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Mon-Sun. 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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If it weren't for the delicious coffee, this coffee shop would be a 2 Star joint.
If you're a hardcore coffee fanatic, try some of their roasts. I was very impressed with how flavorful their Mocha was. I didn't need to add anything to the cup other than my lips for drinking.
Ambiance: Borderline awkward. It is unusually quiet in there. No soft music, no chatter, no ambient noise of any kind. Even the coffee making process is ultra-silent.
To clarify: We were not the only ones in the coffee shop. There were probably 10-15 other people there, sitting quietly. Some were studying, but most others were just sitting around with each other, relaxing, silently. Why there was so much silence was beyond me.
Anyway, 2 Stars go missing because of the ambiance and the only-semi-friendly barista.
A single exit down the road from my house makes this my favourite local coffee shop. Mission city -in the summer at least- attracts a very eclectic group of clientèle. I'm sure the free wi-fi has something to do with that, though usually the place has less than half the people using computers; the rest talking or reading.
The food menu appears to have changed for the better. There used to be only bagel sandwiches for breakfast, which I liked, but they now have a more robust list with old standbys like bacon, eggs, and hash browns.
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this place has a funky chill vibe about it, usually pretty quiet even during the lunch hours. for some reason, everytime i go here i've always gotten a cup of their minestrone. not that it's particularly out of this world amazing or anything, but i guess it's something to get when you're looking for a light lunch. the actual soup itself was surprisingly delish- there are chunks of veggies that aren't supermushy and you can taste the tomato in the soup. yum. i am also partial to their lattes... but since the hot weather is coming, it's all about them iced teas with a little shot of peach in it.
one time we had a small staff lunch here and they accomodated all of us pretty well. plus it has free wifi :D
Just participated in a photography meetup here last night. Spacious with high ceilngs and free wi-fi. It was too late to sample their coffee, but the chocolate chip cookies were good. Plenty of seating, and we were allowed to basically take over their bigger room, which was nice of them. Not crazy about the folk music vibe. Not the hippest (hippiest?) joint, but it worked great for the meeting.
They make great sandwiches here. My favorite is their meatloaf sandwich, tuna sandwich, and chicken salad sandwich. They also make some pretty good pasta. For dessert, I always get their banana bread. It's good. Service could be better though.
The coffee and food are pretty good, the decor is interesting, and the barristas are pleasant. The jazz jam on Sundays is cool. I would rate this place much higher if it weren't for the Thursday "South Bay Folks" open mic. Mission City should not host them! They're loud, they don't spend much money, and they get in the way. They practice by the bathroom, near the students trying to do their homework, and in the parking lot. The small group that runs it are snobs that claim to "welcome everyone." They pick and choose their "stars." And they let this rude, annoying old dude named Rick come and play, even though he harasses people (sometimes physically!), butts into strangers' conversations, and hits on everything that moves. He is the reason that my friends and I don't go there anymore! If you want a good open mic (and good coffee & atmosphere), go to Barefoot Coffee Roasters nearby, Red Rock in Mountain View, or the Blue Rock Shoot in Saratoga.
thanks to Mom throwing off my eating schedule (in a good way), I ended up having a late lunch\early dinner here today! I went over at 10AM to pick up my older sister to drop her off at the SJC; her flight was at 11:15AM. But when I got there to pick her up, she told me the flight was actually 11:45AM so we had 30mins to kill.
Good timing, that Mom just was done cooking one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes- Ca Kho, (catfish in clay pot) YAY! So, I had lunch at 10AM and I just had breakfast at 9AM! LOL
Fast forward to my late afternoon french roast run around 4PM! I was actually hungry and ended ordering the meatloaf sandwich with a side of potato salad along with the FRC. WOW!
The potato salad had right amount of mayo and not too powering at the same time not too mashed!
