Cobantigua Cafe

"Is radiation from radiator?"

I looked around when I heard that. Who said that? Was she serious? I saw 3 nurse wannabes studying together. I wanted to laugh but I didnt want to be rude.

My Italian soda was super good. It was my first time trying Italian soda and I was hooked. I also got iced coffee but wasn't loving it too much. The owner was super sweet. He watched my laptop while I explored the village.

This place is super cool. They have theater style seating. Yes, they use real theater seats complete with cup holders. You can even play games here. I played scrabble and it was a lot of fun. Free wi-fi.

Very relaxing place to hang out with friends playing board games since they have different games. It's a fun place to figure out if radiation is from radiator also.

4 stars!!

Cobantigua Cafe is yummylicious!!

I wish I could adjust font sizes on Yelp reviews for places like this, because this review would be written in a 4 point font. This is a cute, quaint, and very quiet little coffee shop inside Old World Village. I opted for a Italian soda, and the man working the counter (the owner) asked me what flavor in a decibel level just slightly above the mysterious whisper at the end of 'Lost in Translation.'

I didn't even know whispering that low was possible, but this man did it. Anyway, I got myself a lime Italian soda and quite enjoyed it along with some free wifi and a good, old-fashioned theater chair to kick back in for a bit.

While I do appreciate a quiet coffee shop... I don't think Cobantigua will be on my rounds of places I work for awhile... it's a bit TOO quiet for this gal's liking. What can I say? I like to a little background noise with my coffee every now and then.

The place has a new owner now. The quiet old man that would quietly take your order sold the cafe, and now they are trying to change it to a hookah bar/cafe.

There definitely is more energy, the rustic, sleepy feel is gone. But along with the feel goes the comfortable theater seats, the eccentric deco, and the quiet air. Instead, the place is filled with music, uniform tables, and new workers.

Before I came here, I was talking up the place to my friends. I thought Cobantigua Cafe was just a gem of a find. However, once we got there, I realized it wasn't the same place. The service was horrendous, with my friends rolling their eyes at me when they saw how long it took to make one drink. Mind you, they were getting hookahs ready for a birthday, but when you have two people manning the stations, it should go smoother. I give them leeway though. They did state they weren't workers, just helping their father (who is the new owner).

I don't know what will become of Cobantigua Cafe. The vibe seems completely different than the one I experienced, and the one people have fallen in love with in the past. This new transition is sure to irk many, while bringing joy to some. I personally don't like what I see, but I'm willing to take another look before I finalize my view. However, for now, from what I experienced, Cobantigua Cafe definitely took a step down for me.

Coffee German Style!

But the owner is not German and nor is the coffee. Great place to chill, study or play a board game. I came here specifically for the Italian Soda. mmm mmm mmmm.

A quick walk around and you can see what a town in Germany looked like years ago or what one in the country might look like now.

Great coffee, service and great atmoshere.

Cobantigua Cafe in Huntington Beach...another reason the OC is the best place to live.

Cobantigua is a little secret local coffee shop. With its abundance of great outdoor seating, I always ask myself why I don't come here more often? The owner is a super sweet man that offers you free fresh white chocolate cranberry cookies if you are one of the few last customers! Yum!

This is a great place to just relax, hang out, and study. A study date maybe? I believe that on specific Wednesday nights, there are usually live bands that play so that one can enjoy their Ice Tuxedo, White Chocolate Mocha, Black and White on Ice, or a simple flavored ice tea with new music from bands just starting out.

I usually try to make an appoint to revisit this place from time to time because it is so secret and hidden - I am always worried that there might be a day that it will not be there when I return. Where will I go if Cobantigua is not there? Who will make my Ice Tuxedo or my Black and White on Ice? Where else can I find funky theater chairs at a coffee shop? I don't even want to imagine the possibility of a non-existent Cobantigua in the mist of Old World Village.... Therefore, I am writing a review of Cobantigua so that the secret is out!!

Today I was desperate to find some place to get my studying done, and lucky for me I had Yelp by my side. I've never been to Cobantigua, but it was relatively nearby with Sunday hours until 9pm, not to mention free WiFi! :D I jumped at the chance to try this "secret and hidden" (Cindy P.) cafe out and was not disappointed at all!! Actually, I'm thinking of making this my normal study spot. :]

Pros:
+super cool helpful owner
+free WiFi
+relatively cheap drinks and an assortment of snacks
+comfy cool chairs with some scattered tables for studying
+board games! books! and TVs! Oh My!
+quiet but not TOO quiet
+plenty of open seating in/outdoors
+no obnoxious teens or kids
+clean bathrooms
+riff raff jazz every 2nd wed of the month (i hope to check them out soon)

Cons:
-cash only!! but they take checks?
-kind of hard to find at first (the Old World Village map was confusing b/c there wasn't a "you are here" icon) I'll just tell you it's the first store on the right side when you turn into the second parking lot going away from Beach.
-if people are smoking outside, the smoke travels downwind INTO the cafe. :[

Overall, a good place for studying/reading or a coffee date or meeting up with friends for some board game fun. I promise you'll love it, too. :D

Cobantigua Cafe is a sneaky little cafe, hidden amongst the dilapidated but charming buildings of "Old World Village." Who knew that regular businesses operated here during daylight hours beyond the yearly "Oktoberfest?"

