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Two kettles over candles at Delah Coffee. Patricia Chang

15 Quintessential San Francisco Coffee Shops

Where to find expertly brewed cups of coffee in San Francisco right now

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The Paris of the West is a proper haven for ultra-wonderful coffee shops, cafes, and caffeine dealers of every stripe. The region claims a number of homegrown heroes including the country’s first queer- and woman-owned roaster Equator, west side favorite and It’s-It affogato innovator Andytown Coffee Roasters, and East Bay specialty progenitor Peet’s — plus a slew of shops pushing out truly iconic lattes.

In a moment when it can be hard to hang out at coffee shops, enjoying the coffee culture in a city that’s been the epicenter of so much coffee innovation and activism may not be as simple as before. But, for a day carting around the city to sample the finest coffee the city can offer, these 15 shops are the alpha and the omega.

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Beacon Coffee & Pantry

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North Beach is a coffee forefather in the Bay, the first neighborhood to bring espresso machines from Italy to locals. But these days it’s a varied landscape for coffee, with old shops like Caffe Trieste serving vibes and dark roasts while Hole in the Wall keeps it quirky as hell. Beacon Coffee & Pantry manages to do it all: Well-made coffee, bountiful indoor seating, and a prime location on Columbus Avenue.

Three beverages.
Beacon Coffee & Pantry keeps Columbus Avenue caffeinated with that good stuff.
Beacon Coffee & Pantry

Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters

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Wrecking Ball’s Trish Rothgeb is known for her well-balanced espresso drinks and precise, technologically advanced pour-overs — plus, she coined the now popular “waves of coffee” terminology. The Berkeley location of her business closed, so the Cow Hollow outpost will have to be as great as two coffee shops.

A line.
Wrecking Ball Coffee draws lines more than a decade after its opening.
Wrecking Ball Coffee

The Coffee Movement

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There is nothing as fine as sitting on the foggy Balboa Street while the alchemists at Coffee Movement’s second and greatest location crack out the army of coffee ordered each morning. The flights are affordable, a chance to try one well-sourced coffee in three ways or to try three well-sourced coffees in one way. Plus, there are rotating coffee concoctions such as the Earl Greyhound (filter coffee, grapefruit, Earl Grey tea, tarragon, elderflower tonic, and lemon balm).

Coffee and croissant Paolo Bicchieri

Scullery

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The Scullery is a little nook of a coffee shop with a smattering of outdoor seating, and the thrum of traffic booming on Geary Street outside. The team at this cafe is tuned into the specialty coffee world, serving East Bay’s favorite Mother Tongue Coffee, and serving top-tier toast, too.

Fluid Cooperative Cafe

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Powered by a trio of trans activists, Fluid Cooperative Cafe resides inside La Cocina Municipal Marketplace and uses Queer Wave Coffee beans. The buzzy little counter is the first thing to greet you when you walk inside and your menu options range from iced cafe de olla to a creamy latte made with Okinawa black sugar.

Delah Coffee

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It was only a matter of time before the Bay Area joined the growing movement of cafes run by Yemeni and other members of the SWANA diaspora. The first in the area is Delah, a SoMa delight that stays busy through the late night with cardamom-infused pots of coffee kept warm by tiny candles.

A photo of a latte. Patricia Chang

Simple Pleasures Cafe

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This Balboa Avenue institution is a daytime watering hole for Outer Richmond denizens stretching back to its opening in 1978. The shop’s roastery is next door to the airy cafe, complete with a huge parklet, and well-situated next to restaurants, the quirky Balboa Theater, and Ocean Beach just down the hill. The drip coffee stays cheap, and the vibes stay mellow.

Sextant Coffee Roasters

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Sextant founder Kinani Ahmed works directly with Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Colombian growers, making for high-end but affordable beans to-go. In this chunk of the city, Sextant is alone in offering terrific coffees and delicious pastries from Firebrand Artisan Breads.

A latte.
Sextant Coffee Roasters is a SoMa favorite.
Sextant Coffee Roasters

Yo También Cantina

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Yo También Cantina stocks Grand Coffee, also on this list, helping owners Isabella Bertorelli and Kenzie Benesh make Hugo Street a coffee haven. Bertorelli used to work at the Wooly Pig, the café that was in the same location just a few years ago, and the couple’s cafe holds the same great reverence for neighbors and fans. The parklet, both gorgeous and accessible, is the perfect place to enjoy the signature Oatly Lavender Cold Brew for $5 with a breakfast cookie.

