Picaresca Barra de Cafe

Got the green and red chilaquiles. Both are delicious full of flavor. If you don’t eat spicy I recommend the green but if you love spicy I highly recommend the red ones they are what you call spicy spicy 🔥😝. I also got my mom an eggs with weenies burrito and she gave it a thumbs up 👍. Very limited parking so you must look for parking in the street but it’s worth it.

Visited Picaresca during their soft opening. A delightful experience from the ambience, staff, beverages, and food. Honestly, its situated in a perfect location, giving the option to enjoy your drinks and meal either indoors, at the two outdoor tables, or take it to go and enjoy it at the park across the street.

Ambience:

During their soft opening, it was packed, but we were still greeted by the staff. As I always say, being greeted elicits a warm welcoming feeling and overall adds to the experience. The indoor aesthetics draw out the times I would step inside a cafe or coffee shop in Mexico. A chill and subtle Mexican interior design, making it perfect to decompress or bring friends/family to enjoy what Picaresca has to offer.

Drinks & Food:

I ordered the 16oz drip coffee, since no pour-over option was present in the menu. My partner ordered the Cafe de olla hot latte. Pastries were wiped out by the time we arrived, so we decided to order the breakfast burrito. The drip coffee was ordered as is with no sugar nor cream, in order to taste the profile of the beans. The coffee was good, it was neither bitter nor acidic, more on the toastier side but enjoyable to the last sip. Once the breakfast burrito was dropped off at our table, it arrived with a side of salsa verde to compliment it. The burrito was not thin nor small, it was packed and large, worth the $8-12 we paid. Upon finishing my coffee, I asked my partner for a sip of her cafe de olla, let me say… the notes of cafe de olla were drawn out for each sip taken, executed well. The cafe de olla presented notes of poloncillo and cinnamon, without one overpowering the other.

If you are reading this far, the best time would be to visit during the weekdays, a ton of foot traffic during the weekends due to Picaresca being situated in this new location. Additionally, their official menu is out, offering different types of food items such as chilaquiles. I would definitely say, order the cafe de olla, you can’t go wrong with that and additionally the burritos are well worth it.

Would I return? Of course, I need to try their Mexican mocha, matcha de olla latte, and food items.

Would I recommend this location to friends or family? Of course. I brought my mom a cafe de olla hot latte, and she was even surprised by how tasty it was (Mexican moms tend to be skeptical towards Mexican food items here in the states).

With that being said, don’t miss out on this gem. I will be back soon, to review other items and add additional pictures.

Parking? 2 handicap spots in front, street parking otherwise 🚘

It’s also VERY discrete signage so make sure you’re looking at the navigation so you don’t miss the turn! 🚦

WARNING: I got a ticket at 8:25am because I parked just around the corner and didn’t see any signs noting parking restrictions. Apparently it was street sweeping day 😅

When? Came by 8-9am on a Wednesday to do some journaling before visiting a school to do a peer teacher observation. 👩🏻‍🏫

Order? Caffe de olla latte + jalapeño croissant - both super delicious and fresh! ☕

Environment? Super chill, lots of wooden tables for seating. Tons of people ordering to go and for pick up, but seating is on the other side so it’s pretty quiet and chill.

Bathrooms? Two individual doors labeled men and women

NOTE: there were A LOT of jalapeños inside the croissant. I thought there would just be the 3-4 on top and ended up picking them out because my taste buds can’t handle the heat! 🔥

Again? Yes! I’d love to come back for the latter again and to try their breakfast burrito! 🌯

It's refreshing and reassuring that this spot features this beautiful art piece by @ErnestoYerena in solidarity with the Pàlestinian struggle 🍉
The food was amazing, service was friendly, ambience was awesome. Wish there was Wifi. Looking forward to them hosting events in the future.

