Cafe del Hidalgo

Great gelato offering a huge selection of flavors. Stick with the gelato and you’ll be fine!

Great coffee selections and great location. Right in the heart of Old Town in St. Augustine. Really liked that they has such variety but service was a bit slow considering it was only coffee we ordered.

I should have been suspicious as when I was at the register ordering, the cashier was distracted and arguing with a coworker about two orders that went awry.
The gelato and coffee is actually very good. But the service, staff’s lethargic attitude, and pandemonium surrounding the ordering system — is all very inefficient and ineffective. As the coffee orders slowly trickled out, I hear «342». When I inquired the staff up front gelato stand if they could check if our order was ready (341) — there were no tables available and we could not reach the coffee register for the crowd pressing in — he said he didn’t hear it and continued about his business. After a time «342» is called. I asked another young man about our order. He pretended to go check, then came out and began serving gelato again. The next order «343» trickles out. My husband at this point has left the building in disgust. It’s been 20 minutes of standing and waiting. «Hey!» I finally get the coffee girl’s attention before she disappears again. She didn’t know anything about my order. I check my ticket — it was definitely charged. She eventually returns with my order.
I only give three stars because the product was good, but I would say save yourself the frustration due to the service. The staff doesn’t care and it shows.

Staff was rude; lady gave me a dirty look when my fiancé and I ordered Tiramisu gelato. The gelato was good though.

sub par (at best) gelato that is over priced… Don’t even know where to begin with the TERRIBLE service– young girl who worked behind gelato bar literally screamed (not exaggerating) at an elderly couple to get out a minute a minute before closing time– HEARTLESS. would not recommend anyone waste their money coming here. also unsanitary– saw cleaning rags touch gelato multiple times, huge health violation. do not come here

Nice folks great coffee and homemade lemonade. Loved the setting.

If you have any type of allergy to dairy and miss ice cream, yogurt, gelato, frozen confection goodness. This is one place you can’t pass up. The dairy free fruit gelatos are out of this world!

Stopped in for gelato last weekend. The best way of describing it is to say it was okay while shrugging. The café was clean and the employees were nice. They also make a good cup of coffee.
Probably won’t go back because there are better gelato/​ice cream options in the area.

This was a random stop for food while we were exploring St. Augustine. Wow it was so good. We all tried different paninis. I had the Mona Lisa (turkey, brie, green apple, and cherry preserves). I’m not a huge fan of cherries so I asked to have them removed, and the chef suggested substituting pesto. It was a fantastic suggestion. I also had the Iced Chai drink and loved every little bit.
The atmosphere was great. The people working were super friendly and helpful. I would definitely go back if I’m in the area again.

We ordered two lunch meals and one of them was wrong. The portions are very small. The batista was coughing all over the machine while making coffee, taking order’s, and then spit flem into a garage can in front of customers. The whole twenty minutes we were in the store she never once washed her hands after coughing. I really hope we don’t get sick!!!

My husband and I got gelato here last night and it did not disappoint! We split a small, which we were a little worried that it might not be enough, but it was packed with gelato! It was easily 2 scoops worth! I absolutely loved the chocolate flavor. It was so smooth and creamy, with almost a mousse like texture. We will probably be back before we leave!

Café del Hidalgo has a prime location and offers what people want: sandwiches, simple salads, and let’s not forget gelato, which is probably its biggest draw. The space is festive, ample enough, and busy but not cluttered or tight. It’s clear this is a restaurant used to tourists coming in and out, having quick meals, and fussing over samples of the famed gelato. From a business standpoint, this makes plenty of sense, but it doesn’t lend over to the highest of quality control. Indeed, you cannot concentrate on a superb, hand-​crafted approach with great attention-​to-​detail in a place like this. And that’s fine, there is a place for restaurants like this one and certainly a town’s tourist epicenter is that place, but don’t expect the level of consummate service and food found at, say, The Floridian.
The gelato is very good most of the time. It tastes very fresh and many flavors are offered. The sandwiches are not as impressive, and seem an afterthought of sorts, even. The service is mostly young, college-​aged, kids and they are super-​friendly and try to be helpful. Alas, they are not always able to keep up with the crowds: it can get slow here, downright pokey at times. They do try their best, but its seems there is some issue with organization plus the sheer volume of business they contend with here. So, in all, I would recommend Café del Hidalgo for gelato but not lunch or dinner. And not if you’re in a rush.

We went to St. Augustine for the day. We had such a great time. My son decided he wanted ice cream and chose this place to have ice cream. The service was ok and he seemed to like the ice cream. We’d go back if in St. Augustine again.

