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Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: MissionMon-Sat. 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
"The pearl of the mission! A great way to start your sunday mornings....."
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If you're a tea drinker, you will have to bring your own stash. This spot only serves coffee. The alternative is water, literally. The other major missing element is wifi. This is a travesty for such a great coffee house! Counterbalancing these lacking essentials is an incredible ambience. The architecture is hip and unlike many coffee shops, you have abundant space, high ceilings, and perfect lighting (not dark, but not hockey-rink bright either).
Added bonus: they serve Dynamo Donuts here - yumm!!
ps. Four Barrels, You could offer free wifi on off peak hours. For example, I see some coffee shops with free wifi during weekdays, but not on weekends.
Great spacious coffee shop with warm inviting wood decor. Cool place to just relax and grab a cup of Joe.
P.S. You won't feel it but once you actually sit and take a look around, the place is a bit of a hipsters' scene. No matter - I still like and will absolutely be returning.
People thought this was:
I swear to god, when I read reviews for this place that take stars off for not having sweetener or soy milk or skim milk or tea it makes me want to shoot blood out my eyes.
This place has coffee. It's tasty coffee. Just because it doesn't have all the crap that high maintenance tit-bags who hold up the queue at every other coffee shop in the city have, doesn't make it inferior.
The fact that I don't have to listen to some asshole order a non fat half caf extra hot extra wet chocochino with six pumps of light vanilla syrup - in my world - is a plus.
Also, the staff are always nice and they work pretty fast for an up-its-own-arse hipster cafe.
People thought this was:
Love it here. The coffee is amazing and the staff is quite friendly. The donuts are delish!
Wish they would add more food items to their menu - oh, I know it's a coffee place, but I still want more food! :-) The cookies don't quite cut it for me, but I always buy a donut if it's available.
But, oh, the coffee! *heavenly*
My friend always gets a coffee at Four Barrel everytime they're in the city. Today we headed down ther for our ritual of dirnking four barrell coffee and smoking cigarettes on the curb.
Now, I'm pretty sensitive to the effects of caffeine, so I usually get a decaf capp wherever I go. Today I got a decaf and my friend got a normal capp. Mine was good, a little bitter, kind of intese in flavor, but well made. I've had ones that had better foam, but overall it was money well spent.
Then, I had a sip of my friends' regular capp. Jesus effing christ. It was heaven in a cup. I literally almost ran from the curb to go get one for myself. But then my friend told me to go sit back down, finish my cigarette (which I threw on the ground during my launch), and that we could share theirs. Good idea, since all of that caffeine would've made me feel cracked out.
I am planning my schedule tomorrow so that I can go back there and get a real frikken coffee drink. Tasty-town!
People thought this was:
I keep hearing how Four Barrel is the best coffee shop so i decided to swing by this past weekend. Hmm...don't see what all the hype is about. Don't get me wrong, the coffee is good and the donuts are AMAZING (esp the Vanilla Bean), but this place has a minimal amount of tables, with cold steel chairs not exactly ergonomically designed for the body. The decor is a mix of local art, which is cool, and three animal heads on the wall, which is just "wtf"!
Overall, Four Barrel is more of the Ritual hipster scene without the good service and WiFi.
ooooooh heaven. Four Barrel Coffee reminds me of Back Porch Coffee in Bend - both roast their own beans and only serve french press sludge which is my idea of a tasty brew.
For about 3 months I've been staring at the phrase "You have 1 unfinished review" at the top of my profile. For some reason, I've just never been inspired to finish the review. Still not.
So here are my notes.
nice people, kind of snooty about only using whole milk, major hipster crowd and staff, back half is all bean roasting, dude what do your earlobes look like when you pull those Flintstone wheels out of 'em, plenty of space to chill, I wonder how I'd look in those skinny jeans, insanely fresh and flavorful cappuccino with impressive foam art, damn that tatted barista chick is hot.
People thought this was:
Don't get me wrong the coffee is amazing... Best I've had in the city. I also really enjoyed the ham and cheese croissant... But it's A Terrible place to use a laptop. No plugs that I could find and some of the most un-ergonomic tables I've seen at a coffee shop. I don't think there was any free wifi either.