Such a wonderful experience! We have been loyal customers of the original for almost 6 months and are so happy that they expanded into a new location. Let me tell you- it gets crowded. Don’t expect to have your coffee or food ready right away because the lines are crazy LOL. But it’s worth it. The coffee is strong and delicious. I haven’t had their signature drinks yet, but my boyfriend loves their matcha drink. He says it’s the best matcha he’s ever had. Oh and don’t get me STARTED ON THE CHILAQUILES. Lord have mercy. Those things are sinfully good. Spicy though. As a Latina I can handle the spice but you’ve been warned lol. Oh and the service is truly sweet. Me and my boyfriend were late to something and my cold brew was still getting made. The barista apologized profusely for the wait and immediately put my drink out first. The owners (i forget their names) are so lovely. If they’re not too busy we always try and talk to them; they’re so sweet and have truly created a special community in Boyle Heights. We love you Picaresa!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely the best chulaquiles I have ever had. I'm native Mexican, have eaten all kinds of chilaquikes, those exceeded even my grandmother's home made chilaquiles.

I visited today after months of not visiting, it was my first time at their new location. I had mixed emotions walking in and being greeted by staff. I was so used to ordering directly from the owner, or at the least her being there to some capacity. Well to my surprise they seemingly had a full staff, and I was happy that the service felt just as personal as when I went in before. I am really impressed with this upgrade and am looking forward to more visits here!

Got a ginger rose latte & a breakfast burrito with no bacon, the espresso is so delicious and rich! I didn’t taste the ginger or rose much but I’m not complaining lol. The burrito was good, just a little plain - in the future maybe I’ll try a different food item! Definitely recommend, just know that seating is very limited inside :)

I came for the opening and the food and coffee was great! I had the Iced Cafe de Olla with Whole milk this is my favorite drink! It's smooth and flavorful. I tasted several of the burritos and my favorite was the machaca and eggs the spice level was on point and I highly recommend the green salsa. Prices are the new going rate so I think you definitely get what you pay for. Go try it out because I'll be out there again!

So good!!! I love their Mexican mocha and chilaquiles! I bought the cafe de olla syrup to make lattes at home and it is freaking delicious! Can't wait to see what other drinks they come up with!

Esos chilaquiles are fire! You know we Mexicans are picky AF when it comes to our Chilaquiles! Picaresca nailed the flavor 🔥 you got 2 options, I went the less spicier route with the salsa verde or you can go with the red one which is my next choice para La otra visita. ✌ ❤

Parking is limited but I mean it’s LA. It’s not a daily struggle that we ain’t used to unfortunately 😭
Don’t get discouraged tho. You can find parking down the block, we all need the extra steps anyway. Lol camina its good for you.

Food & Drinks are very tasty
Cute place for breakfast and Drinks
The chilaquiles are very flavorful
Cafe de olla iced is my favorite

Super cute spot, plenty of seating, all staff are very kind. Kid friendly space, indoor and outdoor seating. Theres only two parking spots so park on the street! Coffee is delicious, the latte de olla is SO GOOD. the food is also fantastic and the portions are hearty.

Live a few blocks from here and I’ll start with the cons, no parking, it’s small and a little pricy. Everything else about this place is great, the matcha drinks are SOOO GOOD way better than Starbucks, which I don’t buy anymore, better than Tierra Mia, the breakfast burritos are also delish!!! 2 drinks and 2 burritos were $40 normally I prefer my $40 to go farther but this is probably the only place I’ll be getting my matcha lates from now on.

I do not know HOW they do it, but they make THE BEST CAFE DE OLLA in East LA, If not the world. We always get it with oat milk (I don’t even like oat milk) but it is the creamiest coffee I’ve ever tasted.

We also have gotten 2 types of chilaquiles, both of which were bomb af.

The only thing that sucks is the parking situation. Be prepared to parallel park in one of the adjoining neighborhood streets.

Greatly decorated, great staff, great food, and good coffee. The red chilaquiles are spicy so fair warning lol but man was it delicious. Also this place is next to a park so you can grab a cup and go for a nice brisk walk.

Love this place! Great service and tasty pastries and food. If you like spice you'll love their savory creations. Great place to connect with communidad.

Love the atmosphere here! Great food and coffee!!

One of the best green chilaquiles i’ve ever had so far hands down!
Nice atmosphere but best overall great service .
Thank you Cindy!

I like this place the Chilaquiles are really good