We came here for the gelato which is amazing.
The paying system is a little annoying. You come in– taste the flavors then go to a register around the corner to pay if you liked the flavors then go back to the flavors to pick out and order.
Super friendly service– let us try there different flavors and the gelato is delicious!

I would have gave this café a ⁴⁄₅ star because getting the food was rather slow, but I can’t help but up tick it to a ⁵⁄₅ because of the fresh gelato they make every morning. I thought they hit a home run on the flavors. The only last time I have seen great gelato like that was in San Diego, CA.
I also had the Pollo Royalle (Panini with chicken, tomato, mozzarella, and mayonnaise). It took a bit of time to get it, but it was worth the wait because the bread was cooked nicely on the outside, but still soft and the chicken was cooked great and there was plenty of mozzarella. Yum.
The service was excellent for the gelato and the girl was so nice to be patient so you could give the flavors you wanted to try a taste. The portions I thought were generous and the freshness is definitely there. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting St. Augustine. I am so lucky to be a resident; I will be coming back often.

Two stars because «Meh. I’ve definitely experienced better.» I’m guessing that their location in the heart of the tourist area of St. Augustine is what keeps this place going. It was the first place I stopped in during a recent trip to St. Augustine and the whole experience was in one word «disorganized».
From the ordering process, to the cashier taking my order and not having a clue what I was ordering from their own menu, to asking a staff member where I could pick up my coffee order — which they apparently shout out your order when it’s finished and is hard to hear over the crowd, to the large and heavy pieces of furniture cluttering the space and hard to move around. Also would agree with some other reviews — it doesn’t seem like the staff is that happy to be working there either. To top it off my order was completely wrong and had to wait further for them to re-​make the order. I’m giving it two stars because the coffee I did order was good and hit the spot but probably not worth the chaos to get it after a 15 minute wait.

We were walking hand in hand in hand around St Augustine on a very very busy night, our usual restaurant was an hours wait and we were hungry! We three like to try to eat healthy, and we all love to share food. Spotted the Gelato first, then saw that they have salads and panini’s!
Went in, eyed the gelato and menu boards some more and the blonde girl behind counter kinda shooed us away to the back where you actually order the food. We decided to get the:
Hildago salad — fresh green apple, walnuts, mandarin oranges, sun dried cherries, blue cheese and sesame ginger dressing on a bed of baby field greens 8.95
and
Bruschetta Panini– tomatos, basil and mozzerella cheese. 8.95
and three waters.
Found our table, waited for our number to be called (which we missed cause the guy calling it out was not very loud nor could you understand him) It did not take very long.
The food was really good. The salad was huge and fresh and the dressing was seriously delicious. The panini comes with a pickle and chips, and it was well toasted and savory. All of it fed the three of us, and we were very satisfied and full!
The place itself? a bit unorganized and had cheap christmas decorations everywhere. A bit too cluttered for my tastes, but it was still comfortable. We sat at the back counter. They have huge tables to sit at for big families. No public bathrooms, but there is one right down the hallway.
The only real negative here, was the blonde girl at the front serving Gelato. She never smiled, she did not want to be there, when my husband asked her what flavor she liked the best to maybe get a staff favorite, she repied ‘all of them’ …unenthusiastic as heck.
We would come back here, in fact we DID come back later for a nice cup of coffee after a romantic moonlit snuggle at the fort.

I would have given this place a five but they did not tell me that one of the ice cream and liquor in it. That is really something you should tell somebody. I only had a small taste but it was enough to make me sick to my stomach.
Other than that the ice cream is very tasty. It’s actually not normal ice cream it’s Italian ice cream.
This is my second time here today, I had hot chocolate earlier. It was just warm I prefer my hot chocolate hot.
They do have other beverages and Paninis and salads but we did not try any of those.

I came here with a few friends after the Food Truck Wars over the weekend, and love it every time I do.
They apparently have food, but I am a fan solely for the gelato. I suppose one day I will need to try the food that received equally-​ravenous reviews.
Until then, eat up and you will be happy that you did!

One of the best café’s in town. Their paninis are unique and well prepared — easy to eat while still having pretty complex flavor profiles for a small eatery. Their Café drinks can get a bit pricey, but are usually worth the indulgence. In addition, their range of Gelatos and Sorbets is like none other in the area — made fresh daily, you can have anything from Limoncello Sorbet to Chocolate Cherry Gelato — all for a fairly reasonable price.
Great place to stop in for a quick bite.