Y’all know that I am a big-time number one fangirl of Ice Cream Jubilee, my favorite ice cream in the world. But!! How well do I know the areas around it? Since the T St location of ICJ opened, i’ve always wanted to try the spot next door, the Colada Shop. With a beautiful white marble patio and always-full tables outdoors, it looked like it was a happenin’ spot! Last week, I decided to come here and check it out.
Colada Shop is a Cuban restaurant, serving coffee drinks, snack-size portions of traditional cuban food, sandwiches, and cocktails. I love that this menu setup can cater to a variety of crowds: remote workers who need coffee and wifi, wanderers stopping in for a quick snack of empanadas or pastelitos, or cocktails as a first stop on an evening out. The shop has inside seating for workers and chatters, a beautiful bar overlooking the street, and outside tables.
On this visit, I needed a caffeine fix, a snack, and a drink to sip on while I was getting work done. I ordered a shot of espresso, with a spoon of sugar. All of their coffee/espresso drinks can be customized for sweetness, “Miami Sweet” is four spoons of sugar, “half sweet” is two, or you can choose sin azucar. I’m pretty new to espresso shots, but I liked the flavor of this! It was a little bitter by the end, but that’s to be expected!
For my snack, I ordered two croquetas, described as a bechamel-based Cuban fritter. They are basically fried dough with a filling of jamon, chicken, or the seasonal flavor, which was mozzarella, what I ordered. They were perfectly crispy on the outside, with a nice thick layer of the flour dough on the inside, with melty cheese at the center. Though I wish they were a little bigger, they were tasty – and a few hours later, were keeping me full!
I was really excited to try the piña colada, one of their signature cocktails. A huge plus of their “Calle Ocho Cocktails” are the price – they’re all only 8$ at all hours, which is a steal, seeing as anything below 10$ is a happy hour price for many other D.C. spots. I liked this drink a lot – it was creamy, fruity, and just the right strength of alcohol. It was blended when served, but since I was sitting outside, it melted pretty quickly. The flavor stayed solid throughout the entire drink, which is also a plus. It was my mistake to get a cream-based drink that I took two hours to finish, so the coconut flakes at the stop mixed in and I ended up chewing my drink a lot. Either way, it was a solid cocktail for the price, and I can’t wait to try their others.
Colada Shop is a great stop for whatever you’re in the mood for, really! The staff are really kind and helpful, there’s seating for everyone’s needs, and plenty of food and snacks to go around. I highly recommend a stop here before you grab ice cream next door!
The Bottom Line
A fun Cuban spot for everyone!
Cone Rating: 4 Cones 
Price: $($) (Under 10 for just food, over with drinks)
Location: U St Corridor, Washington, D.C.
aditi eats 