The northernmost capybara cafe in Mexico, about ten minutes from the US border crossing.
What it is
A bubble tea shop on Avenida Gómez Farías doing boba with Taiwanese ingredients, capybara branding throughout, and its own merchandise line sold through a separate online shop. Themed, not inhabited — no live animals.
It is a small local operation rather than an attraction, and we list it for completeness, because it is one of only a handful of capybara-branded cafes in Mexico, and by some distance the easiest for anyone in southern California to reach.
The border angle
Mexicali sits directly against Calexico on the California side. For a Californian, this is a shorter trip than driving to any capybara venue inside the state.
Whether crossing an international border for a boba is a reasonable use of a day is between you and your passport. It does, at least, make the "closest capybara cafe" question for the Imperial Valley an interesting one.
They post more than we do
Drinks, merch drops and the "Be Cappy" bit they have run with since opening. Also the most reliable read on whether they are actually open that day.
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00, Saturday from 10:00, closed Sundays. Mexicali summers regularly clear 45°C, so autumn through spring is the sane window for anything involving walking to a shop.
We have this marked unverified. Hours come from listings rather than the venue, and Instagram is the reliable check.
Good to know
No live capybaras. Themed branding and a merch line.
Closed Sundays.
About ten minutes from the Calexico border crossing.
Marked unverified — confirm hours on Instagram before travelling, especially across a border.
Published on September 2, 2026By Grumpy Capy
FAQ
Are there capybaras at CappyBar'a?
No. It is a capybara-branded bubble tea shop. There are no live animals.
How close is it to the US border?
Roughly ten minutes from the Calexico crossing in California's Imperial Valley.
When is it open?
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, closed Sunday. Confirm on Instagram — the hours come from third-party listings.
Details change – always confirm hours, prices, and booking on the official site before you travel. Animal encounters are subject to each venue's welfare rules.
Keep exploring
More capybara cafes
Other real-world spots where you can be in the same room as a very calm rodent.
A family restaurant in Querétaro that announced Mexico's first live-capybara sessions, got publicly taken apart for it, and appears to have quietly not done it. The food is fine. The story is the point.
A plushie-buried Korean-style drinks counter on Sainte-Catherine with two or three seats, capybara merch, and nothing on the menu over eight dollars. Takeout in practice.
A capivara-themed cafe built into the Rio Pinheiros cycle path in São Paulo, funding the NGO that protects the wild capybaras living on the riverbank about thirty metres away.
Peru's capybara cafe, in the Cayma district of Arequipa, with a second counter inside the mall. Waffles, desserts, Peruvian coffee, open until half nine, and no actual capybaras.
A matcha and Vietnamese coffee bar in Folsom, California, built around capybara mascots and a lot of plushies. Open daily until nine, and there is not a live capybara in the building.
A capybara-themed boba and ramen house outside Chicago with fifty-plus claw machines and a photo booth. Chaotic, open until eleven, and entirely capybara-free in the animal sense.
Guides worth the screenshot, mildly cursed finds, and the occasional
photo of a capybara in a hot spring. We email at capybara speed -
slow, occasional, unbothered.
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