My review is only based upon my use of coffee shops as an office.
People thought this was:
A pretty serious coffee shop for aficionados. Sure the ultra-hardcore are religiously dedicated to Ritual in these parts, but Four Barrel does stand it's ground.
I've been twice and both times had a cappuccino. The first one was flawlessly prepared and great tasting, the second one was less perfect but still good. Their baked goods are decent too, I'm a sucker for their gourmet donuts (who isn't a sucker for donuts?).
The space is chic, but seating isn't super comfy or copious at peak times (they have a sweet roasting machine which takes up about half the building).
I do have one gripe, the second time I was in here the window washing guy told a bunch of us to get out of our seats so he could clean. Given it was the middle of the day and coffee shop was pretty busy I found that pretty annoying.
People thought this was:
You know, I don't know nearly every great place to get coffee in every great neighborhood. The way I find out, hail a person walking down the street that you feel has the right coffee taste. I mean yeah I could hunt down yelp. Seriously, but do I really want to use yelp for ever gawd damn thing in my life, no, not really, eh. I like to find things via word of mouth without the buddy system of yelp.
So here you go.
I was walking west down 14th Street around 9:45 AM Friday the 25th of Septiembre, and dude, I just wanted a cup of coffee but within this radius my sense of grabbing an awesome cup of joe was limited in my repertoire around that area, unless I really wanted to settle for anything less than perfect.
I used my resources. I looked around for a bit, and before my eyes, I saw a cute, possibly gay, average height, skinny, semi-hipster but minus the major snobbery, with blonde hair and head phones and music crossing my way. I trusted this guy knew his stuff. Instantaneously, hehe, I asked him politely. He had to think for one moment because it wasn't immediately obvious what the answer would be. He spilled the secret, "Go to 3 barrels or 4 barrels something like that, turn left on Valencia, go down one block and you can't miss it. They have super good coffee" Wow, I was impressed at the advice. Hmm, never heard of it before and it's a mystery what it would be like. Anyhow, anyone who says people are mean in this city, you're most likely, wrong!
I walk down Valencia and on my way there I see hipster after hipster with a tiny cup of coffee, I am expecting that the place might be around the corner?
And there you go, on my left, I see a very upscale exterior. Yep this is it. Upon entering, I can't help but feel not up to par with everyone else. Yes, I am in the Mission district and hipsterville is expected. But counting, 1-2-3-4 and 5 and up to 15 persons that looked like, "I am better than you." No, it's not a bad thing. I loved it. I loved that I felt like I was people watching from a bird's eye view and really taking it all in. I kind of felt like a hint of being in a Fellini film, where the director shows poor girl displayed next to the socialite. I really love the entire new wave yuppie. That's what I call it. Don't you just love the city? I do.
And the coffee. It was tiny. Yeah I guess that's the ultra-sophistication of new wave yuppie coffee these days.
But all in all, I loved the unauthentic vibe I got in there, and feeling like I stepped into an Issac Mizrahi newly reinvented place.
Here's the gist: 1 star for looking visually appealing from the outside and being a little hidden from the common person, 2 stars for having the highest consistency of new wave yuppies loitering inside the place without any wannabees and giving me a chance to take them all in and 1 star for the combination of the tiniest cup of coffee but very pleasurably paired with a ham and cheese croissant, (excellent, you must get this upon your visit). Yes, I am no new wave yuppie but in ten years things can change. But then again, over ten years, terms and labels, they fly away, and I will probably be the new wave of power girl. That will be the next new hot. I don't have a problem with the hipsters in there. Go flaunt your stuff baby! It's the love of capitalism.
Last but not least, thanks Mr. Stranger for suggesting 4 Barrel to me. If you're reading this, then God bless.
People thought this was:
When I first walked into Four Barrel I was amazed by the grandeur devoted to coffee in the establishment. Coming from New York, I am used to tight quarters and no roasters in sight. Four Barrel amazed me with a good record collection, an almond croissant I would question expressing my devotion with obesity, and coffee I could drink endlessly (I do not even like coffee). It is spacious, not loud, but not so quiet that you feel obnoxious talking on the phone. My favorite spot in this place is the bathroom, check it out and look down.
