La Calenita Bakery Cafe

Amazing arepa con queso. We haven’t had food like this since we were in Cartegena. If we lived closer we’d be there often.

i wanted to like this place so much.
pro: ok empanadas and ok coffee
con: my tiramisu had mold — when i got home i opened my container and a bad smell came out and there it is … mold. they have great reviews so just make sure your get fresh food. my chicharon was also different. it was smoked bacon cut into chicharon pieces.

My wife and I love this place. We’ve been here multiple times. The empanadas are excellent. Great coffee. I also love the pandebono and buñuelos. Especially with coffee. We’ll deffinatly be back again!

My best friend is Colombian and her family travels from Maryland to come here and load up on Colombian delicacies! I have been lucky enough to come here several times with them, and am so grateful that pandebono has been introduced into my life!
When we went this weekend I got several almojabanas (Colombian cheese breads) to bring home. They’re very similar to pandebono, but they’re just round (not donut shaped). I was willing to wait for pandebono to come out fresh, but evidently once they’re sold out then that’s it. Kind of a bummer. I also tried a cake (I think it translated literally to ‘black cake’) that is made with (lots of) wine, raisins and nuts. My friend also found blood sausage to bring back home to her family.
It is a little bit intimidating if you’re not a Spanish speaker. There was some minimal English used during our transaction, but the default is Spanish and it could be very awkward without someone there to translate for me. I don’t think of that as a negative, though — I actually appreciate the authenticity of the establishment, and the fact that the Colombian community has a place like this to enjoy the tastes of home.
Also parking can be a little bit of an issue. With some patience you can usually find street parking but it is a VERY busy, bustling area.

Best Colombian bakery in town. It’s away from the city but easy to get to.
The staff is super friendly whether you speak Spanish or not.
Try the arepa con queso, almojabanas, pan de bono, burñuelos and their empanadas.

I absolutely love this Colombian bakery. My husband and I go there every chance we get. Their empanadas are great and I love their cheese croissant. Everything is baked fresh every day. Highly recommended

It looks and feels like a Colombian Bakery! I highly recommend their empanadas! They also have good Pasteles de Queso con Bocadillo, and Torta de Pan. I will try the Tamales next time!

Thanks again to fellow Unilocalers I have found this place. Although it’s about 2 miles from my house I never knew it existed. I don’t go past this stretch of 5^th st often.
Upon entering I was greeted by a good morning/​buenos dias from one of the friendly girls working behind the counter. She was really helpful and patient considering it was my first visit here and I obviously did not speak fluent Spanish. Luckily she spoke good English. I chose 2 empanadas; one beef, one chicken and an arepa w/​cheese. Came w/​a bangin’ green spicy salsa. From the huge pastry display I got a flaky pastry filled w/​guava. All were excellent! She pointed out some of her favorite pastries which all looked great. As a line formed I felt kinda guilty asking what’s this, what’s that so I hurried it up. At no point did I feel rushed by the girl who waited on me.
All in all a pleasant experience which I know will often be repeated. A constant flow of people and refilling of the hot foods assures everything is fresh! Too bad I can’t drink coffee; they had some excellent selections.

I felt like I was transported back to the streets of Bogota.
The food items here are really authentic, from the humungous tamales (chicken and veggies inside) to the empanadas, papas rellenas, chicharron, etc. It really tastes like the street food I had in Colombia! Don’t be surprised if everything is fried; that’s how they do!
The coffee, like someone else mentioned, is loaded with sugar and milk. It’s really tasty, but if you aren’t into that thing, make sure you mention so. They also have sweet pastry items that I have yet to try.
Employees are super nice! The price– dirt cheap! Definitely a fan.

Seriously, another one of those FOODIE’S DREAM COME TRUE locations.
Delicious, authentic, and cheap. What more could you possibly want? And the coffee is also amazing!
Go in the morning when everything’s super fresh – there WILL be a crowd. Plenty of seating and a welcoming atmosphere, and be ready to bust out some of that Spanish from high school.

This place is great… While I wasn’t sure what half of the stuff was, I tried everything during multiple visits… I usually stopped in for breakfast. You gotta love the fact that the place is very clean, and everyone that worked there are exteremely friendly… I can’t say that I ever had a bad meal there… Probably the most addicting thing there is the deep fried pork belly… They serve it with a side of hot green salsa, and a baked potato that had been rubbed with pork fat and salted completely…

If you have a massive hang over and want some fried greasy Colombian breakfast food. This is the place to go. I’ve never had Colombian food until my Colombian friend brought me here.
This is a nice bakery with plenty of room for folks to sit with their laptop and coffee, munch on some pastries; or come after church on a Sunday, sit with family and relax. They have a flat screen TV that constantly plays Colombian music videos/​concerts which adds a nice ring to it.
They serve a wide variety of food (most I’m not sure what they are called) — Beef or Chicken mini empanadas, cheesy corn bread, chesse bagel, eggs, big greasy chorizo (pork sausage), fried yuca (root), pork fat and skin.
All in all I like their chesse bagel and eggs the best. Their coffee is sweet and according to my friend they serve really good hot chocolate as well.
The nice thing is that they accept credit cards, all their servers call you «mi amor» I guess that’s the friendly way from Colombians for you! Easy to find street parking right around the bakery.

being there once, a small eatery. A lot ofe stuff I have no idea they are. It is kind of hard for me to order. But the GIANT sweet bread spoke to me. It tastes good. I like it !

La Caleñita this morning made me beat anyone’s 800# mark. We picked up friends around 9:45 AM. We all live in the Center City on this day a nice quite drive of about 15 – 20 minutes. It was a beautiful sunny morning with a bit of wind reminding you that winter was just here and if that nature wants it can turn around and makes us miserable in a less than a blink of an eye (shouldn’t that be blink of the eyes).
I would tell you that if you are looking for some fancy joint with ultra hot Latin Americans just slightly malnourished so that they fit in their designer outfits and a chic décor this would not be the place. Is in Northeast Philadelphia on north 5^th Street. Small place hard to find unless you know the colors of the Colombian Flag decorated across the middle with the establishments name. The group consisted of a good Colombian friend with her husband and my partner and I (also Hispanic).
I would advise to invite a friend that knows to speak fluent Spanish or you can always point at what you want and go for it as you can see everything through a pastry showcase. The establishment is set up as a bakery even thought you can get items that you would generally not expect to be served in one.
If you order coffee make sure that you specify without sugar because all coffee served comes with it included. Of course it comes included I mean they already poured about seven spoons of sugar in your cup.
The food is truly authentic and made fresh. The place is so popular that they need to constantly refill their hot foods. Get there before the after church crowd arrives; trust me.
The tamales are the biggest one’s I have seen from here to Bogotá, made with large pieces of chicken inside, potatoes and peas. They melt in your mouth and are delicious.
They prepare two kinds of are arepas to keep it simple the white ones are not sweet and have been sliced through the middle to add the single most important food group: Cheese; and the yellow ones are sweet. There is Colombian chorizo which is like a mildly spicy Kielbasa not like the traditional Spanish one. Consider also the empanadas caleñas, orejitas, tres leches, etc.
The cleanliness of the place is superb. The staff is friendly, courteous and attractive but not starved. Very inexpensive so do not ignore the tip jar on the counter. Tipping is not a place in China!!!
Is definite worth the trip!!!