Café Santo Domingo (The Coffee Shops)

How would you rate Café Santo Domingo (the coffee shops, not the coffee brand)?


  • Total voters
    13

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,368
3,150
113
I'm sure expats in Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, and in Santiago area are probably familiar with the Café Santo Domingo coffee shops; while those of you in Puerto Plata, Sosúa, Cabarete, Las Terrenas, etc may have missed this.

A few years ago Induban (the parent company of Café Santo Domingo the coffee) decided to create a Starbucks like coffee shop. The idea was to create a chain with presence in all the main economic centers of the country. They are still expanding, but are already quite popular in Santo Domingo and increasingly gaining popularity in Santiago.

As far as I know, there are several Café Santo Domingo coffee shops in Santo Domingo (the one in Ágora Mall's first floor comes to mind.) There's one in Santiago's Paseo Santiago Plaza (where the Nacional supermarket is on avenida Juan Pablo Duarte) and another one within the PUCMM. Out in Punta Cana there's one at the Blue Mall. There are others, but can't remember where.

How would you rate Café Santo Domingo the coffee shops in terms of services, quality of the product, and overall experience?

Are international coffee shop chains such as Starbucks or the Colombian based Café Juan Valdez better, equal, or worse than Café Santo Domingo? (BTW, there are no Starbucks or Café Juan Valdez coffee shops in the DR.)

Do you think Café Santo Domingo has a chance of becoming a successful internacional coffee shop chain?


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Riva_31

Bronze
Apr 1, 2013
2,533
179
63
San Pedro de Macoris
In 2011 I was in Medellin and went to Juan Valdez Coffee shop, and the truth is our Coffee is as good as Juan Valdez, so I think yes, they can be also international brand julst like strarbucks.
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
9,527
4,045
113
Cabarete
I went to the one in Galeria 360 in SD. It looked nice, but the cappuccino was nothing special. I can make one at home with Cafe Santo Domingo that tastes much better than that.

They only use Cafe Santo Domingo. I don't how they could compete with Starbucks or ever become a successfull international coffee shop(?).
 

Riva_31

Bronze
Apr 1, 2013
2,533
179
63
San Pedro de Macoris
I went to the one in Galeria 360 in SD. It looked nice, but the cappuccino was nothing special. I can make one at home with Cafe Santo Domingo that tastes much better than that.

They only use Cafe Santo Domingo. I don't how they could compete with Starbucks or ever become a successfull international coffee shop(?).

I went the one at the airport at Santo Domingo and the frappé with chocolate was very good.
 

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
7,339
2,949
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A. I would rate Café Santo Domingo 'Very Good' in terms of Services, Quality of Product, and Overall Experience.
B. Starbucks is an overrated, inferior product. Marketing, and now, Name Recognition are the factors that carry them. Not the Product. I find Café Juan Valdez to be a much more enjoyable Product. Café Santo Domingo is on par with Café Juan Valdez.
C. Café Santo Domingo has a chance of becoming a successful international coffee shop chain if they do not attempt to directly compete with Starbucks, and enter into markets where Café Juan Valdez has not already established itself.
Of course, all of the above are in my humble opinion.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
I must have had hundreds of capuchinos at these shops over the past years, basically starting my working day there almost daily. The coffee isn’t great but the Internet is fine. To mention some more shops: Ensanche la Fe (francisco villaespesa , across the Induban factory), Bella vista mall, las Americas airport, Sambil to name a few. 
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Jumbo luperon doesn’t have a Cafe Santo Domingo. They have there own coffee shop in store. 



Okay, my mistake, I thought it had the Cafe Santo Domingo name.  Coffee (and baked goods) were very good. Odd place, IMO, in the middle/back of the store...... or do I have my stores confused? 
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
the coffee is ok, nothing to write home about. i rate them horrible because the pastries they sell are s**t.

edited to add: i don't care for strabucks and coffee shops in general. i only take espresso, frap type of drinks are a waste of calories to me. but i am mad about sweets so that's a sole base of my judgement.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
the coffee is ok, nothing to write home about. i rate them horrible because the pastries they sell are s**t.

edited to add: i don't care for strabucks and coffee shops in general. i only take espresso, frap type of drinks are a waste of calories to me. but i am mad about sweets so that's a sole base of my judgement.

