New York City has officially entered its cacao era.
ÓOL, pronounced “awl,” has opened at 178 Spring Street in SoHo, billing itself as New York’s first dedicated cacao café. And unlike your neighborhood coffee shop, ÓOL isn’t particularly interested in selling you a cappuccino. There is no coffee or tea on the menu. Instead, the entire concept revolves around cacao.
Founded by Ilana Gutierrez, who grew up in Mexico City, ÓOL is inspired by the traditional Mesoamerican taller de cacao, or cacao atelier. The idea is to treat cacao as a beverage with its own history, ritual and culture—not simply something that gets melted into a chocolate bar.
At the center of the café is the Cacao Bar, where customers can customize their drinks by selecting from three ethically sourced, single-origin cacaos from Ecuador, Colombia and Belize. You can then choose water, milk or oat milk and add spice-infused syrups featuring flavors like chile, cardamom and ginger.
Basically, it’s a choose-your-own-adventure for chocolate people.
ÓOL also serves cold creations, including a Cacao Coconut Cold Brew, plus pastries made exclusively for the café by Breads Bakery. Expect cacao croissants, cacao swirl pastries and cacao chip cookies.
The two-level SoHo space was designed by Mexico City-based Jorge Campos Estudio, with natural wood, leather seating and a sculptural stone Cacao Bar. A downstairs studio is set to host tastings, workshops and gatherings focused on cacao’s cultural and culinary history.
For anyone searching for NYC’s newest cafés, SoHo restaurants and cafés, cacao drinks in NYC or alternatives to coffee, ÓOL is an easy one to add to the list.
Coffee had a good run.
Now New York wants chocolate for breakfast.
