Cafe Vallejo
My plans to grab a coffee at Café Vallejo after lunch at Milagros a block away were dashed when I came across the closed café mid-afternoon.
The first thing you need to know about Café Vallejo is that it’s only open in the late afternoon and evenings.
This makes it less convenient a destination if you’re visiting Laureles from another part of town, but if you live in the neighborhood, it’s a cool little place to hang out.
Plus, they have WiFi, so you can bring your laptop if you want to get work done.
I chose Café Vallejo as a meeting point for my friend Ryan Goes Abroad and I one night.
The interior is wonderfully decorated, the walls dripping with images of old prints. The pattern of the tile floor alone is fantastic.
During our visit, the music was tango, adding to the old world feel of this quaint café. We placed our order at the counter, but decided to sit outside on the patio to enjoy the nice weather.
The menu is focused on coffees and teas, with a very limited food selection. Aside from a few pastries, they only had a Milo cake to offer me (which I gladly accepted).
A basic espresso or Americano will run you 1,800 pesos ($0.95), with a cappuccino costing 3,500 pesos ($1.85).
A variety of cold coffee drinks are available too, and as you can see, I opted for a coffee milkshake with chocolate sauce. Yum.
You can also order alcoholic drinks, such as an Irish coffee, beers (Aguila or Club Colombia), wine, and cocktails.
Both regular tea and chai are available, as is hot chocolate, and sodas.
As I said at the top, it’s a cute indie café in an up-and-coming neighborhood. The perfect place to grab a coffee with friends.
Update: Upon publishing this article, several readers mentioned this was their favorite café in Medellin. I also learned that it’s owned by the brother of Fernando Vallejo, the acclaimed Colombian writer who penned La Virgen de los Sicarios.
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It's a popular place with my friends (or at least from what I can deduct from Facebook!) will have to check it out next time I'm there which is unfortunately not for another 9 months!
It's interesting that you mention using your laptop here. The advice from your friend which you mention in this blog is NOT to carry your laptop around with you. (see here: http://ryangoesabroad.com/5-lifestyle-downsides-to-living-in-medellin/)
As I will be coming to Medellin next year for a 2 month career break, I'd like nothing more than to hang out in a cafe bar with my laptop, while I study. My laptop is top-spec Macbook Pro Retina... these are not exactly cheap, so I don't want to take too much risks.
I'd be grateful to hear your take on the matter....
Cheers
I'd be happy to clarify my thoughts. I take a very conservative approach. I work from home, so there's rarely a need for my laptop to leave the apartment. I have a 2011 Mac Air, with data backed up in the cloud and international property insurance (Clements) that covers me worldwide.
Occasionally I'll take it to a restaurant a block from my building for meetings, but that's about it. I can't concentrate in cafés, so I rarely try to work from them.
This behavior was reinforced when I was robbed during the daytime in 2011. Thankfully, I haven't had a problem in the last three years, but I attribute that to luck and the little changes I've made.
That said, you'll see a lot of people on laptops at cafés, especially the ones near Parque Lleras like Pergamino and Café Velvet.
My advice, since you'll be in town for a few months, is to take a few days or the first week to get a feel for the area where you're staying, or want to hang out with your laptop. If you feel comfortable, go for it. If not, leave it at home. Either way, I'd make sure you're financially protected in case of theft, through travel insurance, homeowners insurance or some other form.
I've never heard about someone's laptop being stolen from them in a café or restaurant here. If you're going to get robbed, it's more likely to occur when you're traveling to/from the venue because someone spots you on the street with a bag or otherwise decides to target you.
Understood. Thank you David.