Best Coffe Places in San Francisco

[EatinginMass]

I know there are tons of cafes in San Francisco, and lots of opinions about them, but thought I'd ask anyway...

We'll be staying the Presidio so would love recommendations near that area. Just looking for good west coast coffee (we're from the Boston area).

I already plan to go to Tartine.

Thanks!

[dk2463]

Martha & Bros is excellent

[Courduroy]

Check out Sightglass on 7th near Folsom...though the full space has not quite been opened yet, they have a little garage bar serving their fantastic house roasted chemex coffee and what in my opinion is the best espresso in SF (I just moved here so take that with a grain of salt) its not near the Presidio but worth the trip if you are a coffee enthusiast.

[bbulkow]

I have been trying to find Sightglass closer to home. No website info on where else it might be brewed. Any tips?

[Courduroy]

As far as I can tell you can only buy it there or order it via their website...they hand roast everything in a single antique machine

[12172003]

Their Owl's Howl espresso blend is amazing as an espresso. Very complex. Doesn't hold up with milk though. I haven't had their SO's yet.

[sugartoof]

Rainbow carries their beans, prebagged and in the loose bins.

I prefer their blends to the single source options, but agree about not holding up to milk, at least when brewed in a press pot.

[abstractpoet]

Local 123 often has a Sightglass option or two among their drip coffees.

-----
Local 123
2049 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702

[Frosty Melon]

Sightglass is served at Hooker's Sweet Treats cafe in the Tenderloin too. 442 Hyde Street.

-----
Hooker's Sweet Treats
442 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA

[Courduroy]

Awesome...I was unaware that it was available anywhere else (obviously) there is something alluring about that little garage on 7th lol

[operagirl]

Can't believe I forgot, Ma'velous makes a heck of a pot of coffee. The owner, Phil, is ridiculously attentive to detail. Great place for espresso drinks as well.

-----
Ma'velous
1408 Market St, SF, CA 94102

[grayelf]

We enjoyed our time at Ma'velous in the spring. Are they still serving Stumptown?

-----
Ma'velous Coffee and Wine Bar
1408 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102

[sugartoof]

Don't have the answer - but just wanted to add that Ma'Velous usually has a selection of 3-4 different roasters. Usually Intellegentsia, Ecco and a Norwegian roaster.

I do think Dynamo carried Stumptown at one point as well, and still might.
For whatever it's worth, Stumptown recently sold it's majority interest. Whatever that means, time will tell.

-----
Ecco
322 Lorton Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010

[12172003]

Is the Norwegian roaster Tim Wendelboe?

[sugartoof]

"Is the Norwegian roaster Tim Wendelboe?"

That's it. Have you tried it?

[12172003]

They were closed this entire weekend so wasn't able to try it.

I have had Tim Wendelboe before during a cupping. Had 2 or 3 and all were of the highest quality compared with Intelligentsia, Ecco and Stumptown.

-----
Ecco
322 Lorton Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010

[grayelf]

The selection was one of the reasons we stopped by but the day we went (bad luck?) it was only Stumptown. Not really a problem in the end as the coffee was excellent and we can only buy it here, not have it made for us :-).

[operagirl]

To be honest I don't know exactly what they're serving -- I usually tell Phil what I'm in the mood for as to flavor/acidity/roast, etc., and then I let him pick what to brew. More fun that way, I think!

[sugartoof]

In my experience, leaving it to the houses choice resulted in an outrageously expensive cup from their most pedestrian offerings I would never have ordered. A friend also stumped them simply by asking for something without heavy fruity notes.

If you order a pot they provide you with espresso sized shot glasses to drink from, which means if you care for cream and sugar in your coffee, it's non-stop fussing every 4 sips. Not that there was cream and sugar (at the time) without a special request, and a stern lecturing by the owner.

I'd go back, but only asking the price first, only asking for the beans I want, and probably just taking out a single cup.

[myst]

Blue Bottle (I 2nd, 3rd, 4th the opinion or whatever number we are on)....

I would also mention near the Presidio that the Grove is nice place to chill with a cup of coffee. They have good bacon too, but it is not "connoisseur coffee" place. Also I think the ambience adds to the coffee experience out in the Chrissy Field buildings (headed to Fort Point) its called the Warming Hut.