The sandwich was a sourdough toasted, layered from B to T: meat, tomato, lettuce and mayo. The meatloaf have to say was mighty tasty with some mushroom and green bell peppers bit mixed in. Also, not dry with the mayo made toasted bread that much better!
For a coffee shop, the sandwich is awesome!
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One of my friend introduced me to this place and she told me that the carrot cake was OFF THE HOOK!… Read more »
My friend took me here after an arduous day of shooting pretty pictures. She likes to support local businesses (cafes, especially), so she's doing a vlog highlighting mom/pop cafes. Pretty awesome! She did one of this place, so I'll definitely put up a link to it once it's online!
I liked this place :). I had a latte and a "spicy" chicken sandwich, which I asked for without jalapenos, completely defeating the purpose of the thing (hey I didn't really want it spicy, I just liked the other ingredients on it!). My friend ordered the curry chicken, which was a light and sweet indian curry! Very refreshing on a quiet Friday afternoon.
As far as drinks, I had a latte. It wasn't half bad! I'm spoiled by Caffe del Doge and Barefoot Coffee, I think, but this place is pretty good :). My friend had some sort of fancy blended coffee. Normally, I'm not a fan of these, but hers was subtle and tasty.
An overall win, Mission City!
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I just moved to the neighborhood, so this is now my local coffee shop. The coffee is quite good. I haven't tried any food yet, but let me just say that it appears they get their muffins and pastries from the same place my mother does: Costco. So I would skip those and go for a sandwich. I'm not sure what some folks are talking about when they mention it being loud, because everytime I've been here it's been very quiet and almost slow. However, I haven't been around when they have open mic night. Especially seeing as it seems they serve alcohol, I could imagine it can get a bit loud. I have yet to try out their wireless, but I see plenty of people with laptops so I'm assuming it works. Service is always spot-on, friendly and fast. They have a book exchange, too! Forget Starsucks and come support a local, independent business in your community.
I stayed here for 20 minutes max before i packed my stuff and left. It was way too noisy for a coffee shop because of the open mic and the fact that they were serving beer really put me off. What are you trying to do? Be a bar or a cafe? A little confused in status, i suppose!
Anywho, on top of that, 10 minutes or so went by and still no one at the counter. A huge line formed and yet there was no one to be found. The coffee came to me as mediocre. There was TOO much syrup in my vanilla latte and i couldn't even trace a fragment of espresso in my cup! I'd hate to say i wouldn't return, especially because it's so close to home, but no one said i wasn't considering it.
Oh, and the WiFi is a joke! Super slow and lack of outlets really checks this place off as an ideal place to study.
People thought this was:
Mission City is awesome... depending on why you're there and what time you show up.
Plenty of seating, free wifi, and a large variety of food to accompany the usual coffee selection are big draws to this spot on The Alameda. The eclectic mix of college students, business people, and locals is always good for people watching. It's a great space to bring your lap top and take care of home work or whatever.
The big downside, and the reason why I gave it only 2 stars is that the coffee is mediocre, the pastries and other baked goods only so-so, and the music events are a big distraction.
Trying to sit quietly with my lap top and a cuppa joe at night is not always possible. I have gotten kicked out of the big room by the musicians and performers, though sometimes I just leave because they are way too loud. Plus their audience takes up table space and creates long lines at the cash register, which is hard to handle at a place that employs like two people tops.
If you want some good coffee and a sandwich or salad, this is a great spot. It's personally one of my favorite places to go when I need to do some serious work either studying or on my laptop. Lots of electrical outlets, free wifi, plenty of seating, food and caffeine, and long hours, doesn't get much better. Still one of my favorite spots.
Their chai tea latte was a real disappointment. I was hoping that the ambiance would be a hint as to what the drinks would taste like and I would get something better than Starbucks. How hard is it to make chai tea, and then make add some milk to it? I dunno, but everyone prefers to use the concentrate stuff, and I must say Mission City's was really pretty sad.
