Ola Uruguay Real Estate and Investments

As an expat coming from Seattle I had grown accustomed to certain things back home: rainy days, sushi, and great coffee shops. I don’t have a chance to miss the rainy days—Uruguay has a mild year-round climate, but we still get some refreshing rain showers. Montevideo is increasingly offering great options for sushi (see Sushi in Montevideo—An OU Quick Guide – http://www.olauruguay.com/2010/05/16/sushi-in-montevideo-an-ou-quick-guide). But until recently, my adopted homeland was lacking in nice coffee shops. But that’s changing, thank you, caffeine deities.

Now, I should clarify: people definitely drink coffee here in Montevideo (see Suki’s article about coffee). Espresso is available in most little cafeterias, and everyone I know drinks loads of instant coffee (I don’t think there is a sound more ubiquous in my Uruguayan life than that of my roommates intensely batiendo (stirring) instant coffee, in preparation to make their cafe con leche. The process merits its own article). However, what I have been in need of are cafes with ambiance, where I can sit and read and tomar un café (have a coffee). In the last few months, all my coffee-flavored dreams are coming true. Certainly Montevideo hasn’t turned into Seattle’s coffeehouse rival, but the handful of adorable and art-filled options cropping up will satisfy the Seattleite in us all.

SOA Art Cafe

This is my favorite of Montevideo’s new cafes. Call me a sucker for art, or great food, or well-lit recycled buildings in Cordon, but SOA Art Cafe, since the day I went to its inauguration, has stolen my coffee cup. SOA stands for Simplente Obras de Arte. The space doubles as an open-to-the-public art gallery (all works hanging are for sale). You can have breakfast, lunch, and tea in an environment marked by great design and lovely natural light. But lest you worry, SOA is not all pomp and great furniture; it also has great food. And Wifi!

You could order a sandwich with chips and green salad (U$R110), a bottle of wine (U$R200), and a crepe with chocolate with nuts (U$R90), and while waiting for your meal to come out, you can peruse art catalogs, the daily newspaper, or that favorite book you brought from home. Or simply admire the surrounding paintings by modern Uruguayan artists like Américo Sposito, Miguel Angel Pareja, Cecilia Mattos, or Javier Gil. And if none of these names yet ring a bell for you, feel free to ask an assistant to tell you more about them. The space was designed by the guys at Mutate Montevideo, whose perfectly-curated design store can be visited at Cebollatí 1326 (corner, Ejido). Much of the furniture in SOA is also for sale.

During lunchtime, SOA offers several menus including soup, salad, water, and coffee (U$R180), or a sandwich, orange juice, soda, and ice cream (U$R210).

The other day I went to SOA to meet my American friend Sharon, and we gladly devoured a goat’s cheese and chicken salad, as well as a roasted veggie sandwich on a perfectly crusty baguette. Both having lived in the Big Apple before Montevideo, we asked ourselves as we proverbially licked our plates, “Are we in New York?”. It must have been the goat cheese. Our lunch was followed by a porcion of apple cake so delicious that the second I walked in the door I had asked the waitress to hold me a slice. She sensed my panic and assured me there was more in the back, in case the other guests ordered the displayed version before me. Sweet relief. We paired our torta de manzana with a cafe doble, and I sat happy as a clam, mending some old jeans I brought with me to work on over lunch.

Como te adoro, ya, SOA. Don’t take my word for it. Give SOA an slice of your time… and definitely order the pie!

SOA Art Cafe, Constituyente 2046; tel. 4109763; Mon-Fri 10-8pm, Sat 12-4pm.

Stay tuned next week for Christina’s other two favorite cafes in Montevideo.