Vanessa’s Specialty Coffees Ice Cream & Pastries

Nice coffee shop off the beaten path. The cake and ice cream is very good. Will come back again.

This place is my GO TO coffee place! Have taken many of my girlfriends here and they all have loved it! Love the ambiance as well :-) my absolute favorite drink is their Mexican Mocha! ENJOY!

11am on a sunny Saturday morning: the place is dark, near empty, and is seemingly run-​down. Have I walked into a coffee shop that used to be an antique store? This is not a place I’d want to go to for business meetings nor to get work done. $ 2.75 for a medium Americano.

My hair stylist recently moved next door and I had time to kill. Came in for some afternoon dessert.
OMG.ice cream was so good. Had the horchata and mint chip. BEST COMBO!
service was great. Nice people, cool vibe.
I will be back for more treats!

After eating at el portal I decided to stop in here and see what this place was all about. Was very disappointed. It was SO DARK in here. I walked up to the glass case that had cake and some croissants (or at least i think they were, i couldnt see crap). The case was dark, there was no labels on anything to tell what is was. No prices either. There was however a lit up case of ice cream? gelato? Idk what it was but i ordered one scoop and my bf ordered 2 scoops. And our total was about $ 8. Which was totally not worth it! And she scooped the wrong flavor. My bf wanted horchata and she gave him chocolate. I didnt even eat mine. blek.

This is my go-​to coffee shop for meeting with clients or other business meetings. It’s perfect because it’s quiet, so it’s easy to hear the other person talking, and it’s usually not very busy, so the barista can bring drinks to the table.
There is lots of easy parking in the back lot for free, so it’s very convenient for clients who are driving.
Vanessa’s is located in the middle of Arcade Lane, directly across from the Mexican restaurant El Portal, and is, in fact, owned and managed by the same owner as El Portal, so it’s really just an extension of the restaurant. In fact, you can order from the breakfast menu at El Portal and get a very good egg croissant sandwich.

The ice cream sundae was really good. Not a huge amount of ice cream choices, but fancy nuts, real whip cream, chocolate sauce and a cookie. Nice!

I am so glad my friend recommended we stop at this place for coffee, nicely situated in what looks like an old Spanish quarter with brick walls, arched entrances, like a portal to another country. Appropriately named El Portal is next door. And they seem to be sharing a spacious patio seating. Will have to eat there soon as everything looked so appetizing!
So, after a splendid experience at the nearby playhouse, this too was a treat! My cappucino had the perfect foam and aroma! The coffee mug and dinnerware were well matched Santa Fe style. Our server who was also the barista was so nice, friendly, and courteous.
The hanging lights on the patio, the décor, the vibe, and the service was just wonderful. Can’t wait to go back and give them more business!

Nice menu on offer, good service & food.

Super cute place inside the Arcade Lane building in Pasadena. I came here in search of wifi and some caffeine. I ended up getting some fish tacos and horchata. Food was not the best, but pretty good. Service was attentive and friendly. The place is super clean. And I loved that they allowed me to use a sizable table for my laptop and I to enjoy our little work date in peace.

I received a message from Vanessa’s asking me to give them another try. I was next door at Bua Na having lunch so I stopped at Vanessa’s afterwards. It took the gentleman behind the counter a bit to acknowledge us… he was using a juicer so maybe he didn’t hear us come in… I don’t know. When he did see us he greeted us and was very friendly. We ordered a large iced non-​fat latte and a large iced vanilla latte. Sadly, both of the drinks were sub-​par. They were weak and the espresso (what I could taste of it) tasted bitter. Part of it could be that the espresso machine was not functioning properly… the right portafilter had a major leak (possibly the O ring) and as the shot poured, hot water was also pouring out of the portafilter, down the handle, and off the end down on to a towel that was positioned underneath. The positioning of the towel beneath the portafilter leads me to believe they were aware of the leak… which makes me sad because they used it anyway.
Really cute décor. The gentleman who helped us was very nice. I wish the lattes were better.

Terrible pumpkin latte. It did not taste like pumpkin AT ALL and was very BITTER. cute store, but i think they either need a new barista or a new set of recipes.

Wow! Yummy gelato!
Surprised to find this place had opened in the alleyway with El Portal and the Nose Wine Bar. It’s affiliated with El Portal and Yahaira’s Café nearby. Spacious inside — lots of tables. Country chic style… Fantastic gelato and desserts. I didn’t try the coffee this time, but saw a lot of people sitting at tables nearby who were happily sipping away. I think I’ll come here as a alternate to gelato in Old Town. I don’t know whether or not they will take away substantial business from Zona Rosa (next to the Pasadena Playhouse), but it is another option with much more sitting room if you need to wait for a show.
A bit pricy. The gelato (small portion) was like $ 4.