Cafe Kacao

[Urbanized]

We talked about you the ENTIRE time.

Hahaha what a coincidence...we were talking about you!

[Pete]

They only offer picadillo (Cuban ground beef dish with olives and raisins served over rice with plantains) and I am going back one evening especially for that.

They have also applied for a liquor license.

Everything I saw there looked very good. Mad at myself for not going sooner.

[BG918]

You really should try their breakfast at some point, it's fantastic, we've had about 4-5 things from them, better than Cafe Antigua (semi-complicated history between them), and we were soooooooooooooo happy when they extended their breakfast hours! Their espresso drinks are very good too - had a bourbon maple latte one day...

I love their breakfast but dread going on the weekends with the long lines. If you can go during the week it's much more relaxed.

Oh and they need to bring back the Divorciado Eggs!

[Urbanized]

My only complaint with Kacao is that when I’m there - or really when I’m just talking/hearing about it - I can’t get a particular Portlandia sketch out of my head.

[TheTravellers]

I love their breakfast but dread going on the weekends with the long lines. If you can go during the week it's much more relaxed.

Oh and they need to bring back the Divorciado Eggs!

We only went once before they extended their hours and got super-lucky with no wait, but every time afterwards that we drove by, the line was out the door. Went after they extended their hours at about 2-3 PM on a Saturday and walked right in, so mid-afternoon on a weekend is a pretty good time to go.

[BG918]

My only complaint with Kacao is that when I’m there - or really when I’m just talking/hearing about it - I can’t get a particular Portlandia sketch out of my head.

Which sketch is that?

[Pete]

They are adding an outside drink window so at the very least you can get a beverage while you wait.

[Uptowner]

It’s an episode that takes place almost entirely in a mile long line for the hot new brunch place. Honestly it’s good but it’s not worth standing outside for. Makes the food taste like disappointment. Cant wait to see the lines at hopdoddy’s!!!

[Urbanized]

Which sketch is that?

Season one, episode two. You've been warned, it will probably make you squirm uncomfortably when you watch it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldQGPwuHhkM

[Swanky]

They are adding an outside drink window so at the very least you can get a beverage while you wait.

Okay, this makes me super happy. Sometimes I want to swing by just for a coffee (I love their coffees) but opt not to because it's usually busy.

[soonerguru]

I'm ashamed to say that today was the first time I have ever eaten at Cafe Kacao.

But now that they have added dinner hours, this will be one of my favorite places.


Today for lunch I had "Frijolada: A bed of a rice and whole black beans, topped with diced tomatoes, fresh onions, cilantro, escabeche. Choices of meat are: Chimichurri chicken or Seasoned carne asada"; I had the chicken version pictured below.

The whole dish was fantastic. The chunks of chicken were nicely charred and everything else was fresh and flavorful. In fact, the little container of chimichurri sauce was delicious with a decent degree of spice. Next time I order this dish, I'll ask for an additional serving of that sauce. The meal was easily enough for two people or one with a a full serving of leftovers.

Service was prompt and helpful and the whole place was very busy. I'm not a huge breakfast person but they serve their breakfast menu all day.

I'm honestly shocked by this! It's arguably the best breakfast place in the state.

[LocoAko]

Their coffee-to-go window is apparently almost ready:



https://www.facebook.com/cafekacao/p...e=3&permPage=1

[Pete]

^

Just to clarify, this will be a walk-up window, mainly for all the people waiting outside.

[Pete]

Walk-up beverage window is open and they've added a great new mural.

[TheTravellers]

Have they gone back to their old closing time of 3-4 PM? Was checking out their menu on their site and noticed the hours, which weren't extended any more, so wondered if it was old and they hadn't updated it, but Google, Yelp and Facebook have the same 3-4 PM closing times.

[Pete]

Yes.

From their FB Page:

Cafe Kacao
March 28
Regretfully, after 8+ months, Cafe Kacao will be discontinuing its dinner service on March 30th. We are very grateful to everyone who has supported us in our effort to provide our wonderful community with more Cafe Kacao options, however after careful consideration we have decided to scale it back, and return to our original vision and focus, which is and always will be: being one of the best breakfast/brunch spots around. For those that found favorites on our dinner menu, worry not, as we will be rotating the most popular dinner dishes as lunch and weekend specials as often as possible and per popular demand, we hope to see you one last time for dinner on March 30th. Thank you once again for your support.

— Luidgi Del Cid and the Cafe Kacao Staff

P.S. As they say: "when one door closes, another opens". So stay tuned as we continue to work hard for you. Lots of new additions coming soon!

[TheTravellers]

Ah, crap, thanks, I didn't read far enough on Facebook. OK, back to getting there 45 mins before closing to try to be after the crowd...

