it’s also right next to my doctor’s office… Super awesome :)

Chicken salteñas are so delicious.
Iced coffee with coffee ice cubes. What? So good.
Only complaint is no simple syrup.
Would totally recommend this place to anyone visiting the cal Ave farmers market
Lots of gluten free items like a flourless chocolate cake that I want to come back for. Will send my gf friends here.

Not impressed. The pastries look much better than they taste, 2 stars is an accurate rating for the food. I thought I found a replacement for Porto’s, but nope. I was also hoping that their cheese balls would be similar to what they serve in Fogo de Chao, again, a disappointment. The service isn’t very friendly, but that’s Nor Cal, so you can’t expect much, at least it’s not rude.

I love this place! Love to see those lovely 3 girls!!!
You are on youtube!1 you know that???

el servicio y salteñas eran estupendas. Me encantó la mocha. Vengo aquí casi una vez a la semana para conseguir una caja de salteñas para mi madre — que los ama

I’m a fan of this café. I spent half an hour reading a book to start a week. It became a good Monday morning. Very friendly service.
I wish this place opened at night.

The cuñapes are awesome, and worth a trip:
It’s made of tapioca starch, so it’s super chewy, in a really addictive way.
the peanut soup is awesome:
It has chicken chunks.
The alfajor cookie is meh.

After reading all the swoons, I stopped by 3 G’s for coffee and found pre-​made stuff served in a carafe. They offered two kinds, a Columbian (at a Bolivian place?) and a blend. I tried the latter — It tasted OK… perhaps one step down from Peets and at least two steps down from Philz.
Last time I checked, ‘café’ meant ‘coffee’. They could do a lot better for a supposedly 4±star spot.

Okay, now that the bf has brought me food from here more than once, I decided it is finally time for me to do a review!
I wish I knew what this place looked like, but their food is SO GOOD. I have never really had «Bolivian» food before so I guess this is a good intro. I like their saltenas particularly the beef ones but it does remind me overwhelmingly of empanadas and many other similar varieties of breaded, fried or baked, meat pies.
Their cunapes … omg TAKES THE CAKE. I know this is such a strange thing coming from someone who typically gets no cheese with her omelets and generally dislike cheese IN things although I love to eat cheese just by itself … but this little ball of cheese bread is like three slices of heaven.
The texture is amazing, a little crunchy on the outside, very soft and doughy on the inside. The cheesy flavor is not overwhelming, does not taste like a cheezit and has that perfect bite quality to it to make you want to eat like … 12. Definitely recommended!

This is a nice quaint & friendly café.
I’ve never had a saltena before, but these things are fantastic!
They are kinda like empanadas, but the interior is a stew. I was amazed how the filling was a hot, delicious beef stew, but the exterior was still very crunchy. It wasn’t soggy like normal empanadas can become. The combined crunchiness of the shell and the fluidity of the stew filling combined into a very pleasurable eating experience. Afterwards, my entire mouth was burned as I enjoyed it so much, that I refused to wait for it to cool down.
With how good those things are, I’m surprised they aren’t more common in the area!

What a delightful find.
I work in Palo Alto and often frequent California Ave for lunch because it’s walking distance from work. It’s a shame that California Ave gets most if the lunch traffic because people are missing out on a delightful option just one street down.
I came in not really knowing the menu or what I was feeling like having. I ended up getting a chicken saltena, beef saltena, and an alfajor. As soon as I bit into the chicken, a burst of hearty and juicy flavor entered my mouth and I had one of those moments when your eyes light up with delight (yup I’ve overused the word delight in this review). Reminded me of an empanada but with more soup and juiciness and flavor. Like an empanada and soup dumpling combined. Okay, not the best way to describe it.
Will be back again to try other things!

Delicious Bolivian food at delicious prices!
This café is cozy, with 4 small tables inside and a bench outside. Friendly service and great lighting! The menu is to your left, and the display and cashier are to your right. Their claims to fame is their SALTENA, which comes with steak, chicken, and veggie, at $ 3.25 + tax. I ordered one of those, along with 2 CUNAPES, made of yucca flour, eggs, cheese, and vegetable oil, at $ 1.75 each.
The steak saltena was great! A bit too salty for my tastes, but the steak was plentiful and was accompanied by potato chunks, peas, and a variety of sharp spices. The pastry is reminiscent of a beef pot pie, but in a smaller, handier pouch. The little bit of stew is flavorful and starchy, and it doesn’t soak through the nice dense, crsipy pastry puff that makes up the crust of the saltena. All in all, a great choice!
The cunapes were good, but I could have gone without them. The outside is hard and crunchy, but the winner is the gooey doughy inside that has hints of cheese. But if you were to just buy one item, I would go with the saltena. Maybe the chicken saltena is less salty!