Thanks to a new location in Burlingame, Equator Coffee now has cafes serving just about every corner of the Bay. In the city, the SoMa shop remains closed but you can still get your fix of seasonal single-origin pour overs and espresso drinks at the Fort Mason outpost or the newly opened Round House cafe. No matter where you snag a drink you can feel good supporting a woman-owned, LGBTQ-founded business. 

On a typical San Francisco afternoon, one steps out of the briny wind and into a seafaring refuge at Goody Cafe. No, the space is not nautical themed, but Fort Mason brings to bear the fact that San Francisco is a port city. Plus, any sailor would be lucky for $2 coffee and $3 cold brew. The food, including a rotating panini special, is not to be dismissed, either.

North Beach’s coffee history is a legendary one — the city’s first espresso machines and coffee bars were dotted around the once-upon-a-time-actual beach — and these days the nostalgia of catching up with a friend over coffee is no better exemplified in the neighborhood than by Hole in the Wall. While Caffe Trieste is a rare example of a tourist destination and a legitimate neighborhood hang, this Union Street micro shop captures the wonder of its surroundings, set around a caffeinated beverage on the crisp streets of San Francisco, like no other shop can.

Nob Hill cafe, the Coffee Movement, is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with a menu that includes wild concoctions like its Earl Greyhound (filter coffee, grapefruit, Earl Grey tea, tarragon, elderflower tonic, and lemon balm).

Kevin Bohlin of Saint Frank fame headed down the street to open this new bakery and coffee outpost. While his original shop remains well worth a visit, this spot earns itself a place on any Polk Street tour guide for its sweet and savory choux options, coffee milkshakes, and high-caliber and reasonably-priced drip and pour-over coffees. The shop is currently in the final stages of transferring from its pop-up status to a fully-operational business, so stay tuned for its re-opening in fall 2022.

With locations all throughout the city, this bakery and coffee shop serves Equator Coffee and that pleasant cafe energy so many missed throughout the pandemic. Returning to a Jane the Baker location, maybe none more so than the Larkin Street outpost, reminds one of the joy of drinking coffee in a quasi-public place, making new friends, and eating a flaky croissant. 

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.

Ritual Coffee owner Eileen Rinaldi booted her husband from the business for using a racial slur, and the company has reckoned with all kinds of criticism after hoping to serve “a new wave of software innovators, amid signs of a second internet gold rush.” Now there are plans to transition into a worker-owned company a la Arizmendi Bakery. Below all the noise, Ritual’s cafes offer high-caliber coffee and singular seasonal drinks.

Both locations of Rise & Grind (785 8th Avenue in the Inner Richmond and 2598 Folsom Street in the Mission) are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, and at 9 a.m. on the weekends, with a full menu of coffee drinks, as well as a cafe menu of toasts and sandwiches.

West Side favorite since 2014, Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory’s minichain of coffee shops focuses on sleek aesthetics and decadent coffees, including the signature Snowy Plover latte. In the fall of 2022 the business will expand to the Richmond District with a Great Highway location, serving It’s-It affogato. 

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 its terrific coffees and delicious pastries from Firebrand Artisan Breads.

Abanico Coffee Roasters brought its specialty coffee drinks and freshly roasted beans to the Mission earlier this year. 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. 

More than 11 years on its journey, Grand Coffee opened a second location a block away from their mini cafe on Mission Street. The shop also serves its coffee at the Grove at Yerba Buena. 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.

Finding this Cortland Avenue shop is almost like walking into a colorful room rather than a business and feels something like paying off your debt to Animal Crossing’s Tom Nook: as though something so rare and joyous could never happen, and, with great relief, it finally does. JoEllen Depakakibo’s charming Pinhole offers David Rio chai and Blue Willow Tea from Berkeley.

Java Beach’s locations at 1396 La Playa Street and 2650 Sloat Boulevard both serve Lady Falcon’s 1990s-throwback coffee, and its sandwiches and salads are solid lunch contenders, too. The whole menu is available for takeout and online ordering is available as well, with the option to grab your drink via a walk up window at the La Playa outpost.

Frustrated by the lack of upscale coffee spots in the Bayview, Tallio’s owner Olton Rensch opened his business in a former Third Street barber shop after years of selling beans at farmers markets and online. On the menu, you’ll find everything from basic espresso drinks to a golden turmeric latte. As of September 2022, the shop is open for full service once again.

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, that the co-owner is a cat.

Lea Sabado and Andre Higgenbotham opened this Excelsior neighborhood shop’s doors 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. Recently, the team is fundraising through tee-shirt sales for KeepOurClinics, a nonprofit that supports independent abortion clinics.

Mission Blue’s excellent coffee drinks are made with Saint Frank beans (with tea from UK cult brand TeaPigs), and its lavender latte sends folks to its Visitacion Valley door. It’s also got a gift shop that specializes in goods from local artists and makers, including jewelry, ceramics, and paper products.