Grove Cafe - 2250 Chestnut St San Francisco, CA

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Warming Hut
983 Marine Drive, San Francisco, CA

Blue Bottle
151 Third St, San Francisco, CA

[sugartoof]

I'm pretty sure Warming Hut carries Equator Coffee, and supposedly does a good job with it. Plus the location can't be beat. Equator's beans win awards outside SF (especially for their Ethiopean origin), but it's mostly taken for granted as a 2nd rate coffee.

-----
Warming Hut
983 Marine Drive, San Francisco, CA

[EatinginMass]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm mainly looking for places where there is good espresso (great crema, etc.) and also good dark roast coffee. It's been 5years since we were in San Francisco and we had great coffee then, but i can't remember any cafe names. Looking at Google maps it looks like we'll be in Presidio Heights.

[jason carey]

I like Four Barrel espresso the best. .. others will argue ad infinitum.

[operagirl]

If you wanted to compare Blue Bottle and Ritual at the same time, you could hit up their Hayes Valley locations. BB is at 315 Linden Street -- it's a small alley which opens onto a nice park, where Ritual just opened in the small building (it's a corrugated metal shipping container, actually) they are sharing with Smitten ice cream.

[grayelf]

Nice tip, I didn't know Ritual was cohabiting with Smitten -- guess that happened since our last trip in April. Great idea for a back to back taste test.

[lrealml]

Ritual Coffee is also pretty good.

[hill food]

to clarify: is it the coffee or the space (or a bit of both)?

[sugartoof]

What's your idea of a good cup, flavor and roast wise?

For an old school darker roast, from local roasters pre-coffee trends, Graffeo in North Beach, House of Coffee in the Sunset, Farley's ,and then Simple Pleasures on Balboa.

For newer popular roasters that are leading the way trend and taste wise: Ritual (roasts can be as light as tea), Four Barrel, Sightglass, Blue Bottle (usually a darker roast), Ecco.

Bridging the gap between the two worlds is Coffee Bar/ Mr. Espresso (which is served at Tartine...it's a good dark roast), and then there's an oddball place called Philz (which is all novelty blends).

Some interesting roasters that don't have their own shops in SF: Verve, and De La Paz (found at select farmer markets, and around the city at various cafes), and Equator.

In that area, your options are limited for locally roasted coffees, but Rigolo/La Boulangerie features Equator, and a restaurant called Spruce on Sacramento roasts in house and should be able to sell you a good cup from their panini/charcuterie carry out shop. Not as convenient, there's Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero with De la Paz and Ritual beans.

-----
House of Coffee
1618 Noriega St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Simple Pleasures Cafe
3434 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Mojo Bicycle Cafe
639-A Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA

[Windy]

I love Simple Pleasures as a cafe, but not sure I'd recommend their coffee to anyone I liked. They have good snacks and tea, and great characters from the neighborhood.

-----
Simple Pleasures Cafe
3434 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

[sugartoof]

I find Simple Pleasures standard blend very similar to Blue Bottles "Three Africas" blend, only it's a hair more bitter/dark. They've been roasting in SF since 1978, and the style of roast definitely reflects it.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Simple Pleasures Cafe
3434 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94121

[Melanie Wong]

Santa Rosa's Ecco Caffe is available on Sunday mornings in San Francisco at the Stonestown farmers market, brewed one cup at a time by Ga Ga Cafe.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/699157

-----
Ecco Caffe
90 Timothy Rd, Santa Rosa, CA

[Windy]

Tartine doesn't have especially good coffee.

Best coffee in the city is Blue Bottle. They have several cafes downtown, including one on the roof of the museum of Modern Art. There are also lots of cafes that make coffee with their beans.

Not sure where you're staying near the Presidio--in the Marina District or in the Richmond? The produce store on California and 9th or 10th serve Blue Bottle.

Sightglass Coffee on 7th Street South of Market is also excellent.

Four Barrel Coffee on Valencia is a cool place, but I'm not sure what people see in their coffee.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Four Barrel Coffee
375 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Sightglass Coffee
270 7th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[sugartoof]

Not sure if you're thinking of Blue Fog? They have unfortunately closed that location, but there is a location at Gough/Green that I think still has Blue Bottle.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[Windy]

I think it's called Village Market. The owners are French. They sell produce and have a table in the front window. Not a top notch espresso place, but fine for a drip Blue Bottle.