Cobantigua reminds me of a place I wish that existed while I was in college. There is: free WiFi, plenty of seating, a TV, and relatively affordable caffeine at your disposal (compared to your neighboring Starbucks). I kind of chuckled, as some of their "seating" is actually old movie theater seats (or 2-3 of them connected together). You find these all throughout the cafe. There's also an eclectic mix of books and stuff available for anyone to read.

While I wouldn't go there for coffee alone (the iced latte I had was a bit weak tasting), I would go there for studying, reading, or if I was a "telecommuter"...you can't beat the free WiFi aspect. Also, I walked in at about 2pm and just 2 people were in the place = QUIET.

Also, there's live music on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. A Jazz Band called "Riff Raff Jazz" performs. I have yet to experience this - review update soon to come.

Overall, Cobantigua is a nice place to hang out or study. And going there supports a local and family run business.

So I've lived in the HB area practically all my life, and never knew this Old World Village shopping center existed. I got invited to "behind Bella Terra" once for Oktoberfest, but never actually made it over there.

The first time I went here was on a Friday night. Their website said they were open til 10, but it must have been a slow night because I showed up at 8:15 to a dark coffee shop and locked doors. The guy who runs it was inside cleaning up, but I honestly wasn't going to bother him. I was disappointed.

It's a kick-ass place, with a mishmash of decorations. You got two walls painted green and two painted red. You've got black, pleather chairs surrounding a coffee table in the front and then the corner on the far side with repurposed theater chairs around a barrel with glass on top to create a table. Say what?

There's a bookcase full of old books and a whole bunch of magazines on a table by the door for browsing and reading. The place is clean-feeling and modern-looking. They got two flat screen TVs, one behind the counter tickering news or something, and another one over the bookshelf for sports and stuff.

Outside there's a really nice patio area with oodles of tables worth of seating, lots of greenery and a view through the fence of the parking lot.

This coffee shop is one o' them Java City-serving chains. I ordered a chai tea and I got a latte. It was good, milky and not too sweet. They're well-stocked with random candies and drinks. My friend was super tempted by the Crunch bar and Hawaiian Punch. With all the stuff they have there, I hope they get a lot more customers in the morning and afternoon. Otherwise it'd be a total shame.

IMPORTANT NOTE: They only take cash. Had I not known this beforehand, my friend would have been up a creek cause his drink was already made. Hilarious side note: Said friend is a total douche and his response to, "I'm sorry, we don't have a credit card machine" was, "Honestly? What year is this?" Hahaha. (He didn't mean any harm.)

Unlike Francis, I was trying to be selfish and not tell the world about this wonderful tucked away gem that is the most darling little cafe coupled with the most gracious owner. Afraid that when it would be busy, I wouldn't be able to get a seat.

But alas, I would like to see Amir's cafe be poppin like a club, instead of onesies or twosies, hence this long overdue review.

You see, you walk into this cafe and he has movie seats as chairs around a table where you could play board games. Or authentic Italian soda. He does not have a great food selection, but there's bagels and yummy snacks.

You can come here to study, work, or even meditate, as I saw some guy recently sit there for the 2 hours I was there, just meditating. Right on!

This is the cafe that I will be throwing my book publishing party when the time comes, since I have spent so much of my time here writing. So if you see me, holla!

Cobantigua languishes in a seedy, deserted shopping area called Old World Village, whose atmosphere is governed by its faded 1970s cinderblock architecture, octagenarian German proprietors, and the deafening roar of the adjacent 405 freeway.

The WiFi is free. The espresso should be too: made in a cheap automatic machine, mine tasted like weak brewed coffee cut with non-dairy creamer. Blecch.

At 1pm on a weekday, the only other patron was an elderly man in tattered clothing and stringy white hair, who pored over crumpled architectural drawings while talking loudly to himself.

On the bright side, at least Cobantigua appears very safe: at a nearby table sat an unattended laptop for the entire hour I was there. I presume discriminating thieves would not be caught dead in Old World Village.

One genuine compliment: the owner is very nice. Wish he were in a better location with better coffee.