Cafe Bambino

You will spot it before you park: a small black and mint tiled building on NW 65th Street, a red and green neon CAFE BAMBINO sign on the roof and a statue with a cup balanced on its head above it. The lettering says since 1928. La Marzocco USA's May 2026 profile says the cafe actually opened in 1997, and for most of its life it served wood roasted espresso imported from Italy, a dark and toasty shot.

New owners took over on October 1, 2025, and the coffee program has widened without dropping the old shot. The traditional dark roast now comes from Mr. Espresso in Oakland, picked to match what regulars expect, and Camellia Coffee in Sacramento supplies a medium roast blend. Batch brew rotates quarterly through roasters around the country, Color, Gloom and Madcap among them, and on weekends a program called Bambino Nights brews Chemex coffees sourced through Ally Coffee Importers.

Shots come off a La Marzocco Linea Classic built in 2002 and serviced every six months, which the owners told La Marzocco they plan to retire to a training lab for a newer machine. The room is about 160 square feet, so most seats are outside on a covered brick patio with string lights, heaters and striped bistro chairs. A pastry case sits at the service window.

Google lists 7am to 2pm every day, so this is a morning stop, and we could not confirm when Bambino Nights runs. Street parking on NW 65th Street is the plan. Phone numbers differ between listings, so use Google's if you need to call ahead.