The 7 Best Cafés in San Francisco

Day or night, the indoor-outdoor café Blue Danube attracts a diverse array of coffee lovers, writers and Richmond District neighbors. Decorated in vintage chairs and hanging chandeliers, the café is one of the most unique in the city. Offering mimosas, coffees and a selection of juices, Blue Danube is the ideal place to kick back and read. Inside, you’ll find a large bookshelf with journals full of drawings and poems from visitors throughout the years. If there’s nothing intriguing on the shelf, a few doors down is Green Apple Books, one of the most popular used bookstores in the city. Wi-Fi is available, for a fee.

Serving San Francisco-based Sightglass coffee, Matching Half Café in Western Addition is a neighborhood café that has evolved into a must-go breakfast and lunch spot. The café – which offers an array of food options including breakfast sandwiches and kale salads – is located on the ground floor of a Victorian-style building on the corner of MacAllister and Baker. Morning visitors can expect a line for the shop’s popular menu items but the line moves quick. A popular stop for neighbors walking their dogs, it’s not unusual to see an array of pomeranians, dobermans and (San Francisco’s unofficial dog) corgis in the outside seating area.

The first Andytown Coffee Roasters opened at 3655 Lawton in the Outer Richmond District of San Francisco in 2014. In a short period of time, the café has grown immensely popular among locals. Currently, Andytown has two locations and a roasting facility based in the city. Serving baked goods and coffee made with care, Andytown is committed to creating a space that feels like home, so it’s no surprise that the café has grown to become a beloved part of the neighborhood.

The midcentury’s Beat Movement brought revolutionary poets to coffee shops all over San Francisco. Few places from the Beat Generation’s café-dwelling era remain standing in the city, but Vesuvio in North Beach is one of them still abuzz with writers, poets and tourists coming to check out City Lights Bookstore next door. Primarily a bar that offers a variety of cocktails, beer, and wine, Vesuvio also takes their coffee very seriously. Visitors can grab a table upstairs to watch the busy hordes of people below.

Seattle may be the birthplace of Starbucks, but San Francisco has Blue Bottle. Blue Bottle, headquartered in nearby Oakland, California, was founded in the early 2000s. The company grew at such a pace that eventually Nestlé acquired it. There are many locations throughout San Francisco (and in other cities including New York and Los Angeles). The Sansome Café in the Financial District is indicative of the Blue Bottle style: marble interiors, a historic building setting, and churning out masterfully made espresso drinks for a line of customers.