La Mattina Caffe

Espresso, juice and a morning plate

The counter runs on espresso and cold-pressed juice, which is an unusual pairing for a hotel café and the clearest thing about this one. La Mattina is the café inside The Inn at Leola Village, in Leola in Lancaster County, part of the inn’s dining programme rather than a standalone coffee concept, and the inn is a woman-owned Historic Hotel of America. Drinks cover freshly brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino and latte, with vanilla in the latte if you want it flavoured, alongside cold-pressed juices, brewed iced tea, fruit seltzers and hot chocolate. The food follows the same daytime logic: baked goods, deluxe breakfast sandwiches, lighter bowls and parfaits, and a short lunch list.

A sunlit room and a patio

The room is bright and casual, with wood plank and granite tables and enough glass that the light does most of the decorating. There is indoor seating and an outdoor patio, and the patio is the better choice when the weather allows. Being part of an inn gives the café a calmer register than a high-volume city coffee bar: the pace is composed, the room quiets between meal times, and it works as easily for a slow morning coffee as for a quick one. It suits breakfast, a drink outside or a simple lunch rather than a formal meal, and the surrounding village setting is a large part of why people stay longer than they planned. The café sits inside the inn’s wider mix of dining, lodging and guest amenities, and the historic building gives it a quieter ambiance than a street-level coffee shop would have.

Order an espresso drink with a giant muffin

Stay close to the named menu. Espresso, cappuccino, latte or plain brewed coffee are the core, and a cold-pressed juice is the thing to add if the visit is more about the morning than the caffeine. For food, the Chef’s Giant Muffins are the clearest baked order and the egg sandwiches, including the deluxe breakfast versions, are the filling one. Later in the day the list stretches to a charcuterie board and crème brûlée, which is where the inn’s kitchen shows through. A brewed iced tea or a fruit seltzer suits the patio better than another coffee, and chilled beers appear among the lunchtime drinks if the visit runs past the morning.