La Casa de Cabana

Dog names are on the walls at La Casa de Cabana. That detail is the one to lead with because it tells you the kind of operation owner Bruce runs: a Wayne, NJ shop on NJ-23 where the regulars and their dogs are tracked by name. Bruce treats staff and customers equally per one customer, owner Katie and barista Adam get named repeatedly, and one regular has gone on record that this is her favorite coffee in all of New Jersey.

They roast their own beans, and the pour-over is where you taste it. Creme brulee iced latte for a sweet option. London fog matcha. A maple latte. Espresso and regular lattes that hold up. The honest flag: the matcha (separate from the London fog matcha) is the drink multiple customers say to skip. Avoid it. The pour-over is the order that uses what they're doing on the roasting side; the flavored lattes are well executed but they're a different experience from what an in-house roaster is built to show off.

The room is warm, cozy, hip, with comfy seats and a lot of character. It can get packed enough that finding space is tough, and one customer noted there aren't soft lounge spaces of the kind you'd expect at a bigger cafe. Outdoor seating was added since the pandemic, which helps. Parking is easy. Online ordering is closed on weekends, which has frustrated at least one customer who showed up expecting to skip the line.

It suits Wayne-area regulars, dog owners, and students who want to drop in for a session. The owner-led recommendations and named-staff culture are the through-line; this is a place where the people behind the counter make the operation feel like a neighborhood operation rather than a transactional one. Skip the matcha, order the pour-over, and ask about the dogs on the wall.