Café Nader

Café Nader is a downtown institution on Avenida Carlos Nader, the street at the heart of Cancún's oldest neighbourhood. It is part café, part bakery and part family restaurant, and the travel guide Arrival Guides sums it up as a Mexican version of an American diner: somewhere to drop in at any time of day for coffee, a pastry or a full meal.

The bakery is the reason many people come. Pan dulce, Mexico's sweet bread, is baked every 30 minutes in view of customers, and a bell rings each time a fresh batch is ready. Look for conchas and cuernitos among the Mexican breads, and take a bag away for the next morning's breakfast.

The kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hearty Mexican dishes are the speciality, among them enfrijoladas, tacos de barbacoa, quesadillas and a mixed grill, the parrillada, and the pepito de pierna is another favourite. Sunday brunch is particularly popular. It is a little more polished and slightly more expensive than a basic café.

There is a terrace for watching life on Avenida Nader, which local guides call the street's retro zone, and service is friendly. Waiters are used to adjusting orders, so ask if you want something made your way.

Café Nader suits almost everyone: families, solo travellers looking for a reliable breakfast, and anyone staying downtown who wants a traditional Mexican meal without leaving the neighbourhood. It opens early, at 7:00 every day, and stays open until 22:30 from Monday to Saturday, closing at 18:00 on Sunday. A second branch is on Avenida Nichupté.

The café stands next to Hotel & Suites Nader, and guests there note that the café's late closing can be heard from upstairs rooms. Avenida Tulum and the ADO bus station are a short walk away, and El Socio Naiz, the modern taquería, and the rooftop bar at Nomads are on the same avenue, so Café Nader makes a natural first or last stop on a downtown day. For a more contemporary coffee, Rooster has branches nearby, and Café con Gracia on Avenida Tankah roasts its own Chiapas beans each week.