A drink.
Yo Tambien’s lavender latte is a smart order.
Yo También Cantina

Abanico Coffee Roasters

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Abanico Coffee Roasters brought its specialty coffee drinks and freshly roasted beans to the Mission in 2021. Owner Ana Valle is originally from El Salvador, where she grew up sipping cafecito with her grandmother. Now she’s sweetening cafe con leche with condensed milk and dusting iced cafe de olla with cinnamon in this bright, airy space. 

Rocio Russo Pearce

Spike's Coffees and Teas

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This no-frills coffee shop, which provides no Wi-Fi and says phones are not welcome, sits about a block from Harvey Milk’s former apartment on Castro Street. It’s a haven for dog lovers and bulk teas and coffees. There are dark and medium roasts, flavored coffees including Kona macadamia nut, and coffee paraphernalia of all kinds.

Grand Coffee

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More than 11 years into its journey, Grand Coffee opened a second location a block away from its mini cafe on Mission Street. The shop also serves its coffee at the Grove at Yerba Buena and keeps customers buzzed during Ramadan. Next door to Alamo Drafthouse, the small businesses’ new shop is spacious and bright, and working through a two-person Chemex at the tiled bar is a delight: This second location was the greatest coffee shop for the community in 2022.

CoffeeShop

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Across the street from El Rio is one of San Francisco’s most low-key and high-impact coffee shops. Not only does the minuscule shop bake all of its own pastries, but it also makes a few coffee drinks that can’t be found anywhere else. The Thai Breakfast starts with a base of cold brew before adding oat milk and banana; for $6, the item is as signature a Bay Area coffee drink as the now-defunct Trouble Coffee’s coffees served in coconuts.

A pastry
Raspberry cruffin from CoffeeShop.
CoffeeShop

Hey Neighbor Cafe

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Opened in June 2021 by Dee and their cat Boots, this Bayview shop has gained a loyal fanbase for items like the Hella Black toast on San Francisco bakery Rize Up’s bread and the housemade orange marmalade. Plus, it bears repeating, the co-owner is a cat.

Wall of coffee and plants.
Hey Neighbor Cafe is co-run by a cat named Boots, for god’s sake.
Hey Neighbor Cafe

Excelsior Coffee

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Lea Sabado and Andre Higgenbotham opened this Excelsior neighborhood shop in 2019 and already had a healthy following of motorcycle fans who were excited to see a Black and brown-owned business in a very white coffee scene. The shop makes a mean chai, but more relevantly the coffee here is the only specialty shop in the area with strong but not overly-dark roasts.

Coffee.
Excelsior Coffee is the go-to spot for bikers and coffee enthusiasts alike.
Excelsior Coffee

Beacon Coffee & Pantry

North Beach is a coffee forefather in the Bay, the first neighborhood to bring espresso machines from Italy to locals. But these days it’s a varied landscape for coffee, with old shops like Caffe Trieste serving vibes and dark roasts while Hole in the Wall keeps it quirky as hell. Beacon Coffee & Pantry manages to do it all: Well-made coffee, bountiful indoor seating, and a prime location on Columbus Avenue.

Three beverages.
Beacon Coffee & Pantry keeps Columbus Avenue caffeinated with that good stuff.
Beacon Coffee & Pantry

Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters

Wrecking Ball’s Trish Rothgeb is known for her well-balanced espresso drinks and precise, technologically advanced pour-overs — plus, she coined the now popular “waves of coffee” terminology. The Berkeley location of her business closed, so the Cow Hollow outpost will have to be as great as two coffee shops.

A line.
Wrecking Ball Coffee draws lines more than a decade after its opening.
Wrecking Ball Coffee

The Coffee Movement

There is nothing as fine as sitting on the foggy Balboa Street while the alchemists at Coffee Movement’s second and greatest location crack out the army of coffee ordered each morning. The flights are affordable, a chance to try one well-sourced coffee in three ways or to try three well-sourced coffees in one way. Plus, there are rotating coffee concoctions such as the Earl Greyhound (filter coffee, grapefruit, Earl Grey tea, tarragon, elderflower tonic, and lemon balm).

Coffee and croissant Paolo Bicchieri

Scullery

The Scullery is a little nook of a coffee shop with a smattering of outdoor seating, and the thrum of traffic booming on Geary Street outside. The team at this cafe is tuned into the specialty coffee world, serving East Bay’s favorite Mother Tongue Coffee, and serving top-tier toast, too.

