Solovino Café

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
Solovino is a project that came about by chance, not the other way around. It was born more as a passion than as a business plan. The idea was to create a place that felt familiar from day one, somewhere that made you feel part of it.

From the beginning we wanted to avoid the formula of pretty café + “trendy” menu. We were more interested in building a space where you could stop by very early in the morning after running or cycling for coffee, come back in the afternoon or evening for snacks, wine, or negronis, and find the same energy.

What made it different, I think, was accepting that the project could change from day one. Solovino is a café, half cantina, half creative meeting point, half refuge. That’s where the name comes from—like street dogs that don’t belong to just one place but know how to move everywhere.

What part of the day, space, or creative process do those who work here enjoy the most?
What we’ve enjoyed most is seeing how a space like ours becomes part of the people who visit us. Whether you’re a regular customer, identify with our bathroom, or see the logo and remember your dog.

What we enjoy most is seeing how everyday life has an impact on the people who come here.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
Our playlists, the service, the Solovino latte, and the bathroom at the Choapan location.

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
New coffee or food projects appear every day. It’s very important to stay on your path, not to drift away from your original proposal, but still adapt to changing trends and tastes. Originality is the hardest thing to maintain.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
Before knowing how to steam milk, calibrate a grinder, or make great chilaquiles, it’s essential to understand that hospitality is the most important thing for us.“Service and hospitality are an opportunity (almost a responsibility) to create magic in a world that desperately needs it.”

Serving is a noble job, and we try to make sure we and our team never forget that idea, nor miss the chance to receive an immediate reward (beyond money) from doing our work well.

What place, project, or person has inspired you recently and why?
La Cabra seems like a project that has grown tremendously over the years, with extremely well-executed processes, unique products, and by raising the standard of what a bakery-café can be.

Also longtime projects in Ciudad de México such as Contramar, Sella, Lardo, El Cardenal. We find them interesting because the tradition of going to the same place every weekend—as your parents or grandparents did—is being lost: same service, same menu, same flavor, same atmosphere.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
We’d love to collaborate with a running apparel brand. Solovino has the hours it does because very few cafés open early to serve people who exercise in the mornings. International collaborations between cafés and clothing brands seem incredible to us.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
For the entire bathroom of Solovino 1 (Choapan), we visited La Lagunilla, El Chopo, downtown, and other important music spots in Mexico to find every poster, image, and pop reference you’ll see there.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
We’d be all the albums by Miles Davis, because we believe he was an artist who influenced many musical genres and explored many facets throughout his career. Solovino arrived to explore, propose, and evolve as it grows over the years.

Answers by Mauricio García, founding partner of Solovino Café