My Coffee Odyssey - Cafe Bella

Cafe Bella

1613156OCT2017

Today #MyCoffeeOdyssey took me just up the street in South OKC to Café Bella. This southside gem is located in what has become the Asian corner of S. Pennsylvania and 89^th. The Café is not really very large and the seating consists of a few regular tables and more bar height tables. There is a surprisingly large menu of sandwiches, soups, salads, and breakfast items in addition to the coffee “go-withs” that most coffee shops have. It is pleasant enough but does not seem to be one of those places you would settle into for a couple of hours to read or work. So, I suppose, by my admittedly made-up scale. Café Bella is not, strictly speaking a coffee shop. It is a nice, small, place to have coffee with a friend and maybe grab breakfast and/or lunch.

Coffee Bar 

Brewed coffee is available for self-serve on the bar with an espresso roast, a Sumatran, and a flavored (pecan) choice. The Sumatran was okay but (surprise) I found the darker espresso to be much richer and more satisfying. The smart buy is the $4.00 bottomless cup because, you just never know how long you’ll be here. On my amateur tasting scale, the coffee was solidly Good.

 Where You Sit

This is my second mid-afternoon visit to Café Bella and it has not been too busy either time. The downside for my second visit is the small child in (and out of) his stroller. A chorus of “Mom! Mom!” is not exactly my ideal coffee shop environment. I know a single sample does not identify the population but in a case like this, it’s close enough. Would I meet you here for coffee? It depends on why we are meeting. If it is just to say hello, catch up, and be on our way, and you are buying, okay. If we want to spend some time, maybe get some work done, or just hang for a bit. Give me a call. I’ll suggest a different place. And, I’ll buy.

Disclaimer: I am not a coffee connoisseur. I am just a guy who lies to drink coffee in coffee shops. I tend to think of my coffee in terms of Meh – Okay - Good – Great. Most coffee I drink is okay to good. It has to make an effort to get to Great or Meh. These are just my opinions. Take or ignore them as you wish. Read more about #MyCoffeeOdyssey at "How this all began."