El Terrible Juan Cafe is not a terribly bizarre name in a neighborhood studded with eating and drinking establishments all trying to stand out from the others (including one just down the street with a 40-foot-high colorfully painted stele proclaiming Libra Palestina.)
But Terrible Juan did catch my attention, especially when I found out it just won 51st place in a worldwide competition to find the world’s 100 best cafes. (On Instagram, see theworlds100bestcoffeeshops.com) It was two blocks off Chapultepec in Colonia Americana not far from my home. I couldn’t resist.
Still, I worried, is it really terrible? Would I get poisoned or drugged there?
One of the first things I noticed when I walked in El Terrible Juan Cafe, besides that it was small and crowded, was that it wasn’t chic, or as a Mexican might say esnob. The mostly male waitstaff was friendly, there were single women among the mostly young clients, one wall was lined with four or five customers immersed in their laptops (of course), and the couple next to me repeatedly addressed each other as buey (translated by Google as bro, man or dude).
But I came here for brunch, didn’t I? First up was coffee, and the waiter recommended cappuccino (48 pesos), which arrived in a smallish cup with a lovely leaf design in its foam. It was good.
I managed to resist sampling the big selection of sweet bread, baked in-house—even the trenza de Philadelphia, con nuez y canela, the waiter’s favorite.
I went instead for a Frutibowl (80 pesos) followed by a hybrid mollete—half with refried beans and four types of browned cheese, the other topped with avocado (145 pesos). This was a simple option, but it was satisfying and well presented, with thin-sliced avocado that practically glowed chartreuse. The birrote, rivaling any bread in Paris, had been lightly toasted and compressed, making it easier to bite.
My fellow customers mostly ordered big sandwiches accompanied by big salads. The sandwiches featured plenty of meat, and a few were vegan. Some folks ordered the signature Brewtal (get it?)—bottled, cold brew coffee (68 pesos) that is made in Guadalajara and is apparently strong!
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