If it is run by locals, it is no surprise that the pastries are horrid. Growing up in a family that ran a bakery, I find most pastries horrid. I have not seen one of these coffee shops. Are any on the north coast?
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
9,527
4,045
113
Cabarete
I went to the one in Galeria 360 in SD. It looked nice, but the cappuccino was nothing special. I can make one at home with Cafe Santo Domingo that tastes much better than that.

They only use Cafe Santo Domingo. I don't how they could compete with Starbucks or ever become a successfull international coffee shop(?).

I like Cafe Santo Domingo a lot. I buy it "tostado en grano" and grind it myself. I drink it every morning. Maybe it was just that location for some reason, but it really didn't taste very good.

I am not a fan of Starbucks, or any other coffee shops for that matter. I think they are overpriced, however, they do offer a wide variety of blends of coffee that are very good. Hard to see how a coffee shop with only one brand can make it outside of the DR especially if, for instance, you happen to like Colombian type coffees.

Even worse is coffee from the Cafe Santo Domingo coffee machines. That stuff is almost undrinkable.
 

Garyexpat

Bronze
Sep 7, 2012
2,105
739
113
I like Cafe Santo Domingo coffee. I also like Cafe Juan Valdez in Colombia. I do not like Starbucks but maybe that is because I drink black coffee , no sugar. I don't like/drink cafe con leche, cafe de la casa....etc.
I prefer Dunkin Donuts coffee over Starbucks any day
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Okay, my mistake, I thought it had the Cafe Santo Domingo name.  Coffee (and baked goods) were very good. Odd place, IMO, in the middle/back of the store...... or do I have my stores confused? 
no, you are correct, that’s the one, in front of the book department. Often filled with seniors discussing ‘politics’.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
dv8 said:
the coffee is ok, nothing to write home about. i rate them horrible because the pastries they sell are s**t.

edited to add: i don't care for strabucks and coffee shops in general. i only take espresso, frap type of drinks are a waste of calories to me. but i am mad about sweets so that's a sole base of my judgement.
I could have written every word of this. :D
Also, these days Café Santo Domingo is not 100% Dominican because much of the coffee crop has been destroyed by the coffee rust disease so they've had to import a lot of the coffee consumed in the country.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
I like Cafe Santo Domingo coffee. I also like Cafe Juan Valdez in Colombia. I do not like Starbucks but maybe that is because I drink black coffee , no sugar. I don't like/drink cafe con leche, cafe de la casa....etc.
I prefer Dunkin Donuts coffee over Starbucks any day

Dunkin Donuts has far better coffee than Starbucks. That is why you it better than Starbucks.

Cafe Santo Domingo at home is just fine. The coffee at Dick's Panaderia in Cabarete is good and the baked goods are not bad, either. The baker is German and his wife is Dominican. Since there is no Cafe Santo Domingo Coffee Shop on the north coast, it is doubtful I will be trying one any time soon.
 
Jan 7, 2016
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There is a Santo Domingo Coffee Shop on the 1st level of the the Downtown Punta Cana Mall, across from Banco Popular. Have tried the one at Blue Mall in Punta Cana and they had a decent Capuchino--great cookies on the side!
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
I like Cafe Santo Domingo a lot. I buy it "tostado en grano" and grind it myself. I drink it every morning. Maybe it was just that location for some reason, but it really didn't taste very good.

I am not a fan of Starbucks, or any other coffee shops for that matter. I think they are overpriced, however, they do offer a wide variety of blends of coffee that are very good. Hard to see how a coffee shop with only one brand can make it outside of the DR especially if, for instance, you happen to like Colombian type coffees.

Even worse is coffee from the Cafe Santo Domingo coffee machines. That stuff is almost undrinkable.


:eek::eek::eek:
On the south coast...not sure about the north, we’ve often come upon Nescafé machines!  
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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I could have written every word of this. :D
Also, these days Café Santo Domingo is not 100% Dominican because much of the coffee crop has been destroyed by the coffee rust disease so they've had to import a lot of the coffee consumed in the country.
You are correct. The Dominican coffee crop is still 2-3 years from getting back to normal. The quality so far has not been that good. As a result, the DR is a net importer of coffee.