Considering Sacramento offers a respected variety of local, independent coffee shops, there isn't a whole lot of them that have authentic Mexican-style drinks and eats. The good thing is that more and more places are now opened for business (as of early-2025) such as "La Costa Cafe" (on 19th St/G St), "Bueno Café" (on 4th St/T St), and now this new place that replaced the (underperforming) Starbucks Reserve at the corner of 6th St/K St., "Con Azucar Cafe". Best of all, this place has all of the Mexican favorites as well as a very generous assortment of Mexican pastries/desserts and even a small breakfast menu.
Surprisingly, this small business has many other locations, predominantly in the San Jose, CA area but also a few other spots in California as well as Nebraska. And according to the website, they have many more locations opening in the future throughout California as well as Texas. The DOCO location which is in the heart of Sacramento opened its doors in January 2025. I came here for the first time with my lady during the morning of Saturday 3/15/2025 at around 11:00am. Keep in mind that parking here is quite challenging and I highly recommend parking at one of the nearby underground garages (below DOCO) or the metered surface streets. I also wanted to point out that this place does NOT validate parking. My advice is if you don't drive, there are other easier options including light rail, rideshare, or arrive by foot or bicycle.
I will say that what they have done to the interior absolutely defies the true representation of what this place is all about. Upon entering, you will notice bright, colorful artwork with the business name surrounding the ordering area. There is also a wooden swing (that is for display only) complete with a neon light that reads "Sienta El Pedorro" framed by artificial white roses. Additionally, there are several large murals representing historic Mexican women as well as artwork that showcases Sacramento. Finally, this place has an abundant amount of seating throughout but from the time I visited here, the seats can fill up very quickly.
During our visit, there was a line of about 15 people ahead of us. However, this moved rapidly as it was finally our turn to order in just under 20 minutes. As I mentioned, this place has a ton of sweet baked goods including "Concha (Pan Dulce)", avocado toast, BLT, and tortas as well as all the common coffee/espresso beverages (Americanos, Lattes, Mochas). And of course their exclusive "Specialty" beverages that includes "Horchata", "Duvalin", and "Mazapan" lattes as well as seasonal drinks, blended Frappes, and even fruity refresher beverages. I ended up going with the "Iced Mazapan Latte" which is a mix of cinnamon, sweetened condensed milk, and espresso while my lady ordered their "Iced Horchata Latte".
Considering how busy this place was, we got our drinks in around 10 minutes after we ordered and paid. I must say that the whole process moved rather quickly. I still advise giving yourself a good hour from the time you park until the time you get back to your vehicle due to the popularity of this place. I will say that my Mazapan latte was quite delicious but a tad bit too sweet for my personal preference. All in all, I expect "Con Azucar Cafe" should do well in this location as it is prime location. Hopefully their business withstands the test of time and is here for awhile. My rating, an above average four stars. read more