The place where they seem to shine though is their sandwiches. I had a tuna melt and boy was I surprised. It was really large, and tasted remarkably good. The ingredients didn't taste like they'd been sitting around all day, but rather had been made recently, and I should note that I was there at about 10:30 at night. They also gave me a side cesar salad to go with my sandwich and that too was very yummy.
Maybe I just hit a sour patch with their chai tea. I'll have to go back some time and give their coffee a shot. I really like the idea that I can have a fresh sandwich late at night though.
People thought this was:
i want to really like this place. i really do.
the open mic is fantastic. the coffee is fresh. the staff is quite friendly. the store is clean, but has roaches. i saw one about to crawl in my purse setting on a booth-style seat...
the food is so-so but pricey... a small salad with a Very stale dinner roll from the supermarket (at best) was over $6. i should add it was a very small salad with only 2 slices of tomato and a spattering of shredded carrot.
while i like the staff, the barista mentioned that it seemed that i gained a little weight or in more specific terms, that i looked 'healthier' while jesting with hands showing waist expansion.
i'm not sure what to think but overall, i'll still go there. just that i've been to many better coffee houses, and no i'm not a Starbucks fan. i began boycotting them a long time ago... unless i am desperate for a snack or beverage and it's all there is to be found...
a perk is free wireless and the vibe is chill.
Love this place. Coffee is great. The almond joy or chocolate moo. Wifi friendly- enjoy looking out the window at the passers/cars whizzing by. Great to meet friends, read a book, share wifi time/photos. Quaint/old fashion feel- maybe rustic but I like it. My friends band sang here once and I would have loved to go but I'm out of the area now. They took over for Fiddling Crickets which has great- quality shows. It's your neighborhood coffee shop/ university/young creative person feel of a place.
But if your hungry, I warn you, the food is good too. The sandwiches are great. and the soup too. I would rather just go for coffee and work/writing but I always end up with a sandwich or soup. Great for a cold day in.
I am not a cliche coffee shop dweller, but I think this place is very cute and I love the open mics and live performances that happen throughout the week. I especially enjoyed the live Jazz performers that I think come on Sundays... Very mellow and great music to study to.
As for the coffee, I think it is good, but I still prefer my Coffee Society in Cupertino. They also have some yummy Italian sodas.. mmm.. yummm...
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I'm spoiled by Graig at Philz, so I knew I wasn't there for coffee.
Carrot cake, is what you need to get here. You heard me. Carrot cake. Don't get distracted by some nice looking chocolate cake or any other pastries. Carrot cake. It's so fresh and light, none of the yucky taste of overdosed baking soda or weirdly sweet and creamy texture. The frosting is a killer. It tastes like a mixture of cream cheese and condensed milk. OMG.
It's a very cute neighborhood cafe, usually occupied by students. Occasionally some art organization uses the space for concerts and stuff. The other night when we were hanging out doing some work, there was a classical/flamingo guitar concert. Some coffee, carrot cake, and some light evening music....Life is good there.
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They do have open mic! It's back! wut wut!
Pros:
-Coffee is fresh, strong, and delicious, not burnt like Starbucks
-Drip coffee is super cheap…
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This is such a peaceful cafe to chill in and have a warm or cold drink. You always see people reading or on their laptops, though there are a variety of visitors. I usually get the chai tea latte or smoothie (the smoothies are great, though really really sweet). The drinks here aren't my favorite, but it's nice to read a newspaper and people-watch by the window. The prices are okay... I wish I could just sit in there and read without having to buy a drink. The location by Santa Clara University is also nice.
People thought this was:
It was a quiet and nice location between Santa Clara and San Jose area. I drink black coffee and it was okay. people are nice!
I hate to give a bad review to a small coffee shop, but I don't see anyway around it. First the good, and there is some good. The service is good, the guy that works there has been real nice when I have been in there. He even got something from the kitchen for us after closing... The place does have a certain style to it, and an energy to it fitting for a coffee shop next to a college. They have open mike night, so its a great place to go if you want to remind yourself why paying real professionals to sing is a good thing. The steady beat of the free laptops tapping away on the wifi blends right into the songs.
