Café Noto

Café Noto | Windsor Town Green | 630 McCellend Dr | Windsor, CA 95452 | 707.836.1830

I’ve been coming to Café Noto off and on for years. Since about 2003 /2004—either just before or just after my divorce, those years are a bit of a blur. But I digress...

When I want to hang out in a coffee house, Café Noto is where I usually land. It’s a popular place with patrons of all ages coming, going, hanging. The service is always friendly, speedy, and on occasion, amusing. Good coffee, great Chai Lattes, a nice tea variety, and their newest edition (at least, new to me), a mate latte with cinnamon and honey. I had mine with soy today—yum!! And then there are the pastries, confections created by Cavalier's Bakery in Santa Rosa: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cavalieres-bakery-santa-rosa

I’ve had a variety of tasties from Café Noto in the past and I haven’t met one I didn’t like. Today, I ate a hot cross bun warmed, the crust lightly crunchy, the candied fruit high quality, a lemony “cross." Just the right blend of not-too-sweet and doughy. It made for a lovely “first” breakfast while I waited for my latte and English muffin breakfast sandwich with egg, turkey sausage and pepper jack cheese. Nothing fancy—really, a bit mundane—but tasty nonetheless. Each section was individually heated, the cheese lovingly draping over the sausage, all melty and warm—and just enough kick to make it interesting. One of my favorites, though, is the mocha Florentine, a little tunnel of love—mocha cream embraced by a slightly crunchy, slightly chewy Florentine cookie, its ends kissed by dark chocolate.

Food aside, I like the atmosphere: Walls of brick red, chocolate and soft creamy yellow. Displays of local artists’ works decorate (exhibits change--check with the Café Noto staff about displaying your work). Lots of windows and natural light. Floors, bathroom and tables are clean. Plenty of tables for large groups, cozy couples or solitary writers with a laptop and backpack. And for those warm, sunny days, there is outdoor seating. Another captivating feature of this little café on the Windsor Town Green is the electrical outlets! And to make this truly an office away from the office is free wifi (password is on the board, in big letters where it says FREE WiFi, which I completely missed for the first four hours I was here). However, being offline all that time encouraged me to write this blog post—and more.

www.facebook.com/pages/CAFE-NOTO/173734176001800

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-noto-windsor