People thought this was:
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE their latte! Best I've had in the city. It is done with just the right amount of beans! It definitely lightens up my day with a cup in my hand.
The only thing that annoys me is that they don't have wifi there. I guess that's a way of keeping people moving out of the shop. If you are not in a rush, bring a book in, you'll really enjoy the ambiance.
People thought this was:
The decor screams, "WE ARE SERIOUS. SERIOUS ABOUT COFFEE." It's a glorious, impressive interior and a sleek shop but the ambiance far outstrips the coffee, unfortunately.
I am dying for a staple coffee shop near my new home in the mission so I was disappointed by the fact that their espresso wasn't interesting enough to become habit forming; the Americanos I've had here don't have the excessively creamy or fruity characteristics I've come to expect and were flat by comparison to my former Seattle staples.
They just need to raise the espresso to the level of their decor and they're golden...
Affogato! (Bless you.) Okay, lame joke. But their affogato is NO joke. They pour lovely espresso over cardamom-flavored ice-cream. It was like having turkish coffee ice-cream in a cup! So good.
The kid who served me my treats was friendly. He even put a little heart in my cappuccino foam. :) It sure did beat the usual feather-like motif that I've become accustomed to.
I didn't experience any coffee-snob behavior that one sometimes could at some of the other coffee joints around town.
The space itself is lovely. The ceilings are high and the shop itself is open and spacious. The Four Barrel folk play actual records-no CDs for them! When I went in, they were playing the Cars' self-titled album. It was a good time.
This place is great and the coffee is awesome! Friendly service, awesome and the decor is my style. If you're ever in the Mission you gotta try Four Barrel!
The coffee is terrible. Can't touch Philz, Blue Bottle or Ritual. I actually prefer Muddy's and it's only a block away.
People thought this was:
I stumbled upon this place one day when South Side Cafe unexpectedly closed early (due to lack of customers; I'm afraid SSC won't last long...). When I walked in I immediately felt as though I might have discovered my new favorite cafe, but I was ultimately disappointed. My coffee (americano) took 10 minutes to make, and was lukewarm. Then, when I went to the condiment bar to dress it up, I found out they only have cream, soy milk, and sugar. I wanted some whole milk and artificial sweetener (both of which are almost always available), but didn't want to cut in front of the busy line in order to ask a barista for some, so I just made do.
I also found the music unnecessarily loud, forcing people to speak over it and generally creating a loud din throughout the spacious venue.
Best coffee, best donuts. If this place had wi-fi, I'd never leave.
I keep hearing how Four Barrel is the best and every time I go back to give it another chance, I get let down. My culinary school friend raves about it and it only makes me feel like an uneducated tard when I think about why I don't like this coffee.
Maybe they extract the coffee beans too much but the coffee is verrrry sour. I've tried their espresso, cap's, and regular old drip, all very sour. Not sure if it's cool to drink sour coffee or if it's a euro type roast, but I'm not a fan.
One redeeming quality are the employees, who are all really cool and nice.
People thought this was:
Macchiato with a maple bacon donut...my jaw hit the floor with delight.
Friendly, quirky staff...
Thoughtful space.
Thank you, Four Barrel.
This place just doesn't compare to Ritual (21st-22nd St.) in terms of espresso quality. I've given the place two chances, which yielded one fairly bland cappuccino and an overly acidic double espresso. By contrast, I've ordered over 20 espresso drinks at Ritual and have never had one that was far from excellent.
The friendly service is appreciated though, and when a place roasts coffee in the shop, you know they're doing something right.
This is a place where you would see folks looking like American apparel models all hungover craving good coffee..
here's some key points why I like this joint
1)ice coffee is good..Really good
2)Unique flavor donuts..Bacon glazed donuts
3)The og record player playing tunes was cool
4)Anthony's Cookies..MY friends started this company and was happy Four Barrel was carrying them and the are screamming good
only problem...No CC or ATm..You gotta go to the corner store ..aka no bank shady atm
People thought this was:
I've had some ups and downs at four barrel, but my last visit was a success.
the owner served me two delicious cappuccinos, pouring rosettas like it's second nature
the space is…
Read more »
The coffee itself, is solid. The latte I enjoyed was very good--HOWEVER--when I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find no one in line! great! I can order and go. I walked up to the counter and deliberated for oh, about 45 seconds whether I wanted a capp or a latte.
