Cafe Lava and Bento has such a cozy, slightly old-fashioned feel inside: rustic/vintage-ish in a…read moreway that makes you want to settle in and stay awhile. I'm writing this review from the cafe right now and can hear the jazz piano playing softly in the background, plenty of people with laptops, wifi, comfy seating, and an atmosphere that is perfect for working all day, reading a book, catching up with a friend, or bringing some artwork to work on. I wish I lived closer because I could see myself parking here for hours.
The food is largely Vietnamese-inspired, and I appreciate that there are quite a few options. The spring rolls have good vegetarian choices, including mushroom and tofu, and the bánh mì selection is surprisingly broad: chicken, pork, beef, classic, even smoked salmon.
This time I got the $9.99 special with a half classic bánh mì and an iced latte with oat milk. The latte was probably the weakest thing I've had here; it was quite light in color and tasted a little watery. BUT (!!!), I was oddly impressed by the bánh mì. It wasn't overflowing with meat or toppings, but for $9.99, especially these days, I wasn't expecting something enormous.
What they nailed was the bread. It was wonderfully warm, light, crisp, and crunchy in exactly the way good bánh mì bread should be. The pâté spread also really hit the spot.
They also serve boba. On a previous visit I got an avocado shake with boba, which was really nice on a hot summer day.
More than anything, though, I like this place because it feels like somewhere you can actually linger. I see lots of people working on laptops here, and it has that increasingly rare café feeling where you want to sit down and stay. (And not be shooed out.)
Cafe Lava and Bento is definitely a place I'd come back to, especially for the atmosphere and that delicious bánh mì bread.