As you reach the end of the busy stretch of shops and restaurants on Freret Street and turn down Jena Street, you’ll be quickly greeted by the new Cuban spot Café Conmigo. From the owners of High Hat Café, this new restaurant expands on the Cuban sandwich from the High Hat menu, adding other options like Cuban pastries called pastelitos to the mix.  

Inside a small cottage house, the restaurant has a row of bar-style seating along the kitchen, and some stools to sit by the windows in the front. Outside, however, there are rows of picnic tables and smaller tables perfect for groups of all sizes.  

I was able to stop by just days after their opening on Jan. 18, and I am so glad I did.  

Their coffee beans are a special blend, so I got the cafecito, an espresso sweetened with demerara sugar for $4. This was a creamy, smooth espresso shot, but I found it was a little sweet for my taste.   

For food, I tried two pastelitos. The first was the pasteles de guayaba for $4, which was overflowing with guava as I bit into it. The second was the pasteles de guayaba con queso for $5. This pastry had a little less filling, so I would probably stick to the plain guayaba or try just the pasteles con queso. The pastry dough in all of these was nice and flaky, without getting soggy from the filling. 

The star of the show for me was the black bean frita burger with a chorizo spiced black bean burger and American cheese, which was loaded up with shoestring fries and onion for $12. This was so flavorful, and the crisp fried onion was overflowing out of the burger, adding a nice crunch to each bite.  

Café Conmigo is open on Thursdays to Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. With so many other sandwiches, sides and desserts to try, I already want to go back. It’s worth the trip down Freret Street to grab some grub at this new spot.