But.... The coffee is poor, the macchiato was made with enough milk to be a cappuccino. The pastries and muffins look to be Costco specials. The cake I got had as much taste as white bread sprayed to look like chocolate. The pasta salad has so much vinegar on it my wife could barely stomach it even though she was starving.
I think when it comes down to it, if you're a college student this is probably a fine place to hang out, do your homework, get a cup of coffee, assault your friends ears with your personal version of Maroon 5. If you're an old fart like me that goes to get a good cup of coffee and a nice pastry, not the place to be...
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Strangely, I can't remember ever having ordered coffee here, which is weird given that I love coffee and order it everywhere else, especially when everywhere else is a coffee shop. I think it's just one of those things where I've been coming here for years, and probably the first time I came I ordered hot tea, and so this place has a permanent tea association for me. And not only that, it's ginger peach tea specifically.
I have lots of good memories from this place, from watching friends open mic here in the first days that I moved to San Jose, to coming here again recently and watching my girlfriend's fund raiser music gig. I've had their food a couple of times: pesto pasta, which was great. They're usually playing decent music in here, too. The first time I heard Moby's "Play" album was here, and I rushed out and bought it that same day.
Just a couple of beefs. The last time I went, the booth I was sitting at in the corner smelled so badly of pee that I had to get up and check that I hadn't somehow missed a steaming pool of piss on the seat. I moved about three tables away and could still smell it. Was the Mission City Coffee Roasting Company an unfortunate victim of the downside of being located on the 22 bus route? Probably.
The other thing: fix the rickety tables already! I've been coming here for 10 years now, and one of the main things I always think about before coming is whether or not I'm in the mood to deal with a wobbly table. Or just get new ones! You can afford it, no? They are all goofy and mismatched. Oh, but it's part of the charm...I do get that. So please, just unwobble them!
Smile, I still love you, Mission.
Stumbled upon this place while I waited for a meeting to start down the street. It is located right next to Santa Clara University so you find a variety of people here - students, professionals, etc. Good ambiance. This place is huge! Free wireless, large open space, plenty of seating, good selection of food/drink (looked like they even served beer and wine).
I like this place. The coffee is okay, there are plenty of places to sit, lots of places to plug your power cord into, the staff is friendly and it feels fairly home-ly.
Too bad the smooth jazz is always on or something else obnoxiously loud. But otherwise the perfect place to surf the net when you are unemployed and want to make believe you're a tech dude thinking of the next billion dollar start up or better yet looking all scholarly when in fact all you're doing is chatting on AIM.
The food seems pretty legit here and the menu is pretty big for a coffee house. Now if they would just improve the quality of the drip coffee.
Until then, i'll sit around for hours, literally hours, chatting online, going on myspace and pondering what my next career move will be right next to the atm machine.
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Why is this place better than Starbucks? FREE Wi-Fi.
I don't think the coffee is so great. Who knows. I just remember considering driving to Starbucks for a latte after having one here.
One of the best places around to read/study/catch up on work. Spacious. Reminds me kinda of Blue Rock Shoot in downtown Saratoga.
Another star for later hours. 11pm weeknights.
Extensive food menu as well.
From reading older reviews, I can tell they've gone some improvements. I'm actually writing my review from Mission City Coffee as we speak. They have two wireless access spots. I'm here for the Open Mic so I'm in the big main room. Someone's review complained about it being turned over to local musicians. Music? At a COFFEE SHOP? WTF? lol (Maybe that reviewer is now at Starbucks listening to their musical programming)
Anyway...
I ordered a pepperoni pizza. I thought a sandwich would make more sense, but the pizza was only a buck more. The pizza is okay. i haven't had any real drinks yet... I just get bottled stuff. The blueberry muffin I ate while waiting for my pizza seems like something mass produced. I've seen these muffins elsewhere.