I ordered then went off to stand by the side, where I noticed another lady waiting. No big, I'm in no really hurry. The barista was standing by the machine *but NOT doing anything*. huh. The counter person left from behind the bar and when over to where a coffee cupping was going on and 3 more patrons arrived. It took him about 2 minutes to go BACK to the counter and take their orders.
meanwhile---NO DRINKS ARE MADE. In fact, another barista walks in, and takes some of the drinks to be made and begins working on them--the order placed AFTER MINE came up before the lady in front of me...wtf?!?!
In all, I waited over **SIX MINUTES** for a latte.
Shit service!
Excellent staff. Beautiful design. Attentive to the coffee. Fuck your laptop!
People thought this was:
Good coffee and all blah blah..
Great bathroom though. That's the surprise. Not good coffee in SF but a chandelier in a restroom in the Mission.
I can dig it. Four Barrel is tied with Ritual for my second favorite beans in San Francisco (Blue Bottle is still # 1). However, the layout of the store is nice, I like the openness and the wood. They don't encourage laptop use (in fact they discourage it), but that's okay with me. I can give up internet for a few minutes.
I'm not sure if they are still doing this, but they were doing free coffee tastings at 2 PM every day. Definitely a good way to check out the coffees if you are not sure what to buy for beans.
Four Barrel, how can I sing thy praises? The first thing you notice is the cafe's design. You get an unobstructed view of the baristas making your drink on beautiful new machines.
They play vinyl; they have cuppings 5 days a week; the Dynamo donuts are delicious. And those baristas are so attractive you won't be able to sustain eye contact when you order your coffee.
And that coffee? Amazing. Today, L. made me a quietly mind-blowing breve cap. Probably the best coffee drink of my life. A special occasion? No, just another Thursday morning at Four Barrel.
People thought this was:
VERY VERY HIPSTER... never too much for the Mis!! Anyway, the things I appreciate in a coffee shop is coffee... well, this is the best you can get in SF!!
Served as it should be, and, if you dare espresso or cappuccino, they will come in the PROPER cups any Italian bar would serve you.
Everyone is VERY friendly and noice... back to the basics.. no sweeteners or fat free / low fat milk!!!
By the way, you can get the pricey doughnut from dynamo here!!! FAB!!
People thought this was:
I have to admit that i'm a sucker for decor. Walking into Four Barrel for the first time last weekend, I loved it immediately for its spacious layout, hip twist on a cabin-like feel, it's no fuss milk bar, etc. And the open, in-house roasting area! I love that DIY attitude.
I think I would have liked this place even if their coffee was that great (i'm telling ya, i love good decor), but luckily, this does not have to be the case. The coffee was smooth and rich. It didn't need a lot of sugar or cream to mask the taste (e.g. starbucks & its burnt roast). Does it beat Blue Bottle? No, but it's definitely up there in terms of quality.
Noticed that they didn't have wifi, which is unfortunate. But maybe this is the type of place that want people to gather, socialize, and be on their way...and not lounge around all day while sipping the same cup of coffee for an hour.
I think about their coffee and take special trips to the neighborhood to satisfy my cravings! Hands down one of the best lattes I've ever had. The staff is friendly and they are always playing great music. Just bring cash - I'm not sure if they take cards.
Can I just say how much i dislike this place?
Disclaimer: I barely drink coffee.
They only have whole milk, no fat free milk. No splenda, just sugar. No snacks but donuts. Gross.
The seats are incredible uncomfortable. They are metal chairs. They have no outlets or wifi. But they have painted outlets on the walls, WTF. Ok I get it you don't want me here with my laptop. What kind of coffee shop does that though?
The decor includes dead animal heads on the wall. I don't like dead animals. The bathroom was gnarly. And it's full of ugly awkward hipsters.
