A Beloved Chinatown Space Is Reborn as a Mexico City-Inspired Cafe and Bar

Eater

3 days ago

As the sun sits high over Chinatown, the front foyer of Cafe Tondo is bathed in pink light, casting a warm glow on the well-worn concrete floors that were once the home of a tire shop. Opening on July 25, the Mexico City-inspired cafe and bar takes over the former Oriel under the A Line train tracks, bringing a new destination to the neighborhood for everything from early morning coffee and conchas to afternoon spritzes and salsa after dark. Cafe Tondo, which translates to circular in Spanish, comes from a collaboration between first-time restaurateur and Mouthwash Studios co-founder Abraham Campillo, Mike Kang of Locale Partners, and chef Valeria Velasquez.
Drawing on his upbringing in Los Angeles's Mexican culture and memories of his mother's hospitality, Campillo set out to open Cafe Tondo as a place for the community to settle in, especially as he sees public spaces that encourage gathering slowly disappearing. 'As designers who often do digital things, we feel specifically within our community that algorithms are pushing us further [apart],' he says. Campillo saw those spaces, where friends could spend hours, slipping from espresso to wine without having to move locations, across Latin America and Europe, but felt like they were missing from Los Angeles. 'LA has the best weather,' he jokes, pointing to places like Canyon Coffee and Seco as in line with what he envisioned for Cafe Tondo.
Sean Davidson
Sean Davidson
At Cafe Tondo, Velasquez explores dishes from Campillo's childhood, her upbringing in Bogota, and years living in Mexico City, starting with piloncillo and cinnamon-tinged cafe de olla and croissants in the morning, and then Milanesa at night. Before joining Cafe Tondo, she worked with 108 and Amass in Copenhagen, Café Altro Paradiso and Mattos Hospitality in New York, and Rosetta in Mexico City. 'It's like a celebration of Latino culture, especially Mexico City's vibrant culture,' Velasquez says of the menu. 'I am Colombian. I was born and raised there, but I now live in Mexico City. I've been [in Mexico City] since the pandemic started, and it's definitely shaped my style as a cook.' Cafe Tondo marks her first project as a head chef in the U.S.
Starting at 7 a.m., the Cafe Tondo will serve drip coffee and espresso drinks with beans from Verve, alongside mate, cups of slow-simmered bone broth, matcha lattes made with Rocky's Matcha, hot chocolate, and suero, a classic Mexican drink made with sparkling water, salt, and lime juice. A weathered wood pastry case from Rosetta sits on the counter at the front, with conchas, pan de muerte, pan de elote, and more pastries made using Velasquez's recipes. Larger plates include chilaquiles verde, eggs al gusto, and hot cakes made with masa from Mercado La Paloma's Indigenous Mexican restaurant Komal.
Starting in the afternoon, a menu of wine, spritzes, and beer will be available, including Tecate or Modelo-based cheladas, micheladas, and vermouth spritzes. Those looking for a non-alcoholic option can sip on ice-cold bottles of Jarritos or Mexican Coke, or a Tondo mocktail. Coffee will be available all day.
Emily Ferretti
At 4 p.m., the daytime menu is replaced by Colombian empanadas with a yellow-hued flaky masa crust, and tortas filled with carnitas or mushrooms. Smaller bites include marinated olives, chips and salsa, gildas with skewered anchovies, and fries. Only two larger dinner plates are on the menu: chicken Milanesa with arugula salad and aioli, and steak frites drizzled with a verdant chimichurri. 'We all grew up eating [Milanesa], in every [Latino] culture,' Velasquez says. 'It's something that is so international, but also so close to home.' For dessert, Cafe Tondo will offer affogato de olla, rolled out on a revamped dim sum cart — a nod to Chinatown.
Aunt Studio designed Cafe Tondo; the group is also behind Mouthwash's headquarters in Chinatown. The group drew inspiration from the building's prior lives — as a tire shop, massage parlor, and most recently Oriel — retaining original elements such as the patinated concrete floor, exposed ceilings, and painted white brick walls. In the evenings, neon lights cast a red-pink glow on the exterior of the compact building, reminiscent of the light that fills Cafe Tondo during the daytime. A gray-hued stone bar sits just inside the main room, flanked by a mirrored column with a window that peeks into the kitchen. On the other side of the bar, wine glasses and bottles sit on dark wood shelving, above a reflective metal La Marzocco espresso machine. Stools with white upholstery offer seating at the bar, while cushioned banquette seating and two-tops line the outer edge of the room.
In a small room tucked to the side, the dining room flows into the outdoors as a glass garage door opens directly onto the enclosed patio. While the entire main dining room is available on a walk-in basis only, the patio and secondary room can be reserved for private events or booked for seated reservations.
'The art is from my house. The food is the food I grew up with, the music is the music I grew up with. I see the beer my uncles would drink late at night. It's a very personal thing. But then again, I think the beauty is in the sharing.' — Abraham Campillo
The heavy, scalloped tables throughout Cafe Tondo were built by Ombia Studio in Mexico, and the ceramics adorning the walls are from Isabella Marengo of Bugambilia. All of the art at Cafe Tondo is from Campillo's personal collection; he jokes that moving the pieces from his home to the cafe will just allow him to collect more.
More than just the dining room will be familiar to those who knew it as Oriel. Campillo kept the restaurant's kitchen staff, paying them even during the three-month transition and the buildout. With such a small back-of-house footprint, it was essential to have a team that was already familiar with working in it.
Patio after dark. Sean Davidson
Campillo approached Cafe Tondo with the intention of it being for the Chinatown community, including keeping prices relatively accessible as the cost of living in the area continues to rise. All the dishes on the breakfast menu are under $20, with the steak frites being the most expensive at $30. Glasses of wine range between $15 and $17, while cans of Tecate are only $5. He also views local businesses — both old and new — as part of the community, rather than competition, emphasizing that there is room for all types of spaces in the neighborhood.
Campillo also plans to program regular performances at Cafe Tondo, including weekly Sunday jazz, DJ residencies, bolero, and salsa, which he hopes will lead to some dancing. 'I'm most excited having a place where you can have a concha, a pan de elote with a coffee or mate, and then you can come later in the day, and you can have Milanesa or empanada, and you can dance as well,' he says.
Campillo feels the vulnerability of sharing Cafe Tondo with the world. 'The art is from my house. The food is the food I grew up with, the music is the music I grew up with,' he says. 'I see the beer my uncles would drink late at night. It's a very personal thing. But then again, I think the beauty is in the sharing.'
Cafe Tondo opens on July 25 and will hold hours from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday, and 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Starting August 1, the cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is located at 1135 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Pan de muerto. Emily Ferretti
Concha. Emily Ferretti
Emily Ferretti
Passageway to the secondary dining room. Sean Davidson
Cafe Tondo operates as a cafe during the day, and a bar at night. Sean Davidson
Milanesa. Emily Ferretti
Gildas. Emily Ferretti
Milanesa torta. Emily Ferretti
Vermouth spritz. Emily Ferretti
Chelada. Emily Ferretti
Cafe Tondo after dark. Sean Davidson