Cafe Cultura

Cafe Cultura is on the short list of restaurants we wanted to love, but couldn’t. Attractively decorated with frequent (but not terribly long) lines out the front door, the little cafe in Santa Ana offers mostly breakfast and bakery items alongside coffees, smoothies, and juices. We were drawn in by the Pan de Muerto – Mexican bread of the dead, offered here in two colors – and wound up ordering drinks (good) and breakfast (not good) at the same time.

From the indifferent counter service to the not particularly comfortable seating, to the drinks and the hot food – the latter taking a remarkably long time while forgetting items from our order – almost nothing about the experience was positive. We appreciated the selection of Mexican baked goods, which while obviously not at Mercado Gonzalez Pasteleria level was fine for a small shop, but we were unimpressed by the flavors of virtually everything we ordered, including pancakes and french toast with Mexican toppings (cajeta, tres leches, churro) that sounded a lot more delicious than what we received.

Despite revisiting the neighborhood multiple times, we haven’t returned, and most likely won’t in the future. There are additional locations in Fullerton and outside of Orange County.