People thought this was:
After being at 4 stars for months, I really need to give Four Barrel 5 stars. My boyfriend and I are regulars here, and absolutely love the place. Four Barrel is the first thing we think about in the morning and the last thing we look forward to before we go to bed.
The people are awesome, and we feel especially special when we come in at 7:15am and they know our order without our saying anything (that's how often we come..). Staff is friendly, trendy, and cool. Espresso is strong, slightly bitter, but very flavorful; amazing aftertaste. Decor is always nice, artwork changes and is never boring, cool music.
LOVE IT.
Still love this place and have become obsessed with their coffee. It's getting more popular, and… Read more »
Super cool place.
Philz still has the best coffee.
Tartine started serving four barrel coffee recently according to my friend who works there. But even people who don't know about that, think the coffee sucks at Tartine.
People thought this was:
Beautiful, delectable, fantastic espresso drinks.
I don't mind paying $4 (plus $1 tip) when the end result is like these.
I've paid close to that for mucky swill all over this city.
Also, my nephew waves at the heads on the wall, which just melts my heart.
A bit overzealous, I bought a bag of Burundi before actually having a cup of coffee here. Brewed cup I got there was decent and I'm being nice. It was dirty tasting, like sipping soil water. The beans I got are not much better. In the end, I learned my lesson, will not impulse buy anymore and will stick to Ritual and Blue Bottle 4eva.
P.S. I feel bad for not liking this coffee for some reason. Maybe because the masses seem to, but I'm just 'different' maybe?
People thought this was:
I've experienced really excellent "hip" culinary goodness in and around this neighborhood, so upon seeing Four Barrel's exterior, the line awaiting a cup of brew, and all the folks just hanging out, I expected more of the same. Sadly, from what I have tasted, Four Barrel is more scene than anything else.
The descriptions on their beans whisk me away to mini-vacations, but I simply cannot imagine anything deep in flavor after a soy latte from their establishment. It sang one note -- bitter water.
If this wasn't enough to turn me off, the odd decor of boar's heads across the wall sure did. I don't really understand why anyone would want animal heads dawning their walls, but it certainly does not say "hip" or "fresh" to me.
People thought this was:
Yeah, yeah, yeah ALL SHOTS DOUBLE. They roast their own coffee, blah, blah, blah.
I've been known to point out all the bad stuff and definitely focus on the negatives. It's my forte.
I've been here so many times and every time I wonder the same:
What the fuck is wrong with people who feel they must hog all the small tables for about 3 hours after their coffee is gone? Some places have sings asking people to limit their stay when clearly, the establishment is so empty, they don't need them. Four Barrel needs to clutter their space with these sings. Maybe it's the unemployment rate. Maybe these people don't have a house to stay with a sofa. Four Barrel can me a cozy spot, but please, it's not a fucking library.
Everything would be fine if there were enough seats for everybody. I'd be happy. Yelp! would be happy. This review would have 5 stars. People would steal the wi-fi for a buck a day, but sadly, things never work out.
Consider the fact that Four Barrel seems to be divided into half. One half is roasting equipment and beans, while middle is the espresso bar, and the the other chunk is wasted with a bunch of room and yet, not enough seats. Barely any seats. You got nothing in the middle.
Does the owner not notice all the people standing up lounging at the espresso bean bar because there's simply no room to seat? Does the barista notice? Does anyone?
Hell, even the bathroom is pretty big. I should start drinking my coffee there. Yeah. Why didn't I think of this before?
Like Blue Bottle, Four Barrel's seats and tables remind me of my middle school science lab. Is that a designer trend? Is this why everyone chooses to bring their laptops and stay there for over an hour?
Also: No dogs!? I saw the owner with his dog inside *tsk, tsk, tsk* then I returned my coffee because I found a doggy hair in it. *tsk tsk tsk*
People thought this was:
Four Barrel fills a delicate niche for mission hipsters who cannot be bothered with the hassle that is Ritual, nor do they wish to travel the city blocks that distance themselves from Philz or Blue Bottle.
The space is bright and open. The coffee is good and it is cheap. Sit in a chair, take a moment for yourself and sip from a formidable white mug. I promise their coffee will please you.
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