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A café that blends European and Caribbean flavors

Arosa Café is making a dish with rich history. #k5evening

SEATTLE — In the heart of Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood, Arosa Café has been creating comfort food for over thirty years; what started as a Belgian shop now has a mix of an ever-evolving cultural tapestry.

“My favorite waffle is just the plain waffle, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside,” said Adriana Santangelo from Arosa Café.

Owners Cesar and Adriana Santangelo, an Italian-Venezuelan duo, carried forward the traditions of Arosa, safeguarding the coveted Liege Waffles recipe while injecting their unique flair through standout coffee and Italian-Venezuelan culinary fusions.

“These are Belgian waffles, but they are Belgian liege waffles,” Cesar said. “The limits are endless, so we can play with the waffles as much as we want.”

Over the years, Arosa Cafe's offerings have evolved, now boasting Caribbean-inspired paninis, all crafted with sustainably sourced local ingredients. A culinary innovation.

“We make all our paninis to order; we introduce our personal touch, the Caribbean paninis,” Adriana said. “I want you to try our chicken avocado panini; you won’t regret it.”

“We are trying to blend a few things from our heritage,” Cesar said.

And if you are looking for a unique drink that looks like a post straight out of Instagram, with a lot of flavors, you need to try their new coffee “Café Bombon.”

“So what is Café Bombon? Café Bombon has condensed milk, is going to have a little bit of coffee, and on top of that, we will put a little bit of foam oat milk,” said Cesar. “All the flavors combined, it becomes a bombon.”

Overall, Arosa Café is a place where everyone is welcome and invited and even becomes part of their legacy; they even have a wall where customers, friends and others post their photos.

An invitation to be part of their community and partake in their journey.

“It is not a job, it is our life, and we love it,” Adriana said.

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