Why go
The courtyard is the room: tables in the open air in the middle of an independent Coral Gables bookstore, with an Americano and a Cubano arriving between the shelves.
Coffee and lunch between the shelves
The Cafe At Books & Books takes its character from where it sits, inside the locally owned Books & Books rather than in a standalone coffee bar. There are two ways to sit: al fresco in the open-air courtyard, or indoors in the café proper. Either way the pace is unhurried, and people stay for hours to read or work without being moved along.
The bookstore shapes the visit too. Author events, book signings, live music, lectures and community gatherings run through the space, so the café is an extension of the store’s cultural life rather than a drink stop that happens to share an address with it. On a quiet weekday it is a place to sit with a book; on an event night it fills with an audience.
What the counter serves
Coffee is espresso-based and straightforward, with the Americano the drink to lead with and the one guests single out for being smooth. Iced tea is the cold option that suits a table in the sun. There is a bar on the courtyard side as well, though the daytime centre of gravity stays with coffee and lunch.
Food is clearer still: a Cubano, a prosciutto and burrata sandwich, and a mahi mahi salad, with sweets alongside. It is relaxed daytime café cooking rather than formal dining, and it is sized to be eaten between chapters.
Order the Cubano, with an Americano
The Cubano is the strongest order: it is on the menu proper and it is the dish guests keep naming. Pair it with the Americano if coffee is driving the visit, or with iced tea if the courtyard is. The prosciutto and burrata sandwich is the other sandwich worth knowing, and the mahi mahi salad is the lighter lunch anchor.
If the visit is more about settling in than eating properly, sweets sit alongside lunch. A place in the Infatuation Coffee Guide for 2026 recognises the coffee side, but the best use of the café is simpler than any single order: browse, take a courtyard table, and let the author events and live music be part of the afternoon.
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Frequently asked questions
What should I order at The Cafe At Books & Books?
The Cubano is the order to lead with; it appears on the menu and it is the sandwich guests single out. An Americano is the clearest coffee choice and iced tea the cold one for the courtyard, while the prosciutto and burrata sandwich or the mahi mahi salad cover the rest of lunch.
Can you sit outside at The Cafe At Books & Books?
Yes. The café is built around an open-air courtyard in the middle of the bookstore, with indoor café seating as the alternative. People settle in for long stretches to read or work, and the courtyard doubles as the setting for author events, book signings and live music.
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