Cocola Bakery Cafe: A lovely place to relax and indulge

 

Cocola Bakery Cafe

Cocola Bakery Cafe, near the Stanford medical campus in Redwood City, is the perfect place for a quiet morning outing on your own or with a friend. This small bakery and cafe in Redwood City has an exquisite selection of baked goods, sandwiches, ice cream, and espresso/tea drinks; it may look small, but it offers all that and maybe more!

 

Walking up to the cafe, you notice its small size and cute eating area. Faintly at first, the smell of buttery baked goods and freshly ground coffee wafts toward you. And when you finally enter, you will see a wide and colorful display of baked goods on display. They also have a laminated copy of the sandwich menu by the cashier and a coffee/tea/drink menu mounted on the wall behind. There are so many options that it’s practically a sensory overload.

 

In addition to an impressive assortment of goodies, this bakery has a room for indoor seating and a small patio outside (which is perfect for Bay Area weather, even if it only has four tables with no more than two chairs each). The bakery itself isn’t huge, but the selection is.  

 

The desserts, in particular, are exquisite. They shine with all their glory from behind the glass case, beckoning you to buy one to see if it is as good as it looks. The baked pastries with a more breakfast-like vibe also look good. They’re not as elaborate as the cakes and other well-decorated desserts, but they still have a pleasing appearance; you will find yourself thinking that they look like a good old-fashioned pastry should. They look so buttery and golden brown, as if they were baked to absolute perfection. 

 

As good as the sweets looked and smelled, I decided I would have to try the savory ham and cheese croissant, which was a moderately large size and was served warm. The croissant was incredibly buttery and flaky, and it had just the right amount of ham and cheese to be filling but not overpowering, making it the perfect midday snack/light early lunch.

 
I also opted for a hot vanilla latte that indeed came very hot and tasted like vanilla syrup. I savored my croissant while I waited for it to cool, which also gave me a moment to admire the perfect latte art in the foamy milk. It turned out to be rich, milky, and sweet, and I found it soothing, relaxing, and satisfying, all the while offering just a bit of a caffeine kick to energize and invigorate me.

I took a long time enjoying my coffee break here. Every bite of my croissant was delightful and satisfying, and every sip of my latte was luxurious and soothing. It was a sensory experience that I wanted to savor for as long as possible.

And best of all, this entire high-quality cafe stop experience was not too expensive. My vanilla latte and ham-and-cheese croissant ended up costing less than $15 total! It’s the kind of tip-top product served in a uniquely peaceful environment that doesn’t break the bank.