Ok, the food is 3 star... the service is 5. The atmosphere is 5. The Open Mic is a 5. So that's 3+5+5+5= 18/4 = 4.5?
People thought this was:
...look, this is a perfect University area coffee house. It's spacious, has plenty of electrical drops, apparently enough bandwidth for working wireless, it has live music in the weekends, open mic on Thursday night, Jazz on Sundays, and they have decent food and coffee too.
What's cool is that it's more about the environment that you can use to study, work, meet clients, or relax with musical performances -- than it is about the stuff they want to sell you.
So drop in and enjoy. Be sure to check out the Entertainment calendar then.
pretty sweet Open Mic nights, Folk Nights. Great food. Awesome atmosphere. the artwork on the walls alone at least deserve a walk through with a tea or coffee. they roast their own beans. i like it here. a lot.
I'm not sure if the huge skid marks from the car that crashed into the front door are gonna stay, but they say a lot about the character of this place!
The coffee is pretty weak, and the service is so-so. But the location is great, and they don't bug you about typing away on your laptop for hours at a time. So they get a few stars for being a decent hang-out spot.
Pros:
Free wireless
Lots of seats
Open late
Decent pastas
Cons:
So-so coffee
Lack of outlets (bring a power strip)
Kitchen closes at 9
Parking can be tight
Dudes hitting on me when I'm studying for finals, for feck's sake!
Wednesday is open mic night/live music, which can really be annoying when I'm trying to study/read. Also, Thursdays evenings are -uber- crowded because this is the furries' meeting night. I think they have since been kicked out. Not sure, but I'm not going back to find out.
People thought this was:
I spent some of the best years of my life at this coffee house studying and listening to music.
First, it is huge. It has two rooms. The main room has the coffee bar and the back room has a stage and a full sound system for live shows (more on that later). Thus, it is such a spacious place that its kind of overwhelming and beautiful. There are huge windows that let you stare outside to daydream or take a break from working. During the spring and summer, it is kinda magical.
The food!: excellent kitchen that serves a variety of meals. Pretty good veggie breakfast burrito, pretty good breakfast bagel sandwich things. But also sandwiches (hot and cold) and more complex dishes (pasta) and salads. I recommend: the lizzies sandwich, the turkey pesto mayo sandwich, the chicken salad sandwich, and the curry chicken sandwich. Also, give the garden salad, the quesadilla, the penne pasta, and THE PESTO PIZZA(!!!) a try.
the coffee: excellent house coffee roasted on site. The french roast is my 'go to' drink. I also like the blended drinks (rasb. mocha frap is classic)...
Free wi-fi: thank you.
Staff: excellent
Music: they play satellite radio and switch the stations with reckless abandon. sometimes itll be playing 90s r & b, or maybe ambient and electronica, or maybe jazz...you just never know.
and over the last 6 months or so, they have live performances almost every night. That means: they close the back room off and charge money to get in sometimes (Blah!)! and a lot of the seating goes away. and you have to listen to really bad open mic performers. I mean i love the stage and the new sound system and lighting, but they have sorta taken away aspects of the 'coffee house' essence that mission city used to have. its a little lame now.
otherwise, its still the same old mission city, aka just a powerhouse of a coffee place with the drinks, food, and vibe to destroy practically any other coffee house in the world.
People thought this was:
Hot coco here isn't half bad. They cater a lot to the SC Police Dept. I always see the police there getting their morning coffee at all hours of the day. You can tell they are there because there will be 3-4 police vehicles parked out in the front. For this reason its a pretty safe place to hang out.
Parking is in the back of the facility. Its limited. You can also park on the street.
They have Internet access and I see people with lap tops there working all the time.
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Came here with a friend to study and write our papers for finals and was pleasantly surprised! A much nicer place to study and do work than the library any day (unless I need to pick up books!)