Fluid Cooperative Cafe

Powered by a trio of trans activists, Fluid Cooperative Cafe resides inside La Cocina Municipal Marketplace and uses Queer Wave Coffee beans. The buzzy little counter is the first thing to greet you when you walk inside and your menu options range from iced cafe de olla to a creamy latte made with Okinawa black sugar.

Delah Coffee

It was only a matter of time before the Bay Area joined the growing movement of cafes run by Yemeni and other members of the SWANA diaspora. The first in the area is Delah, a SoMa delight that stays busy through the late night with cardamom-infused pots of coffee kept warm by tiny candles.

A photo of a latte. Patricia Chang

Simple Pleasures Cafe

This Balboa Avenue institution is a daytime watering hole for Outer Richmond denizens stretching back to its opening in 1978. The shop’s roastery is next door to the airy cafe, complete with a huge parklet, and well-situated next to restaurants, the quirky Balboa Theater, and Ocean Beach just down the hill. The drip coffee stays cheap, and the vibes stay mellow.

Sextant Coffee Roasters

Sextant founder Kinani Ahmed works directly with Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Colombian growers, making for high-end but affordable beans to-go. In this chunk of the city, Sextant is alone in offering terrific coffees and delicious pastries from Firebrand Artisan Breads.

A latte.
Sextant Coffee Roasters is a SoMa favorite.
Sextant Coffee Roasters

Yo También Cantina

Yo También Cantina stocks Grand Coffee, also on this list, helping owners Isabella Bertorelli and Kenzie Benesh make Hugo Street a coffee haven. Bertorelli used to work at the Wooly Pig, the café that was in the same location just a few years ago, and the couple’s cafe holds the same great reverence for neighbors and fans. The parklet, both gorgeous and accessible, is the perfect place to enjoy the signature Oatly Lavender Cold Brew for $5 with a breakfast cookie.

A drink.
Yo Tambien’s lavender latte is a smart order.
Yo También Cantina

Abanico Coffee Roasters

Abanico Coffee Roasters brought its specialty coffee drinks and freshly roasted beans to the Mission in 2021. Owner Ana Valle is originally from El Salvador, where she grew up sipping cafecito with her grandmother. Now she’s sweetening cafe con leche with condensed milk and dusting iced cafe de olla with cinnamon in this bright, airy space. 

Rocio Russo Pearce

Spike's Coffees and Teas

This no-frills coffee shop, which provides no Wi-Fi and says phones are not welcome, sits about a block from Harvey Milk’s former apartment on Castro Street. It’s a haven for dog lovers and bulk teas and coffees. There are dark and medium roasts, flavored coffees including Kona macadamia nut, and coffee paraphernalia of all kinds.

Grand Coffee

More than 11 years into its journey, Grand Coffee opened a second location a block away from its mini cafe on Mission Street. The shop also serves its coffee at the Grove at Yerba Buena and keeps customers buzzed during Ramadan. Next door to Alamo Drafthouse, the small businesses’ new shop is spacious and bright, and working through a two-person Chemex at the tiled bar is a delight: This second location was the greatest coffee shop for the community in 2022.

CoffeeShop

Across the street from El Rio is one of San Francisco’s most low-key and high-impact coffee shops. Not only does the minuscule shop bake all of its own pastries, but it also makes a few coffee drinks that can’t be found anywhere else. The Thai Breakfast starts with a base of cold brew before adding oat milk and banana; for $6, the item is as signature a Bay Area coffee drink as the now-defunct Trouble Coffee’s coffees served in coconuts.

A pastry
Raspberry cruffin from CoffeeShop.
CoffeeShop

Hey Neighbor Cafe

Opened in June 2021 by Dee and their cat Boots, this Bayview shop has gained a loyal fanbase for items like the Hella Black toast on San Francisco bakery Rize Up’s bread and the housemade orange marmalade. Plus, it bears repeating, the co-owner is a cat.

Wall of coffee and plants.
Hey Neighbor Cafe is co-run by a cat named Boots, for god’s sake.
Hey Neighbor Cafe

Excelsior Coffee

Lea Sabado and Andre Higgenbotham opened this Excelsior neighborhood shop in 2019 and already had a healthy following of motorcycle fans who were excited to see a Black and brown-owned business in a very white coffee scene. The shop makes a mean chai, but more relevantly the coffee here is the only specialty shop in the area with strong but not overly-dark roasts.

Coffee.
Excelsior Coffee is the go-to spot for bikers and coffee enthusiasts alike.
Excelsior Coffee

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