You don’t go to Vinaka Cafe for the coffee. You just don’t.
You might go for the 2-for-$1.00 chocolate chip cookies, the quirky for-here mugs, or the sun-kissed patio overlooking the fountain. You might go — like most — because it is walkable to just about anywhere in the Village, or if you drive, the parking is plentiful.
Or you might go for the service, which is quite pleasant and accommodating, even if you’re asking a bunch of questions about things that don’t matter to most of your customers.
You might go because you’re not sure if you want breakfast or ice cream. You might go if you have a doggo who wants to sit with you outside or because you need to spread out to study. You might go because it is open late.* You might go for seasonal pastries, pies, or holiday-themed drinks.
There were not one or two, but five St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Specials listed on a marker board. You might go for any number of reasons not listed here, but you probably don’t go for the coffee.
It’s generic dark-roasted, batch-brewed coffee, the likes of which you can get at just about any highway off-ramp. I ask, but the staff isn’t sure of the origin or if it’s local. They know it is a blend of beans, but outside of that, there isn’t much information to be had.
It isn’t bad, it’s just not craft coffee filled with flavors of fruits, chocolate, nuts, sweet and salty. But it doesn’t matter. It is coffee, the kind your grandparents may have grown up drinking. It is a little water, and if you add cream along with any one of the numerous Monin syrups offered, you may not taste it at all.
But as I said, it doesn’t matter. You’re not here for the coffee.
I get my coffee with a side of chocolate chip cookies. I love to dip a cookie in my coffee. These are soft, indulgent cookies that make me glad there isn’t a nutrition label. The tables and chairs and patio tables are worn in the most comforting way. Vinaka Cafe is a neighborhood — you might say “Townie” — kind of spot. A sticker in the window proclaims it is a 2019 Next Door Favorite.
The theme, if there is one beyond local cafe, is quirky meets traveler. There is an oversized map looming over an indoor seating area. Overhead fans evoke images of pre-war wooden propellor planes.
A message board features business cards and notes and missed connections affixed by pushpins, and there is more than one stand for various newspapers (including The Coast News), local magazines, and flyers. Eighties bangers — a term I learned from memes on the world wide web — pump from a tinny speaker. It is hard not to nod along with Loggins, Wonder, and Jett.
I sit at a bright yellow patio table overlooking the Village Faire shopping mall’s central plaza. They’ve done a nice renovation recently. The fountain is soothing. The faux grass is bright green, and pink buds are just beginning to blossom on the cherry trees** found in oversized brick planters in the round.
Vinaka Cafe meets the needs of a majority of the customers that wander through the doors. There is a Vinaka-style cafe in most towns. It is the kind of place where the offerings don’t change much, and the people are kind and the space welcoming. Sometimes they are busy. Sometimes they are not.
They are in a bit of an odd location inside and upstairs with no street visibility, and yet despite the influx of flashier coffee shops, they survive year after year. Depending on your perspective, you may wonder how they keep the doors open or how more people don’t know about this local gem.
But it doesn’t matter. Vinaka Cafe’s doors will be open, day after day, at 300 Carlsbad Village Dr #211, Carlsbad, CA 92008.
- A tip of the cap to Succulent Cafe. They recently closed their doors at the end of Oak St. Lease term increases, an impending renovation of the property, and the lingering impacts of the coronavirus led ownership to decide to pack it in. It is possible that the cafe will be revitalized (once again) in Oceanside. Stay tuned.
- I turned in my column a little late today. This week I drove to two different coffee shops in North County, but when I arrived, the doors were locked because they didn’t open until 10 a.m. What? I like to get out early, but 10 a.m. seems late, no? If coffee is in your name, open earlier! Some of us have to get back home to go to work!
*Their website, which is a bit sketchy and dated, says they are open 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM, but a sign in the window, confirmed by Google Maps, shows they close at 8:00 PM, still late by coffee shop standards.
**I think they are cherry trees. I’m not great at identifying plants.
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