The drinks are great, nice and warm, for when its cold outside.
Plenty of seating and parking. They even have tons of plugs for all of the students here with our laptops!
The lunch was delish! I got the veggie burger with pesto and its definitely worth it! :)
They also have very tempting cookies and cakes (which hopefully I can steer clear of!
Well, that last reviewer looked a little suspicious to me, but I was in the area this morning when I took my husband to a job interview. The store is nice and big, as well as popular, and the coffee was roasting as I walked in. I couldn't smell anything because of my cold, but I'm sure it smelled great :) A sign on the door said they accept SCU flex cards, which I suppose means they take the college meal/debit card thingy, which is a nice touch. They have live local music on Mondays and other shows with relative frequency, a nice stage, and lots of seating (the furniture looks like surplus from schools).
The cafe latte was stronger than I am used to at Starbucks (Homestead and Wolfe), which probably isn't saying much... it makes Starbucks taste like coffee-flavored milk. But anyways, it was tasty and defenitely not burnt. I also had a biscotti so I wouldn't be filling my empty belly with a strong base.
Overall, I liked it.
I apologize for the boringness of this review.
Two words - Iced Latte. So creamy and heavenly. I haven't had an iced latte as good as theirs.
Last I remember (2 months ago?), they were renovating, so I'm not sure how it looks now. You get free wi-fi, but the place can be a bit dark. If I'm in the area, sure I love coming here. But, I like to also sit outside where there's a lot of foot traffic, which you won't find here.
I ordered a pizza. It didn't come for over 30 minutes. When I got it finally, it was super greasy and almost impossible to eat.
I like going to this place because:
1. it reminds me of some of the cool, laid back, casual cafes in Austin
2. it's an easy place to set up for an hour or two and study or read - lots of tables and chairs and open space with art installations (rotating) on the walls.
3. the vibe and attitude are cool
4. they have a kitchen and can make me a bagel breakfast sandwich (up til 11am...)
5. it's convenient
But I don't like going here because the espresso beans are not really to my liking (they roast them there, but they feel too strong or even maybe too burnt for me). I'll drink the drinks anyway... But I think the espresso drinks could be better.
So, when I do go to Mission St Coffee, it's mainly for the above reasons and not the actual taste of the coffee.
Good place for lunch! Plan to get there 11:45 ish though as the tables fill up fast. I've had 2 or 3 of their sandwiches, all were good; fresh ingredients & bread. Nice sized portions & sandwiches come w/ a bag of chips. Baked goods are hit & miss, I've had really tasty things, other times....hockey pucks.
Have tried to go there w/ my book club of 6 people but seating is problimatical, mostly you can't count on seating that many people together. It's pretty common to see one person taking up a table for 4 w/ their laptop, text books & a cup of coffee for several hours. But it's a friendly atmosphere so what the heck.
Parking is iffy, small lot w/ tight spots. Women should be careful when coming/going after dark, I've not always felt safe in their lot.
If your looking for a place to eat, chill, study or just to use the internet this is the place to do it. I've been coming to this place for years. I used to study here all the time because it closed later than most places and had great food. I have internet at home but sometimes when I just need to get out of the house and have a cup tea this is the spot.
The spinach salad and Jeff's Education (hot sandwich) has to be a couple of my favorite dishes but everything i've tried on the menu has been great. My boyfriend loves the coffee here.
A couple of downers is that it get super crowded during finals and sometimes some weirdo's wonder in.....
This is a great local coffee joint.
Free wifi, pretty good coffee, and it is open really late. You will find that most people go there to study or escape from reality.
Thursday nights, the Furies come. This is a crazy group of people that dress up in animal outfits and "hang out". Kind of like at an amusement park. Not sure if they changed their weekly meeting day, but it is quite the adventure when these people come in.
Santa Clara, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
Santa Clara, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
San Jose, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
Campbell, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
San Jose, CA
Category: Coffee & Tea
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