-----
Village Market
4555 California St, San Francisco, CA

Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[jason carey]

You mean YOUR favorite coffee is Blue Bottle. Others might like others like 4 Barrel or Philz or Ritual more. .
Coffee is personal prefrence. Some even like Dunkin Donuts if they don't like strong coffee..

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[bbulkow]

Board preference runs strongly against Philz. I like the coffee/chocolate blend at Philz, but their push to add sugar to every cup signals the blends aren't that smooth. Ritual has its supporters, but runs hot and cold. I find their beans to be "hollowed out" (little body), but I like the atmosphere in their coffee shops.

Blue Bottle is the consensus "best" choice that's widely proclaimed. That siphon coffee in the mint location is excellent. I think Boudrain highlighted the Gibralter on TV.

That being said, my favorite coffee right now is 4Barrel, because Red Rock cafe in MV has this "single origin" bar (a separate smaller espresso station) where the guy (Michael?) just pulls excellent espresso. He's been working with 4Barrel's ethopian all month, and does wonderful things it it. It's amazing the different tastes he can get out of the same roast. No one in the peninsula is pulling espressos with BB, to my knowledge.

Barefoot is excellent, but south bay. Flying Goat / Local123 in Berkeley is also a favorite, but hard access for the tourist.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Red Rock Cafe
1010 Lincoln Ave, Napa, CA 94558

[12172003]

Fraiche in Palo Alto pulls shots using Blue Bottle on a La Marzocco. Like all places, the quality is dependent on the barrista (the four M's).

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[bbulkow]

And since it's not a coffee place, they don't seem to accentuate barrista training. One might get lucky.

[12172003]

Sounds weird. Why would you have great beans, great grinders (and machines) and not do barrista training. Kind of like giving foie gras and a commercial kitchen to someone who doesn't know how to cook. Better off eating at McDonald's.....ok, that's an exaggeration. Anyway, I'll be stopping by later on today to give a report.

[bbulkow]

One *MIGHT* because most folks view the trappings (beans, machine) and then assume the rest is good - instead of letting the coffee speak for itself. Yogurt places tend to focus on the ingredients and machines and hire very low cost workers, because swirling a yogurt takes no special skill. But prove me wrong!

Cafe del Doge, I'm looking at you.

[ssfire]

I stopped by Fraiche a few months ago for an espresso, and it was far inferior to what I was used to getting at the BB SF locations. I think BB needs to do more quality control inspections. (They may have improved: I haven't been recently).

But the pour-over BB coffee at Fraiche was great.

-----
Fraiche
644 Emerson St Ste 110, Palo Alto, CA 94301

[poser]

Unfortunately, after initial training, it would almost be impossible for BB, or any other roaster to monitor all the businesses using a particular roaster. I suggest just go to the source if you want good coffee.

[sugartoof]

BB does impose some loose regulations on how their coffee is sold... I've only seen a pre-brewed kettle at their Japantown outpost, for example. They usually require pour over method, which suggests some attempt at oversight.

[poser]

BB has a outpost in Jtown? Or is it another business using BB beans?

[sugartoof]

It's in the New People lobby. I don't think it's an official location (I think it may have been more of an arrangement when it first opened) but there's a logo in the corner.

[Windy]

Yes, our posts are signed. They clearly are the preference of whoever's posting them.

If you want to recommend something, go ahead rather than worrying about mine.

[sugartoof]

Blue Bottle really has become the ambassador roaster for SF. It's credited as really bringing the coffee culture back to the city, and it's east for visitors to find.

The coffee itself isn't that distinct, or interesting compared to other choices, but it's a solid choice and it tastes like coffee. The Blue Bottle and Four Barrel outposts outside of SF roast differently for a reason.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103

[twocents]

FWIW, Blue Bottle is an Oakland-based business. I heard that plans to put an outlet in Dolores Park were squashed in part because it wasn't local enough. Don't know how true that is.

-----
Blue Bottle Cafe
66 Mint St, San Francisco, CA 94103