[OKCRealtor]

My wife and I went on Sunday with some friends and had a terrible experience. We've been dozens of times over the years but probably not in the last 1-2 years as it has gotten even more popular. We got on the no-wait app about 1.5 hours before and arrived around the time a table was expected but still had to wait another hour and there was little to no acknowledgement from the hostess even though we checked in a couple of times. Our server was nice but took 20+ minutes to get our order - not the end of the world. We got 2 out of 4 entrees about 30 minutes later. 10-15 minutes later the 3rd entree arrived and then another 10 or so minutes later finally the 4th. By this time we had gotten the manager involved and although he was nice he was clearly overwhelmed. We were told that food is basically randomly made and delivered to the table whenever each plate is ready. Weird, never had this problem before. There were a number of other things not worth getting into but I certainly hope this isn't the norm. I should also mention out of the 4 of us eating 2 of us have been restaurant GM's at well known local eateries and the other 2 have both been restaurant managers as well although we are all now in other industries.

[TheTravellers]

Last time we went (a few months ago), our experience wasn't terrible, but it was certainly not up to par. Super-busy, and things just seemed disjointed, as you said. That kind of staggered times for dishes coming out just isn't really acceptable - I understand the logic behind it, but the cooks should do better at timing the dishes in the kitchen so they're all done at the same time (that's the way we did it when I worked in restaurants decades ago) instead of just slinging them out as soon as they're done.

That wait is insane - I can't think of many places (if any) that's worth waiting 2.5 hours for!

Since they're no longer open past 3-4 PM, I guess it'll always be somewhat that way when trying to cram everybody that wants to eat there into short hours, so we'll probably be passing it up for Antigua most times if this is indicative of future operation... I told the wife about the shortened hours and she said "Translated - we couldn't make money, so we went back to regular hours". But the last time we went, it was around 4 PM on a Sat and they were easily 3/4 full. So I'm wondering - are they swamped until 3-4 PM and then it drops off precipitously? If so, why - is it programmed in peoples' heads to eat before 3-4 PM and not go there after that? Were they really losing money or could they not find enough help for the extra hours or .....? Seems like they'd welcome the extra hours being open, but I guess if customers still all jam in before 3-4 PM, then maybe it wasn't worth it...

We actually prefer Cafe Antigua's atmosphere - way more laid-back, not nearly as busy (although their interior isn't as cool as Kacao's). They don't have quite the variety of Kacao's menu, but Antigua's latte made with strawberry milk is out of this world good...

[Thomas Vu]

+1 for Antigua. Although business there isn't a slouch either. You won't see lines out the door though.

[BridgeBurner]

+1 for Antigua. Although business there isn't a slouch either. You won't see lines out the door though.

I am with you, I think that meal/experience 85% as good as Kacao for 5% of the wait is worth the trade-off. Unfortunately, my opinion is the minority in my friend group haha.
That strawberry milk latte TheTravellers was talking about sounds really good, I'll have to try it next time I am there.

[TheTravellers]

I am with you, I think that meal/experience 85% as good as Kacao for 5% of the wait is worth the trade-off. Unfortunately, my opinion is the minority in my friend group haha.
That strawberry milk latte TheTravellers was talking about sounds really good, I'll have to try it next time I am there.

Not sure if it's a daily special, it was up on the chalkboard the Sat we were there, quite a while ago, but it might be a regular thing - hopefully so 'cos it's really good, not overpowering sweetness, just pure strawberry...

[Thomas Vu]

Couple of times I stopped by Kacao, I thought the only real standout items vs Antigua was the breakfast options. For lunch purposes I preferred the menu at Antigua.

[Rover]

I go to both, but prefer Kacao. Just don’t always want to wait.

[Teo9969]

Last time we went (a few months ago), our experience wasn't terrible, but it was certainly not up to par. Super-busy, and things just seemed disjointed, as you said. That kind of staggered times for dishes coming out just isn't really acceptable - I understand the logic behind it, but the cooks should do better at timing the dishes in the kitchen so they're all done at the same time (that's the way we did it when I worked in restaurants decades ago) instead of just slinging them out as soon as they're done.

That wait is insane - I can't think of many places (if any) that's worth waiting 2.5 hours for!

Since they're no longer open past 3-4 PM, I guess it'll always be somewhat that way when trying to cram everybody that wants to eat there into short hours, so we'll probably be passing it up for Antigua most times if this is indicative of future operation... I told the wife about the shortened hours and she said "Translated - we couldn't make money, so we went back to regular hours". But the last time we went, it was around 4 PM on a Sat and they were easily 3/4 full. So I'm wondering - are they swamped until 3-4 PM and then it drops off precipitously? If so, why - is it programmed in peoples' heads to eat before 3-4 PM and not go there after that? Were they really losing money or could they not find enough help for the extra hours or .....? Seems like they'd welcome the extra hours being open, but I guess if customers still all jam in before 3-4 PM, then maybe it wasn't worth it...

We actually prefer Cafe Antigua's atmosphere - way more laid-back, not nearly as busy (although their interior isn't as cool as Kacao's). They don't have quite the variety of Kacao's menu, but Antigua's latte made with strawberry milk is out of this world good...

I don't think that necessarily has to be true. A business can dabble in something and then realize that the extra margin is simply not worth the long-term opportunity cost. There's a reason the vast majority of restaurants do not serve all three meals.

Being open longer hours = more staffing and more time dedicated by management. Given how small an operation this is, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried it and realized in the long run that fatigue would set in and quality would likely take a hit.