Order
Milk poured into a layered coffee glass beside a basket of pastries, patterned cement tiles behind

A walk-up window on Calle Ocho, pouring colada from 6:30 a.m.

Two lattice-top guava pastries on a wooden board, a white teapot behind

Guava in
every fold

Pastelitos come out of the oven four times a day: guava and cream cheese, guava alone, beef picadillo, and ham with Swiss. Each one is butter dough folded by hand before sunrise and baked on sheet pans until the top layers shatter at the first bite.

A dozen fits one white box, and a half-dozen can be mixed any way you like.

Pastelería
Coffee from a stovetop pot poured into a dark mug in warm morning light

Colada
for four

Cafecito here is still made in stovetop pots, eight of them lined up on the back range, with the first drops whipped into sugar for the espuma. A colada is four ounces in a foam cup with six thimble cups stacked on the lid, enough for a whole desk of coworkers.

Cortadito, café con leche and a sugar-free cafecito are on the same short board.

Coffee bar
Wooden café chairs on a stone floor beside a wall of blue patterned tile and potted palms

Trays for
the office

Rows of lattice-top guava pastelitos on baking paper
A plate of golden croquetas, one broken open, on an orange table
Two hands holding a small cup of coffee on a yellow saucer

Pastelito and croqueta trays for meetings, birthdays and early shifts. Trays of 24, 50 or 100 pieces are ready at the window from 6:30 a.m. with 48 hours’ notice, and a colada kit with cups can ride along.

Order a tray
Yellow folding chairs and potted plants in front of a yellow canvas screen
Pressed buttered bread on a white plate with a cup of café con leche

Breakfast

Tostada is Cuban bread pressed flat with salted butter until it crackles, served with a café con leche for dunking. The counter also turns out egg and cheese on Cuban bread, a ham croqueta preparada and a bowl of cut papaya.

Breakfast runs 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. daily; after that the press stays busy with sandwiches.

See the board
Two rattan chairs and a round table under a woven lamp, palms beyond the open wall

The terrace

Twenty-four seats sit outside under two ceiling fans and a row of palms, with sixteen stools along the counter indoors, forty in all. Tables are first come, first served, and there are no reservations. The terrace faces east, so it falls into shade after 1 p.m., and a water bowl for dogs is kept filled by the window.

Plan a visit
Two arched wooden shutters on a white wall above small outdoor tables

Before you
come by

Casa Ondina is open 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days, and closes at 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The kitchen is not nut-free: almond flour goes into the flan and the polvorones, so ask at the register about allergens. Metered parking is on SW 8th Street and the side streets. Cards and cash are both taken, and tips on the tablet are shared by the whole counter team.

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